Heritage & History

The Township of Stone Mills is found within the borders of Lennox and Addington County. As prescribed by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Order made under Section 25.2 and being effective January 1, 1998, The Corporation of the Township of Stone Mills was created by the amalgamation of the Corporation of the Village of Newburgh, the Corporation of the Township of Camden and the Corporation of the Township of Sheffield. The Inaugural Council of the Township included representation in the form of 6 Councillors (3 - Camden Township, 2 - Sheffield Township, 1 - Village of Newburgh) and 1 Reeve (elected at-large). The Township is comprised of 11 hamlets (Camden East, Centreville, Colebrook, Croydon, Enterprise, Erinsville, Moscow, Newburgh, Strathcona, Tamworth and Yarker) and is home to 7,826 (2021 census). 

Stone Mills is home to agricultural lands, limestone, granite, marsh, conservation areas, streams, lakes and rivers. Our name comes from the many water-powered mills that once served area farmers. The municipality is ideal for rural living with an abundance of recreational land ideal for hiking, cycling, fishing, canoeing, boating and other natural environment opportunities.

Horse and child

Historical Land, Buildings And Structures

There have been three properties recognized in the Township of Stone Mills as being of historical significance. These are:

Madden Store, 397 Main Street, Newburgh
Newburgh Academy, 411 Main Street,Newburgh
Newburgh United Church Cemetery Section A, 2157 County Road 1, Newburgh

Information and pictures of the Madden Store and the Newburgh Academy can be found online by searching the database of the Canadian Registry of Historic places at the following site:

Canada's Historic Places

In 2007, Council was requested to designate part of the Newburgh United Church Cemetery as being of cultural significance. At that time, The reasons provided to Council in support of this request included that the Cemetery was granted to the Newburgh Methodist Episcopal Church in 1857 which in later years became the United Church of Canada following the uniting of the Methodist Episcopal Church with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the cemetery is representative of the early settlers of the area who farmed and worked in the early factories in Newburgh, and contains monuments that record the death of persons born as early as 1796. Of particular note is that the Ham Mausoleum was erected prior to 1868, that two other Mausoleums were also erected in 1878, and that numerous interments and monuments were placed in the cemetery prior to 1900. Council authorized this designation through Bylaw 2007-369. To view this bylaw, please click on the following link.

First North American Gaeltacht

A Gaeltacht is defined by the Gaeltacht authority in Ireland as "A place where the Irish language is spoken as a community language and it's culture and traditions are very much alive and thriving". In North America, this defiinition has been changed to reflect that it is a "Centre for the preservation and strenghtening of the Irish language, dance, music and other aspects of Irish culture, primarily in the Irish Language (Gaelic)".Stone Mills has been priveleged as the location of the first Gaeltacht outside of Ireland, and is situated on the Gilmore Road at Tamworth. The site consists of 60 acres and is located along the Salmon River. The Gaeltacht is supported by numerous Irish Associations as well as the Irish Government and offers immersion programs and studies in the Irish culture.

For more information please contact:

Aralt MacGiolla Chainnigh – kenny-h@rmc.ca - 613-541-6000 extension 6042, or

Stephen Rayner – stephen@srayner.ca - 613-634-0161.

Additional iInformation about the Gaeltacht can also be found on the following websites:

 Designation Of Historical Buildings, Sites and Cemeteries

Designation under the Ontario Heritage Act is one tool that hundreds of communities across Ontario have used to protect thousands of heritage properties. Properties can be designated individually or as part of a larger area or Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act.Heritage designation:

recognizes the importance of a property to the local community
protects the property's cultural heritage value
encourages good stewardship and conservation, and
promotes knowledge and understanding about the property.

For the community, designation of heritage properties provides a process to ensure the heritage attributes of a property are conserved over time. Property owners, and Municipal Staff work together to ensure that changes to the property respect its value. For the property owner, designation recognizes the significance of their property and assures them that future owners will respect and appreciate their investment. Designation may also provide property owners with access to grants, loans or tax relief to support the conservation of the property. For more information on what it means to designate a property, please refer to the following Ministry of Tourism and Culture publications:

Designating Heritage PropertiesHeritage Conservation Districts

For more information, please call the Ministry of Tourism and Culture at (416) 212-0644 or Toll Free at 1-866-454-0049 or on the Ministry website at:

Cemeteries

The Township recognizes twenty-two abandoned cemeteries throughout the Township of Stone Mills with some being maintained by the municipality. These are listed as follows by the original geographic townships and where known includes the Lot and Concession where the cemetery is located. In many instances, these abandoned cemeteries are located upon private lands. To access these cemeteries, the permission of the property owner will be required.

Geographic Township Of Sheffield

Maintained by The Township of Stone Mills:
Fifth Lake Cemetery - Concession 15, Lot 14 (being maintained)
Huffman Cemetery - Concession 6, Lot 1
Ingle Cemetery - Concession # 2, Lot 1

Not Maintained by The Township of Stone Mills:
Adair Cemetery - Concession , Lot 3
Baker Cemetery - Concession 9, Lot 19
Beaver Lake Cemetery - Concession 7, Lot 10
County Rd. # 41 - Concession 3, Lot 5
 

Geographic Township of Camden East

Maintained by The Township of Stone Mills
Lochhead Cemetery - Concession 6
Lovebeck - Concession 2, Lot 37
McGill or Yeomans Cemetery - Concession 3, Lot 15
Quaker Cemetery - Concession 3, Lot 44
Vrooman or Thompson Cemetery - Concession 6, Lot 28

Not Maintained by The Township of Stone Mills
Boyd Cemetery
Carscallen Cemetery - Concession 1, Lot 21
Dopkins Cemetery - Concession 7, Lot 37
Lovebeck - Concession 2, Lot 37
Rudolph - Concession 5, Lot 50
Simmons - Concession 4, Lot 46
Storring - Concession 6, Lot 4 (one stone)
Strathcona Cemetery - Concession 1, Lot 9
Switzer - Concession 4, Lot 33
Thompson/Meek - Concession 5, Lot 2