About Monumenta Cemetery
Monumenta Cemetery traces its founding to 1902, when a group from Lynden’s First Christian Reformed Church formed the Monumenta Society and purchased the land — then still covered in stumps — as a small three-acre plot on the north side of Front Street in Lynden, Washington. Today the grounds span a little over ten acres and have served the surrounding community for more than 120 years.
Monumenta is a registered non-profit organization in the State of Washington. It receives no government funding and is sustained entirely through the sale of plots and burial services. The cemetery is open to all.
Cemetery Rules & Regulations
These guidelines help keep the grounds safe, well maintained, and respectful for every family we serve.
Cemetery Hours
Hours of visitation to the cemetery shall be from dawn to dusk. There shall be no admittance to the cemetery thereafter. Individuals on the cemetery property after the stipulated time without written permission from the Board will be considered trespassers and will be subject to prosecution.
Markers, Monuments and Headstones
Temporary metal type markers are only allowed for a maximum of 1 year due to the high risk of mower hazard.
The Board reserves the right to refuse, or have removed, any marker that has socially unacceptable verbiage and/or markers with verbiage, drawings or other features that detract from the solemn nature of the cemetery or with another person’s use of the same.
Monument and its concrete base upkeep is the sole responsibility of the family. Replacement of cracked or decaying monuments will be at the expense of the family. While the cemetery maintenance personnel shall keep the grounds and surrounding area maintained, it shall not wash or clean any marker, monument or headstone.
If there is damage to, or theft of, any marker, monument or headstone, the family must bear the cost or submit a claim to their own insurance company or agent. The Board does not assume any liability and/or responsibility for any theft or damage to any marker, monument, or headstone or associated vases, flags, ornaments, etc. The replacement of any shall be at the expense of the family.
Pot or vase holders in concrete borders are not allowed. Vase holes in granite markers that are accompanied by a vase designed for that monument are allowed. No bordering of any monument with gravel, loose stone, crushed rock, flowers or decoration of any sort will be allowed due to the high risk of mower hazard.
Cremation plots shall be marked only with flat grass type markers.
Trees and Shrubs
The planting of any type of tree or shrub is prohibited anywhere within the cemetery. Any existing tree or shrub that was purchased by a family and planted prior to the date of these rules and regulations shall be the responsibility of the family. The Board shall reserve the right to prune or remove any tree or shrub for safety, mowing, encroachment or aesthetic reasons without the prior permission or consent of the family.
Interment and Plot Requirements
No remains or cremations may be interred in the cemetery without purchasing and receiving a Right of Burial Certificate from the Board Secretary.
Adult size plots may contain only the following:
- One adult body burial.
- One adult body burial with one or two max cremation urn(s).
- One baby body burial with one cremation urn.
- Cremation urns on full size plot with a maximum of two (2) per plot.
Unless the owner (purchaser of the plot) makes provisions, no additional burials will be permitted to be buried in that plot.
No plot space shall be reserved or kept vacant without payment.
Monumenta Cemetery reserves the right to correct mistakes made in the placement of monuments or graves without the consent of the family, although a diligent attempt will be made to contact the family prior to any relocation.
The use of concrete grave box liners and urn liners is mandatory in the cemetery.
Disinterment
When requesting a disinterment, a funeral home of the family’s choice must be involved. There will be permits, etc., that will need to accompany the mortician at the time of the disinterment. Permits will not be necessary if the body is moved within Monumenta, but the mortician must still be present. The cost will depend on the year of burial and a separate fee will be charged for the removal of the headstone.
Flowers and Decorations
No flowers may be planted around headstones except in monuments with existing vase holes, as such plantings would be very vulnerable to mower and lawn trimmer damage.
Artificial flowers and decorations will be allowed in the cemetery from mid-October through mid-February, which is the part of the year when mowing and trimming equipment is not used. Due to the hazard of the wire used in artificial flowers and decorations when mowing and trimming, these items will be removed by cemetery maintenance personnel from mid-February through mid-October.
Fresh-cut flowers and/or potted plants shall be allowed from mid-February through mid-October. As such items begin to wilt or fade, they will be removed by cemetery personnel.
There will be no mowing or watering two days prior to Memorial Day weekend and two days prior to Veterans’ Day to ensure that no damage is done to decorations placed for these two days of National respect. All Memorial Day decorations will be removed by cemetery maintenance personnel immediately after the holiday.
Monumenta Cemetery shall not be responsible for any lost, damaged, destroyed or stolen decorations.
Speed Limit
The speed limit within the cemetery is 5 MPH.