Category

The following abstract is from a news article written by the Old Home Week Committee in 1925.

“Village’s First Cemetery.

Lockport had no public cemetery while the canal was being built, and A. H. Millard supplied the deficiency by donating an acre for that purpose, in the western part of the village, (It was near Bacon and Webb Streets). There is no record of deaths so that the title of the property appears to be still in his heirs. In that cemetery Almon H. Millard was buried. A fair sized white marble slab marks his resting place, on which his name and age only, are inscribed. [Moved in 1880 according to Clarence O. Lewis in the 1969 article, but I didn’t abstract that part as it was a duplicate of this article.]

Among his children was one son, Brace, who was a well known citizen of Lockport. He obtained an official position in Albany, and ever afterwards made his home there. He was living there in 1900, and was then over 90 years of age.”¹

You can find Millard Cemetery on the left of this map from 1845. Maynard Street was later changed to Bacon Street.²

Here is the Millard Cemetery in an 1851 map:

And again in an 1852 map:

The following abstract is from a news article written by Niagara County Historian, Clarence O. Lewis, in 1957.

“FIRST IN LOCKPORT

The very first Lockport Public Cemetery was a one-acre plot of land given in 1821 by Almon H. Millard who came to the town of Royalton in 1817 and in 1818 bought some 400 or more acres of wooded land west of Prospect St. in Lockport. The frame house he built in 1820 is still standing on Bacon St. The cemetery, named the Millard Cemetery, was between Bacon and Sunnyside Sts. In the late 1880’s or early 1890’s it was moved to Glenwood. Many prominent Lockport pioneers were there, including Almon H. Millard and ex-Sheriff Eli Bruce.”³

Here you can find Millard Cemetery in an 1860 map:

In the center of this 1875 Atlas the Millard Cemetery is shown as Old Cem:

The following abstracts are from another news article written by Clarence O. Lewis in 1969.

“BACON STREET runs west from Prospect Street to Webb Street. On it is the oldest house in Lockport, No. 26. It was moved there from West Avenue in 1880.

A. H. Millard the first elected sheriff of Niagara County built it in 1820 and painted it white. He also had a white fence around it. People called it “Millard’s White House.”

The same Almon H. Millard presented an acre of land lying between Bacon and Sunnyside Street for the first village cemetery in 1821. About 1885 it was moved to Glenwood.

However, there still lies there in a never marked grave the bones of Sheriff Eli Bruce who became while sheriff involved in the “Morgan Affair.” He died during the cholera epidemic of 1832.

Considerable time and money was spent in the 1880’s to locate his grave but it was never found.

…

We have described Millard Cemetery between Bacon and Sunnyside Streets in connection with Bacon Street and Sheriff A. H. Millard.

A driveway extended south from West Avenue to the Millard Cemetery. It was supposed to be a permanent right of way to the cemetery. It was laid out in 1821 when Mr. Millard gave the acre of land.

At the time there was only the one “White House” near the right of way. This right of way over the years since the use of this cemetery was discontinued has been gradually appropriated for garages and other buildings and gardens, etc.

Unless some legal action to cancel the right of way which starts next to 238 West Avenue and crosses Bacon Street to the cemetery has been taken since 1917 I believe that the right of way still exists.

In 1917 J. Rolland Gould who lived there told me about this old cemetery driveway and the perpetual right of way and that one of his out buildings, a garage, I believe, was on this right of way.

The acre of the cemetery land apparently has not a clear title since several parties within my knowledge have tried to buy it but could not get a clear title.”⁴

Here is Millard Cemetery listed as Malard Cemetery at the center bottom in this 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map:

Here is Millard Cemetery listed as Malard Cemetery at the center bottom in this 1914 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map:

And one final Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1919:

From the Souvenir History of Niagara County, New York in 1902:

“A. H. Millard donated one acre for a cemetery; it is still in existence, between Webb and Bacon streets, and appears to have been well filled, although but few headstones are seen. Maj. Millard was buried there in 1838, dying in his fifty-second year.”

My question is if the bodies were removed from Millard Cemetery to Glenwood Cemetery in the 1880s-90s, why is the cemetery still shown on maps until 1919? I’d like to find some news articles about the cemetery being moved.