Chester Cemetery Association
Chester Cemetery Association, Inc.
Established by the Town’s leaders in 1972, the Chester Cemetery Association is a non-profit organization that arranges for burial rights and the perpetual care of the graves and grounds at Chester’s municipal cemeteries. The First Selectman of the Town of Chester is the Agent for the Cemeteries.
The Association has up to 11 trustees advising its operation. The trustees and other volunteers work with the Town leaders and staff, stewarding the natural and cultural heritage at the cemeteries. The Association holds an Annual Meeting in February each year and additional business meetings in June and October. Rotating to see each cemetery in a different season, the Association has “check-up” meetings in April, August, and December. The Town Clerk posts a notice of each meeting on this web page and at the Town Hall.
Chester has four public cemeteries. The Registrar of Vital Statistics keeps burial records in the Town Clerk’s vault at the Chester Town Hall, where the Association stores records of burial plot sales. We also post records to the crowd-sourced database on the Find A Grave website to share what we know about historical burials in Chester.
The Old Burying Ground (1736) is at 5 Goose Hill Road.
The Old Cemetery (1804) is at 6 Goose Hill Road.
The West End Cemetery (1813) is at 28 Cedar Lake Road.
The Laurel Hill Cemetery (1866) is at 79 Main Street.
Rules and Regulations apply to all municipal cemeteries. They include rules for visitation and tending graves and regulations for ownership, burials, and monumentation. Please contact the Association with any questions about specifics.
FAQs.
The following answers our most common requests for information and provides contact information for further inquiries. Contact us! We love to be helpful.
Residency. The municipal cemeteries are non-sectarian and publicly owned, maintained, and operated, with no residency requirement.
Burial Plots. We are not planning any additional casket burials at this time due to space constraints.
Cremation plots are available for purchase:
The “Urn Garden” beside Chester Creek at the Laurel Hill Cemetery.
The “Urn Lawn” beside Cedar Lake at the West End Cemetery.
A single urn (2’x3’) burial plot costs $300; a double urn (4’x3’) burial plot costs $600. We record the “deed” (more of a license) on the land records kept by the Town Clerk and give you the original to keep with your estate planning documents.
Burial Rights. We can research if your family lot has vacant burial plots available. Eventually, you must provide the gravedigger with proof of your right to burial through a deed or Probate document. You can transfer your burial right to anyone through the Association (a simple form, no fee). Consider donating unused spaces to accommodate future burials.
Interment. The Association has appointed Craig Czaja of Czaja Brothers, Inc. as our gravedigger. Contact him at (860) 301-1178 or craig@czajabrothers.com. He will tell you his fee. It is against the law to undertake this task yourself.
Pets. No area is planned for a pet cemetery in Chester. The Fountain Hill Cemetery in Deep River has a pet cemetery. It is charming.
Monuments and Markers. We can’t recommend any monument company over another, but we encourage you to consider also artisans who continue the New England tradition of hand-carved stones. Read the Regulations regarding size before you commission any monumentation.
Graveside Service or Memorial Gathering. To temporarily reserve a cemetery parking lot for a graveside service or memorial gathering, contact the Office of the First Selectman at (860) 526-0013 x202. For a more extended event, the Town mayask you to provide a certificate of insurance through your homeowner’s insurancepolicy. Insurance companies typically offer a “hall rental policy,” which they will email you to supply to the Town.
Maintenance. The Town maintains the grounds and infrastructure of the municipal cemeteries. It budgets for operating and capital expenses (planned and as-needed) and
contributes financially to the Association’s restoration work.
Perpetual Care. The Town created the Chester Cemetery Association in 1972, charging it with perpetual care of more than 1,400 graves across 9 acres in four locations. The Association manages a fund formed from trusts initially left with the Town for perpetual care of a couple of dozen family lots and individual burial plots. The fund's value is small and insufficient to proactively preserve nearly 400 years of permanent burial space. The Association works continually to grow the perpetual fund through professional investment and prudent use. Consider donating to the Chester Cemetery Association in the name of a friend, relative, or ancestor. Otherwise, the Association works with the Town to secure government and foundation grants of funds for preservation projects.
The Association is available to answer your general questions. Send an email to chestercemeteries@gmail.com. We’re happy to hear from you about burial inquiries (and we have a few genealogy enthusiasts among us, too).