Rules and Regulations
In order to preserve the natural look and beauty of the Cemetery, the following Rules and Regulations have been established:
Cemetery grounds shall be closed to all after dark and may be closed to vehicular traffic during muddy seasons or at the discretion of the cemetery.
Deeds and Lots
The Amherst Cemetery Association will consider buying back previously sold lots in the Wildwood Cemetery to the purchaser or heirs, for 75% of the purchase price paid, subject to available funds and approval by the Executive Board of Trustees. Lots may also be returned to the cemetery as a donation or returned with the stipulation that they be used for individuals in need. Lots may be assigned to someone else with a notarized form or letter. Should any lot be returned to the cemetery or assigned, the cemetery requires a notarized affidavit.
No one other than cemetery personnel shall work on cemetery grounds unless retained and hired for special tasks by the cemetery or a monument company.
If shrubbery appears to be in the way of access, contact the management.
Lots will be sold in the order they become available.
No person shall receive a deed to any lot until it has been paid for in full. All lots must be paid for in full before any burial takes place. Opening and closing charges for graves must be received in advance of any funeral.
The Cemetery must charge lot owners if unauthorized work is done and the land must be reconfigured in order to bring it back to the original look.
Lot holders may donate shrubs and trees to the cemetery. Please discuss plant donations in advance of the delivery. The cemetery will do plantings for a labor charge. Equipment and labor rates are subject to change.
Plantings In Lots
The cemetery only conveys the right of burial (not the land) to lot holders. With this in mind we ask that you follow the following planting rules:
The cemetery maintains a nineteenth century landscape. This is accomplished using plantings as ground cover for borders and other transitions. Bark mulch and products other than peat moss are prohibited. Bark mulch comes with foreign fungi, invasive insects and chemicals the cemetery does not want.
Monuments: Flowers should be planted on the burial side and close to the monument. We suggest you remove flowers from pots before planting. Plants in pots easily blow over and dry out. No borders are permitted around plants. The care and upkeep of flowers is the lot holders responsibility.
Cemetery flower pots, boxes, containers, etc. will be disposed of by the cemetery each year unless they are picked up by March 31, September 30 or before seasonal decorative changes.
We are trying to be as pure a landscape representation of the time when Wildwood began, so we recommend vinca or ajuga as an outline to the plantings around monuments. We also recommend perennials as opposed to annuals as they acclimate better and come up each year even if you cannot get to the cemetery.
All plantings, bouquets and decorations shall be real to preserve the natural look of the grounds.
All areas in the woods are to be left in their natural state, leaves and all. No grass. Only native plantings are allowed.
No person shall prune any tree or shrub on their lot unless they notify the cemetery of their intent and get permission before they do so.
The cemetery shall have the right to remove trees, bushes, shrubs or any other landscape from any lot where they have become undesirable to cemetery
appearance or where growth is overspreading an adjacent lot.
Flat Marker Sections: Flowers must be left in pots.
Burials and Ceremonies
All full body or casket burials must be attended by a licensed funeral director. Wildwood does not require a licensed funeral home to be present for cremation burials. Payment and complete paperwork must be present before any type of burial takes place.
The cemetery will schedule burials on a first call basis at least two hours apart to allow sufficient time for committal services and closing of graves. A forty-eight hour notice is required for burials after a grave site has been selected.
All burials shall be completed within one hour.
No grave or lot shall be used for any purpose other than for the burial of the deceased.
Weekday burials will be scheduled to arrive in the cemetery before 1pm to allow the cemetery staff time to cover burials.
Saturday burials will be scheduled so the burial ceremony is completed by noon. An additional fee is charged for Saturday burials. There will be no Sunday burials.
There will be a charge for any false opening authorized by funeral directors, their representatives or by the lot holder or lot holders family.
Any change in burial locations shall be at the expense of the lot holder or their family.
If it is, or becomes difficult to dig a grave because of a monument or other stone in the way, said monument or stone will be moved and the time and equipment charges for both removal and replacement will be added to the cost of the funeral and will be due with the other cemetery charges before the burial.
There will be no more than two cremains per columbarium niche.
Funeral Directors shall be required to bring payment and a copy of the death certificate, including veteran information, the original cremation certificate and any transit permits before or at the time of burial for opening and closing gravesites.
Private ceremonies to remember loved ones at grave side when the cemetery personnel are not present are allowed, but the cemetery must be notified in advance. Should there be a conflict with a burial and another ceremony, the latter will have to reschedule. The cemetery needs to know the approximate number of persons and vehicles that will be attending and should there be any grounds damage, the lot holder will be responsible for costs to repair the damage or clean the area.
