Muskoka Cemeteries, Wood Township
Spencer Family Burial Ground
| Location | Hurling Point Road, Bala |
| Status | No Longer in use |
| Oldest Known Internment | 1894 |
| Maps | Bala |
| Directions | It is located on Hurling Point Road, just outside of Bala. While driving north along Highway 169, turn west onto Highway 38 on the south end of Bala. Hurling Point Road is approximately 2.8 km from 169 on the north side. I could not locate the site myself but it apparently is somewhere on lots 41 or 42 in Concession 7. |
This cemetery contains a single gravestone, that of Joseph Spencer.
Joseph Spencer
Died Jan. 4, 1894
Aged 64 years
The following transcription and the photograph above came from an unknown donor.
Joseph Spencer, located on lots 41 and 42, Concession 7 in 1883. He was a blacksmith by trade, and had one son Charles, and daughters Mrs. Lewis and Charlotte, unmarried. Mr. Spencer died in 1894 and his son Charles became the property owner.
The Spencer's, like all settlers at that time, kept cows that freely roamed the bush and hunting the straying animals was an important chore. One day, Miss Charlotte bravely undertook the hunt. She found the cows settling down for the night. Darkness had fallen and she herself was hopelessly lost. Keeping her head free of panic, she lay down with the cows. When morning came, she started to drive them and, of course, soon landed home. Just another phase of pioneering.