Have you ever stopped to wonder who keeps the little Country Cemetery looking so peaceful and serene?

The Farnham Cemetery is maintained by a local Board of volunteers who have a great pride in their commun­ity and a keen sense of belonging.  The Farnham Cemetery is situated on part of the land that was owned by John & Thomas Arkell, the community's original settlers. John arrived in Puslinch and chose 1,800 acres to plan and build a village called Farnham Plains after the town of Farnham, England where he was raised. The plans for the village were abandoned in 1833 when John returned to England to be married and never returned to Canada. The building of the church was started in 1839. Church and cemetery were under the jurisdic­tion of the Anglican Church from then till 1932.  While the church and cemetery were being established, anyone, regardless of faith, who subscribed twenty-five shillings or more towards the building of the church was entitled to a ceme­tery plot without additional charge.

In 1931, the Arkell Women's Institute organized a general clean­up of the cemetery grounds. Weeds were removed, the trees and bushes were trimmed and the lawns mowed.   The men replaced an old rail fence  that had been used as a hitching post  with a new picket fence to

which  the women applied a coat of white paint. In 1932 the Memorial Gates, sometimes called the Pioneer Gates, and four granite pillars were built to mark the Hundredth Anniversary of the founding of the cemetery. In­serted in two of the pillars were plaques dedicated to the memory of the pioneers of Arkell. These were erected by the Arkell Women's Institute.

Records are scarce for a lot of years. It is known that the Anglican Church was moved to the village of Arkell in 1901. In 1937 there was a subscription list for painting the fence and other expen­ses. Peter Iles and Thomas Arkell were names associated with this.  A meeting of the burial plot owners and all those interested in Farnham Cemetery was held in Arkell School, April 28, 1939 to appoint trustees to look after cemetery business. The first trustees were Stewart Hume, Robert Murray, Peter Iles and Richard Starkey. At that meeting it was moved by Richard Starkey and seconded by Crastor Scott that the Annual Meeting be held on or about April 15 of each year. Today our year runs from April 1 to March 31,  and our Annual meeting is early April  The Trustees introduced a Perpetual Care Plan in 1941. This was a charge per plot that was to be invested in Government Bonds or Debentures and the interest used for care of the plots. Interestingly this is something the government became involved with and it was soon mandatory for Perpetual Care to be charged and the money had to be with a Trust Company and in Debentures. Today, under the Minister of Consumer & Commercial Relations we must charge a percentage of the cost of the grave and it is now called Maintenance & Care.

On May 22, 1946, The Synod of the Diocese of Niagara turned over the Deed of the Cemetery Land to the Trustees of the Farnham Cemetery. This included the new portion of the Cemetery, two acres of land for $100.   The transaction took place after a Rev. MacKay visited the cemetery and attended a meeting and expressed his pleasure with the condition of the grounds.

In1963 the Trustees heard that the Arkell Railway Station was for sale. They agreed to purchase the station for $25 plus 75cents tax. They also had to put up a Security Bond of $5 that was returned when the railway people were satisfied that the site was left in good condition. This building is still used as a cemetery tool shed.