Cemetery appraisal

[Terrel L. Shields]

Lakes in the 30s-70s had to move cemeteries and did so at enormous cost (for the times). I know an old guy who was paid $8 per grave to dig and move bodies. Often these very old graves only had some organic dirt and perhaps some buttons or coffin nails. People were often buried in a blanket and caskets were not always used.

 

[glenn walker]

Hundreds of old grave yards are abandoned and not maintained at all.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Hundreds of old grave yards are abandoned and not maintained at all.

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/opinions/pdfs/98-503.pdf

New Arkansas Law Seeks to Protect Ancient Artifacts : Antiquities: Amateur archeologists protest that excesses of grave looters unfairly punish them.

Bill Wilkie is indignant.

www.latimes.com

And if a Native American presence there are federal protections against removal.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[Vermonter]

I maintain two old cemeteries in my town (and a monument). Basically just mow and weed whack. These are old graves with I think the most recent in the 1940s, earliest is late 1700s. I don't get any pay, just told not to touch the stones.

Never seen a visitor other than tourists taking pics for the gram.

 

[glenn walker]

My family just closed a 100 year old mortuary they operated adjacent to a large cemetary my mother and thousands of others are buried in.

People are mostly getting cremated now due to cost and no money anymore running a mortuary.They even have portable cremation trucks.

It's litterly a dying business model and I don't believe I've seen a new Cemetary opened in my 69 years of life.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I don't believe I've seen a new Cemetary opened in my 69 years of life.

We have a few with churches or families. And we are seeing some old small cemeteries being taken over by a city to expand their own cemeteries. The existing cemeteries are being expanded and our local National Cemetary has expanded by buying houses, etc. An old girlfriend had a brother die and they lived near a country cemetery and owned the land up to the cemetery but rather than bury in that rural cemetery, they created a cemetery adjacent to the other cemetery and her parents and brother as well as the brother's son are buried there.

 

[glenn walker]

We have a few with churches or families. And we are seeing some old small cemeteries being taken over by a city to expand their own cemeteries. The existing cemeteries are being expanded and our local National Cemetary has expanded by buying houses, etc. An old girlfriend had a brother die and they lived near a country cemetery and owned the land up to the cemetery but rather than bury in that rural cemetery, they created a cemetery adjacent to the other cemetery and her parents and brother as well as the brother's son are buried there.

Land Cost out here is prohibitively high
to create memorial parks or cemetery's. Most out here have thousands of bodies in them and I've never seen any family burial sites maybe someplace from 1850 hell just to bury a horse on your own land takes a environmental impact report.

 

[glenn walker]

The one my mother is buried in was opened in 1905. They say it has over
80,000 graves. Land wise I'm guessing about 75 to 100 acres.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The one my mother is buried in was opened in 1905. They say it has over
80,000 graves. Land wise I'm guessing about 75 to 100 acres.

The small cemetery I am a board member of the association has over 700 burials and probably only has room for another 400-500 bodies. Buying land will be difficult and my farm is half mile away but I intend to leave 5 acres to them as an annex.

 

[Red Flint]

Once you've sold every plot, there's little revenue left

One way to add revenue is to have a columbarium. Seen these paired with a simple chapel in the cemetery center. Of course, best to foresee needs and acquire neighboring land long ago, to be able to offer traditional burial and urn storage.