Cemeteries
The Township of South-West Oxford has 4 municipally-operated cemeteries: Beachville, Harris Street, Sweaburg Union, and West Oxford.
- South-West Oxford Cemetery Price List - Effective April 5, 2025
- BAO Consumer Information Guide: A Guide to Death in Ontario
Cemetery Decoration Day for Harris Street, Sweaburg & West Oxford Cemeteries took place on Sunday, July 27th, 2025.
The original lot (the west side of the current property) was a land grant to one of the earliest settlers (Abraham Carrall). In 1909, the Methodist Church (now United) gave the west side of the property (the oldest section) to the village of Beachville. On August 22, 1854, the Methodists purchased one acre (on the east side) for one shilling from Abraham Carrall. Additional land on the east side was purchased to enlarge this cemetery to its current size of approximately 2 acres. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in Oxford County and its first burial dates back to 1817.
In the early years, this cemetery was a Community Cemetery. From 1890 to 1920, this cemetery was not maintained and was in a deplorable state. In 1920, a coffin plate was dug up on the original acre and bore the name of Dora Bongard who died in 1812. In 1922, a general clean up effort was made and the cemetery became more popular. Additional acres were then added. Bodies were buried in oak or pine plank coffins. There were 3 rows of plots on the north side of the Chapel. At the east end of the first row (on the north side of the property) stood a school house. This school was used as a place of worship by the Baptist Church for 4 years until a Chapel was built in 1832. In 1836, the farm on which this cemetery is located was owned by Gilbert Harris. A cemetery permit was granted with regulations in 1836.
This cemetery was established in 1862 on a land deed from Calvin Martin to the Trustees of the Sweaburg Union Meeting House.
The West Oxford United Church was the first organized Church in the County of Oxford which was, at that time, "Oxford-on-the-Thames". It was organized in August of 1804 as the Episcopal Methodist Church of America.
The first log Church was burned by the Westbrook Raiders during the War of 1812-14. Undaunted, the settlers now attended services conducted in a log schoolhouse at about the same location as the present West Oxford Church. Approximately 1 acre was purchased on November 29, 1823 from John Galloway and a frame chapel was built. In 1854, the current brick church was erected. Many of the original settlers of the district are buried here. A number of these settlers came to the district in the 1790's. The original survey and burial records of this Cemetery were lost in a fire, in Ingersoll, in 1856. No other survey was made and very sketchy records exist. There are no lots for sale. The Cemetery was deeded to the Township of South-West Oxford in 1970 and is a Pioneer Cemetery. Restoration of the cemetery was started in the fall of 1970 and completed in 1972.