GPS Coordinates - Latitude: 42.92648, Longitude: -80.28024

273 Duncombe Rd. Waterford, ON - Thompson Rd E, Waterford, ON N0E 1Y0 - (519) 443-5482

Acknowledgement

We extend our sincere thanks to local historian Karen Lindsey for her invaluable research and dedication in preserving our community’s history. Much of the historical information shared on the Waterford Greenwood Cemetery website has been provided through her work, and we are grateful for her generosity in allowing it to be shared with the public. Her knowledge and commitment help ensure that the stories and significance of this cemetery continue to be remembered and appreciated.

While some people refer to this as a “Roundhouse,” it is actually an eight-sided building made with cement & stucco. It was built in 1922, at what was then the center of the cemetery, which consisted of a full 10 acres. A few years later the circular cement drive around the building was laid, and you will note that it is a spoke pattern leading to the North, South, East & West sections of the graveyard. The interior is a wonderful open space with a tongue and groove ceiling & wainscoting below.

Currently, it is used as an implement shed and storage for the groundskeeper. The Waterford Star states that the building was built as a chapel, and a senior in the community, who’s parents farmed abutting land, remembers it being lived in. As a child, evenings always saw candle-light on display from the interior. Both of these uses are possible. The east side has an access door to a lower level for storage space. The Waterford Cemetery Board updated the exterior of the building in 2020.

The Roundhouse

The cemetery itself at one time was surrounded with iron fencing, and as part of the World War 2 war efforts, this fencing was removed and melted down. It is said that the main entrance had two beautiful stone pillars on either side, and you should be sure to visit the Waterford Heritage and Agriculture Museum (WHAM) to see the two decorative iron posts topped with dog heads that flanked a secondary entrance to the Graveyard, with Al Broadly credited with saving these items and donating them in 2005.

Iron Fencing

Veterans Plot (SE corner of Greenwood Hartford & Tyrell Lanes)

The Waterford Legion Branch 123 purchased a large plot in Greenwood Cemetery to be used for the burial of servicemen and women. It should be noted that until the early 2020's, spouses of veterans were not permitted to be buried here.   As of this writing, (2026) the site contains 74 burials.

As of this writing, (2026) the site contains 74 burials.

Newspaper accounts indicate that the Cross of Sacrifice was unveiled and dedicated in June of 1931. Several years later, the Waterford Legion initiated another project at the site—the installation of a set of three flagpoles, with a similar set also placed at the Waterford Legion.

Also of note within Section I of Greenwood is the grave of Private Joseph R. Barr. He was among the many soldiers killed in action at Vimy Ridge in France on April 9, 1917, at just 20 years of age.

A photograph of a ceremony taking place in the graveyard, scanned from the postcard collection of Karen Lindsay and postmarked 1936, shows many uniformed men in attendance. This may possibly depict the dedication ceremony.