Newly restored stone steps leading up into the Canoe Hill Cemetery. Credit: Michael Dinan
Perched on a hill off of the east side of Laurel not far from the intersection of Canoe Hill Road, the final resting place of 200-plus New Canaanites—including the town’s (and possibly Connecticut’s) last living slave—had fallen into disrepair over the years. With little dedicated parking and difficult to access even by foot, given a steep hill and crumbling stone staircase, the .69-acre cemetery grounds were largely covered in weeds and fallen branches, with broken and illegible gravestones scattered about.
Kristen Pace (R) with two of her daughters, Kayleigh and Ashlyn. The family took up a pandemic project in restoring the Canoe Hill Cemetery. Contributed