The Designated Cemetery/Denny Cemetery

This cemetery was originally a small, private cemetery, that had been abandoned and left in a state of disrepair. It became known as the Designated Cemetery in 1974, when the former Bastard and South Burgess township councils decided to clean up the cemetery as well as several other small, abandoned cemeteries in the area. The cemetery is approximately 88 by 96 feet in size, and is surrounded by a wire fence.

During the 1974 clean up, stones from the Byington/Aflred Cemetery, Day/Elliott Cemetery, Elliott Cemetery, Eyre Cemetery, Hudson Cemetery, Chamberlain Cemetery, and Henry Bond Cemetery were all brought here, however the bodies at each of those cemeteries were never exhumed. During the process of moving the stones, many were broken or lost, and the stones originally located at the Designated Cemetery were shifted around, away from their original locations.

In May 1982 the cemetery was officially renamed from Denny Cemetery to the Designated Cemetery, and a new sign was put at the entrance. Since then, it appears that it has become commonly known as Denny Cemetery again. The new sign at the front of the cemetery during my 2020 visit reflects that, as it says "Denny Cemetery"

The earliest known, legible gravestone in the cemetery is that of Anna Knowlton, the wife of Benedict McCollam, who died November 5 1807. The most recent stone marker here is that of Margaret Ann Millar, who died in 1932.