This cemetery is managed by the RM of Grassland

There is no recorded date of the establishment of the Elgin Cemetery. According to the November 2, 1900 issue of the "Public Opinion" (Elgin's first newspaper), "there was agitation for a cemetery because people are being buried in a field north of town or in other towns". It is shown on a map of the town which, unfortunately, is not dated.

From "The Echoes of Elgin", the first cemetery board was appointed in 1917, consisting of Chairman – W.T. Draper, Secretary – A.E. Wilson, R.J. Moffat, John Dodds, and F.R. Ross. At a public meeting on November 10, 1925, Council was authorized to purchase land from Mr. McEwan. At the same meeting, it was noted that a committee was needed to maintain the Memorial Plot; thus, the Cemetery and Memorial Improvement Committee was formed. Those members were: Dr. Lee, T.H. Reid, A. Biggins, T.H. Barber, and W.T. Kerslake.

There are references in the December 11, 1902 "Elgin Lancet" of the burial of Mr. John Griffith in the Elgin Cemetery and, on February 12, 1903, the burial of Clara Matilda Tufts and, on July 30, 1903, the burial of Sarah Dashney.

In the beginning, plots were to be maintained by the family. A mower was purchased in 1947 and a caretaker hired to maintain the Cemetery and Memorial Plot.

Contractors are currently hired to do the mowing and trimming. This has resulted in the cemetery being kept evenly mowed and trimmed at all times.

-- Researched by Margie Robbins

(Source: RM of Grassland website [2023/12; Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD05-04-06-21-W1

In the Rural Municipality of Grassland

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A part of the town's story and those of its inhabitants from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1999 is told in the volume "Elgin Echoes - Elgin Centennial 1999", with mentions of plots throughout the book, but a plot layout map is shown of p 234. A free digital version of this and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0036), transcribed by a member or members in 1978. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).