The cemetery is located on land owned by the RM, but it is managed by a local committee, whose current contact information is available by contacting the RM of Wallace-Woodworth office [2023/10].

In 1896 Johnston Cemetery was established on land donated by Andrew Johnston. The first trustees were Andrew Johnston and Walter Forrest.

Prior to 1896, St. David's burials had taken place at Breadalbane or Oak LakeCemeteries. Later the remains of some St.David's people were brought from Breadalbane and re-interred in the new Johnston Cemetery.

By 1906 the cemetery required major up-dating in order to fulfill the requirements of the original agreement with Woodworth Council. A new fence replaced the old & the grounds received a major clean-up. A drive to sell plots at $5 each was undertaken to meet the cost of improvements and upkeep.

In 1935 plans to build another fence and plant evergreens on the east side of the cemetery were made by the committee.

The Beef Ring building was donated to the cemetery committee in 1951 and sold; the money was used to construct a building on the cemetery site.

An enlarged plan of the plots was posted in the cemetery building in 1957 and numbered markers were placed on the northeast corner of the plots for easy identification.

Since 1974 a page wire fence and handsome double front gates have graced the cemetery.

In 1979 a major fund drive was undertaken by the Johnston Cemetery Board with gratifying results. These donations have been invested to help provide the necessary funding for adequate improvement & caretaking in the years to come.

Much hard work has been done throughout the years. Many dedicated people have planned and maintained a beautiful, well-kept cemetery in St. David's. The community owes them a debt of gratitude.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [Adapted])

Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD16-21-10-24-W1

In the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth

A part of the town's story and those of its inhabitants from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1982 is told in the volume "Ox Trails to Blacktop", especially starting on page 135. A free digital version of this and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0418), transcribed by a member or members in 1989. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).