Cemeteries

There is no better way to connect with the history of a place than to visit its cemetery. Indeed, when Vermont was first settled in the 1700s, one of the first signs of community life was the creation of a cemetery. Many of these early cemeteries still exist today, and a visit to these old burial grounds can tell us much about life in Vermont at the time.

While most Vermonters will visit a cemetery at one time or another, many people do not realize that most of Vermont’s cemeteries are managed by volunteer boards. With over 2000 cemeteries and burial grounds in Vermont, we ask a lot of our cemetery commissioners and cemetery associations.

The complex laws governing Vermont’s cemeteries are intended to protect the public health and safety. They are also meant to ensure that individuals who have bought plots and families with loved ones buried in a Vermont cemetery have a reasonable guarantee that the cemetery will be maintained into the future. With our Digging Deep publication, we hope to assist all Vermonters, and especially the volunteers who oversee our cemeteries, by explaining the laws that apply to burials and cemeteries in Vermont.

Secretary of State Resources:

• Digging Deep: Unearthing the Mysteries of Burial and Cemetery Law (2017)

Other Resources:

• Vermont Department of Health: Office of Vital Records
• Vermont Cemetery Association
• Vermont Old Cemetery Association
• Vermont Historical Society: Index to Known Cemetery Listings in Vermont (2012)