Willow Wilde Cemetery (Barrhead County)

Mr. and Mrs . Henry Newton came to the Heaton Moor and Brookland area in 1904 and built a cabin on the creek that runs from George Lake to the Pembina River. Mrs. Newton had been the very efficient housekeeper at the old Queen’s Hotel in Edmonton. Mr. Newton hailed from Texas. Unfortunately Mrs. Newton died in 1908, and there being no cemeteries in the vicinity, Mr. Newton set aside one acre on the north west corner of his homestead and she was the first to be buried there. The second to be buried was a lovely young daughter of the Meckleburg’s who died soon after her arrival. The cemetery is now known as the Willow Wilde Cemetery and many of Heaton Moor’s pioneers rest there.

Mrs. Widrick while still on the farm was one of the closest to the cemetery and kept the records for many years. She found time in her busy life to transplant little spruce trees the whole perimeter of the grounds. Some of these trees have now reached a good size and lend their natural beauty to the secluded spot. The annual clean-up day in June is a gathering of relatives and descendants of those lying there.

For seventy years, this cemetery was served by a single lane winding dirt road, often a real problem when a funeral was held in the winter or spring. In 1978, the County put some gravel on the road making it an all season road.