John Ewart
Plot M, Lots 94 and 98
Toronto Necropolis Cemetery
Ewart was born in Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland in 1788. One of the earliest architects to practice in York, in 1820 he erected the two-storey, 50-bed York General Hospital. He designed both the second court house and the second jail in 1824. Dr. W. W. Baldwin built the courthouse, and collaborated on the jail. He was one of the founding trustees of York General Burying Grounds (the forerunner of Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries) which was incorporated on January 30, 1826. In 1829, he designed and built the east wing of Osgoode Hall. In 1830, he designed and supervised the building of the “red brick” buildings of Upper Canada College which opened in 1831. He was the first president of the York Mechanic’s Institute (the forerunner of Toronto’s public library). In 1843/4, he laid out the Stranger’s Burial Ground (Potter’s Field), the York General Burying Grounds’ first cemetery, which used to be on the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets. John Ewart died in Toronto on September 18, 1856.