The original cemetery in Fredericton was in the city centre, engendering fears of the spread of contagious diseases. As a result, ground for a new cemetery was purchased in 1876 and Forest Hill Cemetery established as a nondenominational cemetery by the Fredericton Cemetery Company, later renamed the Forest Hill Cemetery Company. To date it has seen over 2300 burials and remains in use.
In the north central section of the cemetery is a veterans' cemetery, named the
Field of Honour, in which are buried many of the military veterans of Fredericton. It is marked by a large granite cenotaph in its southeast corner, constructed in 1979 in memory of the veterans who have passed away and are buried in the field of honour. Field of Honour services were instituted in 1995 and every year since, on Remembrance Day, ceremonies have been performed at this cenotaph.
At least four persons of note now rest here, including:
Bliss Carman, April 15, 1861 - June 8, 1929 unofficial poet laureate of Canada;
Alden Nowlan, January 25, 1933 - June 27, 1983, winner of the Governor General’s Award for English Poetry in 1967 and recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 1978;
Charles Dow Richards, June 12, 1879 - September 15, 1956, Premier of New Brunswick, from 1931 to 1933; and
Sir. Charles G.D. Roberts, January 10, 1860 - November 26, 1943, known as the
Father of Canadian Poetry and one of the
Confederation Poets.