The new columbarium at the historic Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square offers a beautiful and peaceful repository for ashes. It’s also a simpler, more sustainable, and less expensive option than traditional burial.
In a particularly tranquil and beautifully landscaped spot, at the end of a drive flanked by the cemetery’s renowned Japanese cherry trees, sits a handsome octagonal granite structure—Union Hill Cemetery’s first columbarium.
A columbarium is a room or building with niches designed to house urns containing cremated human remains (cremains). Visitors to Arlington National Cemetery and countless other cemeteries around the country and the world will be familiar with the concept of a columbarium. More and more people are choosing cremation, but until now there hasn’t been a place at Union Hill Cemetery for inurnment (the placement of an urn in a niche) of a loved one.
“The columbarium is a permanent, safe, and dignified place for your loved ones to rest in peace,” says president of the Union Hill Cemetery Company Bill Taylor. The columbarium, flanked by benches and set in a serene corner of the cemetery surrounded by a variety of shade trees, also offers a place for the grieving to visit, engage in quiet reflection, and remember. It’s a thoughtfully designed and intimate memorial setting.
The circular “white garden” in front of the columbarium was designed by the late Jerry Evans, a well-known local landscape architect. Evans created the garden so that various shades and blooms of white—including the bark of the trees—would be on display in every season.
When ashes are scattered, loved ones are left without a place to honor those who are gone. And those who elect to keep urns in their homes over the long term often find that it’s challenging for future generations to know where the remains should go. “The columbarium offers an option for people,” Taylor says. He also notes that scattering ashes at Union Hill Cemetery is forbidden.
The circular “white garden” in front of the columbarium was designed by the late Jerry Evans, a well-known local landscape architect.
Simpler, more sustainable, and more economical
In addition to being architecturally appealing, the columbarium models good stewardship and sustainability by increasing the capacity of this historic cemetery grounds and minimizing ongoing maintenance costs.
Families are finding that inurnment is simpler, and therefore less stressful, than a traditional burial—and it’s also more economical. “Costs are limited to cremation, niche, inscription, and opening and closing the niche,” Taylor says. “Because there’s no need to pay for a burial site, casket, vault, monument, opening a grave, or even a funeral director, there’s also a substantial financial savings.”
There are 96 niches in the Union Hill Cemetery Columbarium. Half of the niches hold one urn, and half hold two urns. People can also choose a small granite front niche for the cremated remains of one person. The niches are available to purchase on a first-come, first-served basis, and interested parties are able to choose which niche they prefer on the same basis. The pricing varies depending on the size and location of the niche. The cemetery also sets a simple fee structure for services, which include the costs for opening and closing the niche and for engraved plaques. The front of each niche is inscribed with the person’s name and years of birth and death. “It’s a fitting and dignified way to entomb a loved one’s remains,” says Taylor.
Union Hill Cemetery is a historic spot that once resounded with the sounds of the Kennett Bucktails Volunteer Rifle Co. training for Civil War battles. It’s now a peaceful refuge that echoes with birdsong.
A beautiful place, rooted in history
Union Hill Cemetery plays an important role in the rich history of Kennett Square. The site was used as an encampment for seven thousand Hessian soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Brandywine in the Revolutionary War against General George Washington at Chadds Ford. This historic spot that once resounded with the sounds of the Kennett Bucktails Volunteer Rifle Co. training for Civil War battles is now a peaceful refuge that echoes with birdsong.
The cemetery is impeccably maintained, and it’s run—as it has been for over 150 years—by a 20-member board of local residents. The Union Hill Cemetery charter was adopted in 1867, when a committee met at the Kennett Square Hotel (which stood where La Verona now is) “for the purpose of organizing a company for purchasing, holding and improving a lot of ground for a cemetery for the accommodation of the neighborhood.” Kennett’s deep-rooted sense of history is also reflected in the fact that many of the present 20-member Company are descendants of these original shareholders.
The best way to discuss options for purchase is to call the Union Hill Cemetery office at 610-444-4554.
