Beautiful Joe Burial Site

Beautiful Joe Park is where I’m laid to rest. The Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario plaque at the site reads: "Beautiful Joe Born in Milton, Nova Scotia, Margaret Marshall Saunders (1861-1947) taught school briefly before starting her career as a novelist. Her second book, Beautiful Joe, achieved international recognition. Inspired during a visit to Meaford about 1892, it is based on the story of a dog rescued from a brutal master by a local miller, William Moore. This novel first published in 1894, appeared in several editions and enjoyed phenomenal success. It was printed in at least ten languages and seven million copies had been sold by 1939. Miss Saunders, who settled in Toronto in 1914, was awarded the C.B.E. in 1934 in recognition of her contribution toward securing humane treatment for animals." 

 

In 2017, my friends at the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society added a footstone for me inside the wrought iron fencing that reads "Here Lies Beautiful Joe".  So many people had asked where I was laid to rest, that they thought it would be helpful for visitors to know that I was buried here in my backyard - which is now Beautiful Joe Park.