Page 7 - News On 7 April Edition

NO STONE UNTURNED
Exploring the History of Hazzard's Corners and Cemetery
Hazzard's Corners is located at the intersection of the Cooper and Queensborough
Roads, four miles north of Madoc. We don't know if there was a name for this area
before the arrival of the Hazzard family, but it was a gathering place as there was a
log schoolhouse and a small burial ground at the corners by about 1830. The
schoolhouse was referred to as “Bradshaw's” and was used as a church and meeting
hall as well as a school. Legend has it that Sylvanus Bond, once a student in that log
school, stated that he wished to be buried on the spot where he studied. We like to
believe that his tombstone really does mark that site.
In 1837, Joseph Hazzard and his wife Elcey Lloyd purchased a 200-acre farm north of
Madoc, upon which there was a small pioneer burying ground. The name Hazzard
became firmly stamped on the community by them and their twelve children! In
addition to caring for a large family, Elcey became known locally for her medical and
midwifery skills. Travelling on horseback, she served the pioneer community far and
wide.
In the 1840s, Joseph and Elcey Hazzard sold one and a quarter acres from the
northwest corner of their farm to be used to expand the existing cemetery and as a
site for a church. In 1857, construction of Hazzard's Corners Methodist Church was
begun. It was completed and dedicated in 1858. The church was closed for regular
worship in 1967 but has been preserved and lovingly restored.

It is now maintained as an historic site and community church, with a service in August and the well-known “Christmas in a
Country Church” celebration on December 23 each year. From the 1906 Lovell's Dominion of Canada Gazetteer; “Hazzard's
Corners has one Methodist Church, an Orange Hall, a post office, local and long distance telephone exchange and a stage daily to
Madoc, population is under 100.” Such a thriving rural community it was, that, in 1871 the church was rebuilt to double its capacity!
While research indicates that a burial ground was established here about 1830, the oldest stone found in Hazzard's Cemetery is
dated 1842. This indicates that there were many burials unmarked or identified only with wooden markers, now long disappeared.
A stroll through this cemetery is to step back in history. Over the next few months, we will be sharing some of these stories.

Grant Ketcheson UE