Large healthy trees may not be cut on any lot to provide for additional burial space, and their major roots not cut in the process of digging burials.
Some sections of the cemetery become inaccessible during winter, spring or wet months. Internments may not be possible during these times.
Monuments
Monuments and markers shall be placed on lots as to conform with the cemetery master plan. All monuments and markers must be made of real stone, bronze or brass. One monument per lot and one marker per grave are the maximum permitted
No monument or markers may be installed without permission of the cemetery superintendent.
All markers and colonial tablets must be a minimum of four inches thick.
No monument will be taller than the tallest monument in each particular Wildwood Cemetery section and no monument in any section will be taller than 8 feet as of January 31, 2019. All monuments must fit within the boundaries of the deeded lot. For example, the tallest monument in the Central section is seven feet, therefore there shall be no future monuments taller than seven feet in the Central section.
Monument maintenance is the responsibility of the lot holder, but they should check with the cemetery before doing anything, even cleaning, as the
cemetery is responsible for the preservation of the old time natural look of past centuries that makes Wildwood so appealing.
Veteran’s flags and their holders will be placed next to the monument and not the markers, with the exception of Central Lawn Section. Flags are set for Memorial Day and removed after Veterans Day.
Anything that generates smoke, flame or light, such as candles and solar or electric bulbs, are prohibited. The practice of leaving stones or icons on monuments is understood but is discouraged, as birds and animals knock them to the ground and they become dangerous projectiles to innocent bystanders when the grass is being mowed.
No fences or stones may be placed around the lots or monuments.
The cemetery management and trustees understand grief, and all connected with the cemetery have been personally touched by it. The placing of objects at the location of recent burials is permitted for a short time after committals and will then be picked up and saved for thirty days in case the family wishes to come and collect them for remembrances at home.
Monuments are not the property of the Amherst Cemetery Association and as such, they cannot be insured by the cemetery. All costs associated with the damage or theft of monuments are at the expense of the owner. Owners may insure their monuments through their personal insurance agencies.
The cemetery has a no pet policy so if your pets are with you when you visit, please keep them in your vehicle or if you must have your dog, on a leash. There are many reasons and the cemetery superintendent will be happy to explain them upon request.
Cemetery grounds shall be closed to all after dark and may be closed to vehicular traffic during muddy seasons or at the discretion of the cemetery.
Deeds and Lots
The Amherst Cemetery Association will consider buying back previously sold lots in the Wildwood Cemetery to the purchaser or heirs, for 75% of the purchase price paid, subject to available funds and approval by the Executive Board of Trustees. Lots may also be returned to the cemetery as a donation or returned with the stipulation that they be used for individuals in need. Lots may be assigned to someone else with a notarized form or letter. Should any lot be returned to the cemetery or assigned, the cemetery requires a notarized affidavit.
No one other than cemetery personnel shall work on cemetery grounds unless retained and hired for special tasks by the cemetery or a monument company.
If shrubbery appears to be in the way of access, contact the management.
Lots will be sold in the order they become available.
No person shall receive a deed to any lot until it has been paid for in full. All lots must be paid for in full before any burial takes place. Opening and closing charges for graves must be received in advance of any funeral.
The Cemetery must charge lot owners if unauthorized work is done and the land must be reconfigured in order to bring it back to the original look.
Lot holders may donate shrubs and trees to the cemetery. Please discuss plant donations in advance of the delivery. The cemetery will do plantings for a labor charge. Equipment and labor rates are subject to change.
Plantings In Lots
The cemetery only conveys the right of burial (not the land) to lot holders. With this in mind we ask that you follow the following planting rules:
The cemetery maintains a nineteenth century landscape. This is accomplished using plantings as ground cover for borders and other transitions. Bark mulch and products other than peat moss are prohibited. Bark mulch comes with foreign fungi, invasive insects and chemicals the cemetery does not want.
Monuments: Flowers should be planted on the burial side and close to the monument. We suggest you remove flowers from pots before planting. Plants in pots easily blow over and dry out. No borders are permitted around plants. The care and upkeep of flowers is the lot holders responsibility.
Cemetery flower pots, boxes, containers, etc. will be disposed of by the cemetery each year unless they are picked up by March 31, September 30 or before seasonal decorative changes.
We are trying to be as pure a landscape representation of the time when Wildwood began, so we recommend vinca or ajuga as an outline to the plantings around monuments. We also recommend perennials as opposed to annuals as they acclimate better and come up each year even if you cannot get to the cemetery.
