The following is a transcription of the Falkland Pioneer Cemetery located along Highway 97 in Falkland, British Columbia.

Location

• Latitude: 50^o 27' 16.32" N.
• Longitude: 119^o 29' 41.92" W.

Historical Background

The Falkland Pioneer Cemetery is located on the property of the original Bell family homestead, consequently it is also known as the Bell Family Cemetery although other homesteaders in the area are also buried here. It is also referred to as the Glenemma Cemetery.

When the highway was being re-routed in 1950 the authorities wanted to disinter the burials in the Falkland Pioneer Cemetery and re-bury them in the Falkland Cemetery. But the senior Mrs. Bell (Maria) did not agree with this proposal so she held the highway workers at bay by gunpoint for several days. An agreement was finally reached that the burial ground would be left as it was and the new road be built around it. The other condition was that no one else would be interred in this cemetery. Therefore when Mrs. Bell passed away in 1956 she had to be buried in the Falkland Cemetery instead of with her husband in the Falkland Pioneer Cemetery.

Layout

The cemetery is approximately 25m by 35m in size and enclosed by a white picket fence. The cemetery has been abandoned and consequently no maintenance of the cemetery has been done.

Driving Directions

The cemetery is located approximately 6.9 km southeast of Falkland, BC on Highway 97.

The address of the Falkland Pioneer Cemetery is 4822 Highway 97, while the address of the Falkland Cemetery is 5463 Highway 97, B.C.

Note: the cemetery is located on private property and permission to enter should be requested of the owners.

Burials

The interments for the Falkland Pioneer Cemetery can be viewed as a pdf file here » interments.pdf

Additional sources of information:

1. BC Vital Events Index
2. Dolores Culling (Falkland Historical Society)
3. Familysearch.org
4. Selody, Marjorie M. Meeting of the Winds, A History of Falkland Vernon: Wayside Press. 1990.

Last updated October 2011