Established in 1850 to plans by Frederick Cornell, Cataraqui is a well-preserved example of a medium-sized rural cemetery in Canada and the resting place of many prominent Canadians. With its uneven topography, curvilinear roads, water features, picturesque views, and variety of plantings, Cataraqui reflects the aesthetics of 19th-century-American rural cemeteries, designed as an alternative to crowded urban graveyards. A Gothic Revival lodge, elegant funerary monuments, and sculptures are scattered amidst a natural setting that inspires contemplation and remembrance.
The Cataraqui Cemetery was designated a national historic site of Canada because it is an attractive and well preserved example of a medium-sized rural cemetery characterized by its uneven topography and naturalistic landscape with many varied perspectives laid out in the Picturesque manner, its curvilinear roads and islets of irregular curved shapes and differing sizes, its ponds, and its range of plantings including many mature trees;
It includes a number of funerary monuments of artistic and historical interest that are an exceptional illustration of many aspects of the history of Canada, the province of Ontario, and the City of Kingston, and is the final resting place for many prominent Canadians, including Sir John A. Macdonald; and,
— it includes a Gothic Revival-style Lodge carefully designed to complement the naturalistic and Picturesque values of the site, as well as, among its decorative features, a number of attractive painted iron and zinc sculptures from the second half of the 19th century, including a number of female allegorical figures.
