We don’t require headstones, but we allow headstones that adhere to our specifications. Please read our policies for the details.
Pre-need sales are currently not available.
Costs vary with options chosen. Please see the Pricing page.
Burial costs are broken into two components, the charge for the grave plot and the charge for opening the grave. The opening cost pays for the preparation that is necessary to set up for and clean up after the day of the burial. This covers the cost of digging the grave, setting up chairs etc., before the burial, staff helping to fill in the dirt after the burial (if that is needed or desired) and the clean-up after the burial.
The plot cost is the charge for using the land itself. When you buy a grave plot you are not purchasing the piece of land but rather paying for the right to bury someone in that specific plot. The plot cost also includes a contribution to the perpetual care fund. This fund is set aside so that the overhead costs associated with the maintenance of the burial ground can be guaranteed in perpetuity.
FSWBG can accept payment by credit or debit cards, by Postal Service money order or by Cashier’s Check from a bank. Cash and checks are not accepted as payment. We also do not accept as payment the assignment of pending burial insurance benefits.
Currently, you can do so by contacting the Burial Ground Manager for this information. In the future we will have an interactive map of the Burial Ground on this website.
In FSWBG’s case, a hybrid burial ground is one that has allowed for conventional burials (use of a vault and traditional casket) but is moving towards an eco-friendly, green burial model of deposition.
Green burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat.
The standard conventional funeral, complete with embalming and burial in a lawn cemetery, is fraught with health hazards, and requires the permanent installation of non-biodegradable vaults around non-biodegradable caskets. Embalmers have an 8 times higher risk of contracting blood diseases such as leukemia, and 3 times higher risk of ALS, while groundskeepers working in cemeteries with burials involving conventional embalming are more than twice as likely to develop COPD; both are exposed routinely to chemicals known to cause cancer and neurological diseases. In addition, each year, cemeteries in the US bury over 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete – roughly 1-2 tons per vault, plus imported steel and exotic woods from rainforests, creating a significant total of carbon emissions.
The difference is in the non-invasive, eco-friendly methods used to care for the body prior to and during burial, not in the ways we honor our dead.
Depending on soil type, oxygen availability, and moisture present, it takes on average 6 weeks to lose the majority of soft tissue through moisture absorption by the soil, and up to 2 years for complete decomposition. It may take up to twenty years for bones to absorb in moist soils.
Well drained soils with some clay content to absorb organic compounds, and an active biological presence of bacteria are ideal for promoting efficient decomposition. This allows for aerobic decay, followed by anaerobic decay, resulting in rich soils high in nitrogen content and organic compounds.
No. With burials at the legally required depth, there is no danger of contaminating potable water that is found about 75 feet below the surface. Mandatory setbacks from known water sources also ensure that surface water is not at risk.