- Brookside Cemetery is one of the largest and most significant cemeteries serving the Sydney Mines area.
- It contains thousands of burials dating from the late 1800s through the present day.
- Some gravestones from the older Historical Presbyterian Cemetery on Main Street were relocated to Brookside when that cemetery was closed or redeveloped, making Brookside home to many of Sydney Mines’ earliest settlers.
- The cemetery includes veterans from both World Wars, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission recognizes official war graves there.
Care Taker/Grave Digger
Bond Rideout was one of the first grave diggers needed for Brookside. Mr Bond Rideout and two of his sons helped to clear much of what we see today. There was much wooded areas that had to be removed and groomed in the early years. Bond Rideout is buried in the cemetery take he cared for. He once purchased a ride on lawn mover on credit because the cemetery needed one. He was a coal miner making meger salary and used some of it to help Brookside Cemetery. His two sons Val and Don helped dig graves with many friends pitching in during the winter months and when it was a hard grave to dig.
Val Rideout helped his father many times getting the cemetery and graves ready for funerals. Don Rideout became the chief digger and care taker when his father Bond passed away. The legacy of the Rideouts will live on in the landscape and history of the cemetery. Bond died in 1971.
Genealogy Value
Brookside is especially valuable because it includes:
- Coal mining families
- Steel workers
- Fishermen
- Veterans
- Early Scottish settlers
- Irish families
- Acadian descendants
- Recent burials
Many of the surnames found there include:
- Baxter
- Andrea
- Campbell
- MacDonald
- MacNeil
- Ferguson
- Jobes
- Jessome
- Hawley
- Boutilier
- McNeil
- Donovan
- Yetman
- Organ
- Young
- Walters
- and hundreds more.
⛏️ Coal Mining Disasters
Coal mining was one of the most dangerous occupations in Cape Breton.
1878 – Princess Mine Explosion (Sydney Mines)
- The first major coal mine explosion in the Sydney Mines area.
- Several miners lost their lives after a methane gas explosion.
- It highlighted the dangers of early undersea coal mining.
1938 – Sydney Mines Cage Disaster
- A hoisting cable failed in a mine shaft.
- Twenty miners were killed when the mine cage plunged down the shaft.
- It remains one of the worst industrial tragedies in Sydney Mines history.
⚓ Maritime Tragedies
Many local fishermen were lost:
- Fishing boats caught in storms.
- Drownings in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Shipwrecks along the rugged Cape Breton coastline.
- Winter ice accidents involving fishermen.
🚂 Railway Accidents
During the coal era:
- Train derailments.
- Fatal accidents at railway crossings.
- Industrial rail accidents involving coal cars.
🔥 House and Community Fires
Older wooden homes were vulnerable to fire.
Some families buried in Brookside lost multiple members in:
- House fires.
- Chimney fires.
- Business fires.
🌊 Drownings
The nearby coastline, harbours, and lakes saw tragic losses from:
- Swimming accidents.
- Boating mishaps.
- Ice break-through incidents.
- Children drowning in ponds or rivers.
🦠 Epidemics
Many graves date from times when infectious diseases spread rapidly:
- Influenza pandemic (1918–1919)
- Tuberculosis
- Diphtheria
- Scarlet fever
- Smallpox in earlier years
Some family plots contain several children who died within days or weeks of one another.
⚔️ War Losses
Brookside Cemetery includes veterans of:
- First World War
- Second World War
- Korean War
Some died overseas, while others returned home and were later buried in Brookside. The cemetery also contains recognized Commonwealth war graves.
🌧️ Mining-Related Occupational Disease
Not every tragedy happened suddenly.
Many miners died after years of work from:
- Black lung disease
- Silicosis
- Mine-related respiratory illnesses
These illnesses affected countless Cape Breton mining families.
| Person | Historical Event |
|---|---|
| John Smith | Princess Mine Explosion (1878) |
| William Jones | Sydney Mines Cage Disaster (1938) |
| Mary MacDonald | 1918 Influenza Pandemic |
| James Campbell | Lost at Sea |
| Alexander Baxter | World War I Veteran |