Fairview Cemetery was located In Corner Brook, near the present-day Canadian Tire Store. This cemetery was first used by the early settlers that came from Nova Scotia under contract to mill lumber in the area.

It has been found that death and burial records for some these people are at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Curling. Many of the other family's burial records for this cemetery have yet to be found. Unlike most church cemeteries Fairview Presbyterian Cemetery was not located next to the church. The reason for this, I am told, is because the first Presbyterian Church was not built until August 1898 next to the Court House, where Co-Op now sits. The church was dismantled and moved in 1940. Some of its contents were used for the new church, Curling Memorial. What was left was dragged to the site of the First United Church of Corner Brook.

In the early 1960's the City of Corner Brook granted permission to move this little cemetery where Corner Brook's early settlers lay at rest. Fairview Presbyterian Cemetery would be moved to Mount Patricia Cemetery at Wild Cove, the "new" cemetery of the area.

I have been told by several older people of the area that once the relocation of the graves began some of the early history of Corner Brook became lost. Graves were dug and relocated to Mount Patricia, some dug by hand, others dug by backhoe. The machinery used crushed head stones, no apparent care in the world was ggiven to those who lay there at rest. If it weren't for family members over-seeing the relocation of the graves ssome families would never have known where their loved ones were put to rest again.

When construction of the shopping mall began a workman using a backhoe dug up Mr. Fisher and his wife. This shows the carelessness of those involved with moving those in such a sacred area. To compensate for all that was done a monument was built from the broken head stones from Fairview Cemetery. Many descendants of those relocated have no knowledge of where their family members are. The only indication of graves are small white wooden markers that mark the spot of a grave. Not even those who manage Mount Patricia's property have knowledge of who is buried there.

After much research I have found some burial records. No one seems to know if these people listed are actually Presbyterian or Roman Catholic. It is known that the marriage and baptism records for the little Presbyterian Church on Fisher's Hill are kept at the First United Church in Corner Brook. They have no knowledge of the burials at Fairview Cemetery.

What ever happened to those records? Does a good Samaritan have those records stored in their attic safe from the dismantling of their little Presbyterian Church? Maybe these records are stored in some long forgotten government storage closet.

Those of us researching our family histories must do something to correct the wrongs done by society and government at a time when urban development was a top priority in a growing area of the province.

Listed below are eighty-nine of those buried at Fairview Cemetery according to the parish records at Sacred Heart R.C. Church. The earliest burial being January 1894 with the latest being around 1919.

As family historians we must recreate this lost cemetery and all of its valuable information so that those who choose to research their families in the future will have some type of accurate documentation on the lost cemeteries of the Bay of Islands. I would invite those of you who had loved ones buried at this cemetery to submit their information as outlined in the table below.