All plantings, bouquets and decorations shall be real to preserve the natural look of the grounds.
All areas in the woods are to be left in their natural state, leaves and all. No grass. Only native plantings are allowed.
No person shall prune any tree or shrub on their lot unless they notify the cemetery of their intent and get permission before they do so.
The cemetery shall have the right to remove trees, bushes, shrubs or any other landscape from any lot where they have become undesirable to cemetery
appearance or where growth is overspreading an adjacent lot.
Flat Marker Sections: Flowers must be left in pots.
Burials and Ceremonies
All full body or casket burials must be attended by a licensed funeral director. Wildwood does not require a licensed funeral home to be present for cremation burials. Payment and complete paperwork must be present before any type of burial takes place.
The cemetery will schedule burials on a first call basis at least two hours apart to allow sufficient time for committal services and closing of graves. A forty-eight hour notice is required for burials after a grave site has been selected.
All burials shall be completed within one hour.
No grave or lot shall be used for any purpose other than for the burial of the deceased.
Weekday burials will be scheduled to arrive in the cemetery before 1pm to allow the cemetery staff time to cover burials.
Saturday burials will be scheduled so the burial ceremony is completed by noon. An additional fee is charged for Saturday burials. There will be no Sunday burials.
There will be a charge for any false opening authorized by funeral directors, their representatives or by the lot holder or lot holders family.
Any change in burial locations shall be at the expense of the lot holder or their family.
If it is, or becomes difficult to dig a grave because of a monument or other stone in the way, said monument or stone will be moved and the time and equipment charges for both removal and replacement will be added to the cost of the funeral and will be due with the other cemetery charges before the burial.
There will be no more than two cremains per columbarium niche.
Funeral Directors shall be required to bring payment and a copy of the death certificate, including veteran information, the original cremation certificate and any transit permits before or at the time of burial for opening and closing gravesites.
Private ceremonies to remember loved ones at grave side when the cemetery personnel are not present are allowed, but the cemetery must be notified in advance. Should there be a conflict with a burial and another ceremony, the latter will have to reschedule. The cemetery needs to know the approximate number of persons and vehicles that will be attending and should there be any grounds damage, the lot holder will be responsible for costs to repair the damage or clean the area.
Large healthy trees may not be cut on any lot to provide for additional burial space, and their major roots not cut in the process of digging burials.
Some sections of the cemetery become inaccessible during winter, spring or wet months. Internments may not be possible during these times.
Monuments
Monuments and markers shall be placed on lots as to conform with the cemetery master plan. All monuments and markers must be made of real stone, bronze or brass. One monument per lot and one marker per grave are the maximum permitted
No monument or markers may be installed without permission of the cemetery superintendent.
All markers and colonial tablets must be a minimum of four inches thick.
No monument will be taller than the tallest monument in each particular Wildwood Cemetery section and no monument in any section will be taller than 8 feet as of January 31, 2019. All monuments must fit within the boundaries of the deeded lot. For example, the tallest monument in the Central section is seven feet, therefore there shall be no future monuments taller than seven feet in the Central section.
Monument maintenance is the responsibility of the lot holder, but they should check with the cemetery before doing anything, even cleaning, as the
cemetery is responsible for the preservation of the old time natural look of past centuries that makes Wildwood so appealing.
Veteran’s flags and their holders will be placed next to the monument and not the markers, with the exception of Central Lawn Section. Flags are set for Memorial Day and removed after Veterans Day.
Anything that generates smoke, flame or light, such as candles and solar or electric bulbs, are prohibited. The practice of leaving stones or icons on monuments is understood but is discouraged, as birds and animals knock them to the ground and they become dangerous projectiles to innocent bystanders when the grass is being mowed.
No fences or stones may be placed around the lots or monuments.
The cemetery management and trustees understand grief, and all connected with the cemetery have been personally touched by it. The placing of objects at the location of recent burials is permitted for a short time after committals and will then be picked up and saved for thirty days in case the family wishes to come and collect them for remembrances at home.
Monuments are not the property of the Amherst Cemetery Association and as such, they cannot be insured by the cemetery. All costs associated with the damage or theft of monuments are at the expense of the owner. Owners may insure their monuments through their personal insurance agencies.
The cemetery has a no pet policy so if your pets are with you when you visit, please keep them in your vehicle or if you must have your dog, on a leash. There are many reasons and the cemetery superintendent will be happy to explain them upon request.