Asylum Cemetery resting place of the mentally and criminally insane.

On My Walk: Asylum Point Cemetery – Remembering the Forgotten

While walking in Penetanguishene, Ontario, a serene town perched at the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay, I came upon a place both peaceful and poignant — Asylum Point Cemetery, located on the grounds of what is now known as the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The site has a complex and layered history. It began as the Reformatory for Boys in 1859, later evolving into the Asylum for the Insane, and by 1933, expanding further to include Oak Ridge, a high-security unit for the criminally insane.

Asylum Point Cemetery served as the final resting place for over 300 long-term patients from 1904 to 1970. Many of them lived their final years within this institution — their lives shaped, and often confined, by the understandings of mental health at the time.

Surrounded by swaying weeping willow trees and soft winds off Georgian Bay, the grounds are today lovingly maintained — a quiet, dignified space that contrasts with the often-forgotten histories of those buried here.

As I wandered through the cemetery, grave markers slowly began to reveal themselves. Some were minimal — a simple name and a patient number, others more complete, with full names and exact dates. Many markers sit low in the ground, weathered and humble, yet each one represents a life once lived, often under difficult and misunderstood circumstances.

Across from the cemetery stand several small, wooden homes — likely former residences for long-term patients. They hint at the quieter, domestic side of institutional life: the routines, relationships, and resilience forged behind hospital walls.

1904-1970

The original entrance gates to Oak Ridge. It has been said, the stonework and gates were built by the patients.