It was the location of the primary cemetery for the Parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste where as many as 500 Acadians were buried up until 1755, but for whom no markers exist. There is, however, a monument to commemorate the Acadian cemetery.

There is also a plaque elsewhere in the cemetery which briefly addresses the various uses of the cemetery through the years. It reads:

"Two cemeteries are located in this burial ground: the earlier Acadian parish cemetery and the later Church of England cemetery. The wooden markers once placed on most of the graves have long since decayed. The gravestones that remain represent only a small portion of the burials here. Starting in the middle section, the Roman Catholic parish of St. Jean Baptiste located its cemetery in the area. Acadians from the Port-Royal French soldiers and administrators along with their families were buried here. There are no original signs of this cemetery visible. When the British took the fort in 1710, they established a cemetery. This burial ground served the garrison and the Town of Annapolis Royal from 1710 until 1940."

After 1710 it also became the primary cemetery for the Anglican Parish of St. Luke's and the Garrison stationed at Fort Anne. It is estimated that around 2,000 people in total are buried here, but there are only 234 gravestones that exist today.

The first known survey of this cemetery was done by noted genealogist Dr. Allan E. Marble on September 19, 1966. Per his usual procedure, he did not give the cemetery a name but instead assigned it an identifying number. For this cemetery, the number was 27. He recorded the location as Annapolis Royal.

At a later date, Genweb volunteers transcribed Dr. Marble's survey notes and made them available online at Rootsweb. At that time, the volunteers named it "Garrison Graveyard" and cited the location as Annapolis Royal.

Dr. Marble transcribed 234 headstones containing 303 inscriptions. The oldest identifiable stone in this inactive cemetery is from 1720.

DIRECTIONS: This cemetery is located on the grounds of the Fort Anne National Historic Site which is Civic #323 St. George Street. The cemetery itself is directly across from Civic #358, which is The Garrison House Inn.