[1] Other settlers followed, and the Elmbank community soon had a blacksmith, store, inn, schoolhouse, cheese factory, carriage maker, and Sons of Temperance Society Hall.

The Catholic Mission and Cemetery, a log church constructed in 1833, was located in Elmbank and parishioners would travel from Toronto for mass or funerals.

[2][3] Residents of Elmbank had a close association with the community of Malton, located a short distance northeast.

[2] Residents of Elmbank also participated in Malton's day-long Callithumpian Parade, held annually beginning in 1896.

The Sons of Temperance Society Hall was also used occasionally for lectures organized by the Malton Women's Institute, founded in 1906.

[5] In the 1990s, plans were started to permit the building of an east–west runway, and the associated taxiway would have directly affected what remained of the cemetery.

Excavation of the site began in 2001, when ASI located the stone foundation of the red brick church and rectory, as well as fragments of ceramics and stained glass.

Living descendants were consulted and records of the area were researched so that the graves could be placed at the new site as close as possible to their original placements.