Ross Bay Cemetery

Ross Bay was named after Isabella Mainville Ross. Her husband, Charles Ross, a Hudson’s Bay Company chief trader, helped oversee the building of Fort Victoria in 1843 but died just a year later.

After her husband died, Isabella bought 99 acres of land overlooking Ross Bay, for one dollar an acre.

In the 1850s, Isabella, an Indigenous woman, became the first female registered landowner in British Columbia.

She named her property Fowl Bay Farm, inspired by the waterfowl in the area. The farm struggled, and over time, she sold off portions of the land to individual buyers.

After Fort Victoria was founded in 1843, the city’s first graveyard opened at what's now Douglas and Johnson Streets. By 1855, a larger site, the Quadra Street Cemetery, now Pioneer Square was established.

As that site filled up, the city sought new grounds. An initial 47-acre site near Ogden Point was chosen, but public opposition, led by figures like Dr. J.S. Helmcken, halted the plan. Concerns included the land’s value and health risks due to the land’s position on the city’s windward side.

In 1872, the city purchased 13 acres from Robert Burnaby (the namesake of the city of Burnaby) at Ross Bay for $300 per acre. The land was cleared and laid out that fall, with plots for sale by March.

Isabella Ross died in 1885 at the age of 77 and was laid to rest in Ross Bay Cemetery. In 1994, the Old Cemeteries Society placed an interpretive plaque at her burial site to honour her legacy.

In 1893, the city purchased the western section of the cemetery, though it wasn’t opened for burials until 1900. A few years later, in 1906, the city acquired land on the eastern side for just one dollar.

Sir James Douglas (1803-1877): As Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Sir James Douglas established Fort Victoria in 1843. He later served as the second Governor of Vancouver Island from 1851 to 1863, and became the first Governor of British Columbia in 1858. Knighted as a Commander of the Order of the Bath, Douglas is widely regarded as the founder of Victoria and the 'Father of British Columbia.'

Emily Carr (1871-1945): Emily Carr was a pioneering Canadian artist and writer, best known for her bold, modernist paintings of West Coast Indigenous villages and forest landscapes. Born in Victoria in 1871, she became one of Canada’s most celebrated cultural figures and a key voice in early Canadian modern art.

Peter (1814 - unknown) and Nancy Davis Lester (1810 – 1892): Peter and Nancy Lester were Black pioneers who moved from the U.S. to Victoria in 1858 seeking freedom and opportunity. Peter, born in South Carolina, became a successful businessman and British Columbia’s first Black juror, while Nancy, born in New Jersey, supported abolitionist causes and helped build a strong, resilient family. Together, they left a lasting legacy of courage, community, and perseverance.

Billy Barker (1819 – 1894): Billy Barker was an English prospector who struck gold in 1862 at Williams Creek, in what became Barkerville. His discovery helped spark the Cariboo Gold Rush and played a key role in the early development of B.C. His grave marker is a 900kg boulder from his Williams Creek mine.

Robert Dunsmuir (1825 – 1889): Robert Dunsmuir was a Scottish-born coal baron and industrialist who became one of British Columbia’s wealthiest and most influential figures in the 19th century. He built a coal empire on Vancouver Island and commissioned the construction of Craigdarroch Castle, leaving a lasting mark on the province’s economic and architectural history.

James Dunsmuir (1851 – 1920): James Dunsmuir, son of Robert Dunsmuir, was a wealthy industrialist and politician who served as Premier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and as Lieutenant Governor from 1906 to 1909. He continued expanding the family’s coal empire and built the grand Hatley Castle, reflecting his influence in both business and public life.

Roderick Finlayson (1827 – 1892): Originally from Scotland, Roderick Finlayson was a Hudson’s Bay Company officer and one of the key figures in the early development of Victoria. Serving as Chief Factor and later as mayor, he played a major role in the city's growth from a fur trading post into a colonial capital.

Legend has it that the ghost of Isabella Ross, the former owner of the land and farm that once stood here, still appears gazing wistfully out over the Pacific Ocean.

According to legend, a horse once used to pull hearses through the cemetery still lingers in spirit. Though the road it traveled no longer exists, some say you can still hear the sound of hooves echoing along its vanished path.

Some say Emily Carr haunts the men’s washroom of the James Bay Inn Pub, the building where she passed away when it served as a hospice. Over the years, men have reported the smell of cigar smoke and the eerie feeling of being watched. Of course, it is a pub and smoking was common not so long ago.

David Fee, a well-respected citizen, was tragically shot on Christmas Eve, 1890, as he left midnight mass in Victoria. Mistaken for Thomas Deasy who wore a similar white raincoat, Fee became an unintended victim. Buried at Ross Bay Cemetery, legend says his ghost still roams the grounds, clad in the white raincoat that led to his death.

Many of the trees at Ross Bay Cemetery were planted in the 1930s under the guidance of the City of Victoria’s Parks Department. At the time, the cemetery served as a kind of living nursery, a source of tree species for the entire city.

When the city needed new trees for its boulevards, it often took clippings from those growing in the cemetery. As a result, many of Victoria’s trees today can trace their roots back to Ross Bay.

The grounds feature a wide variety of plantings, including pines, ornamental cherries and plums, along with shrubs like holly, yew, laurel, boxwood, and lilac, most added after the cemetery first opened.