ASHLAND – Responding to a marked trend toward cremation, Ashland Cemetery Association has purchased a new columbarium.
The 30,000 pound urn storage structure was delivered to the cemetery Thursday and placed atop a concrete pad not far from the cemetery entrance.
The cemetery association purchased the columbarium for about $50,000 and worked with Ashland Monument, Tecstone Granite in Columbus and Aber’s Towing and Crane Service to acquire the piece and set it in place.
With 72 spaces that each can accommodate the remains of two people, the columbarium is the largest in the Ashland Cemetery. It is also the only one with a round, rather than bookcase-style, shape.
“We have two other ones that are full,” association board president Jim Doyle said, adding that the other two columbariums have just 48 spaces. “We felt the need for another one, so we decided to get a bigger one and see how it goes. If this goes well, we’ll put another one in.”
Cemetery superintendent Tom Rupple said about one third of of the cemetery’s funerals now are cremations, in part because cremation is more cost-effective than traditional burial.
Spaces in the new columbarium cost between $1,350 and $2,000 (upper levels are more expensive than bottom rows), and there is no fee for opening and closing. The only additional cost is the cost of engraving the 12-by-12 inch plate on the columbarium door.
The cost of laying a couple to rest in a columbarium is less than half the cost of traditional burial for two, Rupple said.
“If you buy a grave in the ground, you have the grave expense and opening and closing expense. Then there’s a foundation for a headstone, and then you could be talking hundreds to thousands of dollars for a headstone. That’s just for one person,” Rupple said.
Rupple said he has already sold three or four spaces in the new columbarium, and he expects to sell more in the coming weeks as the cemetery is offering special pricing that includes $195 off the cost of engraving through the first week of January.
Brian Moore of Tecstone described Ashland’s new structure as “the Mercedes of columbariums,” based on its design and materials, which include Canadian mahogany.
Eventually, Rupple said, the cemetery association will add to the columbarium a decorative topper that may feature an eagle or a cross.
“I’m hoping people will see it and say, ‘That looks like a nice resting place,'” Rupple said.
