The Board of Directors Woodward Hill Cemetery and the Lancaster Community publicly celebrated the completion of the Presidential Memorial Cremains Garden on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 18, 2013. The Cremains Garden is the signature feature of a comprehensive project to Honor, Beautify, Secure and Sustain this important piece of Lancaster’s history. The project also included repaving of roadways within the cemetery and the installation of a gate and ornamental fencing along Chesapeake and Strawberry Streets. Other important features of the project are additional lighting and security cameras and the creation of a website and marketing materials for educational purposes, genealogical research, and to promote traditional and cremains burial options in the cemetery.

The entry to the Cremains Garden focuses and continues a long Woodward Hill tradition of honoring U.S. veterans though the creation of a “Veterans’ Plaza”. Woodward Hill serves as the final resting place for veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and on through the present day. 

Besides a very beautiful addition to Woodward Hill Cemetery, the cremains garden serves to ensure a financially secure future for the cemetery through the introduction of granite vaults/niches. Cremation has steadily grown as a burial option in this country, and industry forecasts point to continued significant increases. According to the latest data from The Cremation Association of North America, in 2007, cremations accounted for 34% of total burials. The number is estimated to grow to 44% in 2015 and 55% in 2025. In addition to the niches, the cemetery offers several other cremation burial options to satisfy a broad range of choices and needs. Approximately 1,000 gravesites throughout the cemetery are available for traditional burials. These new and enhanced revenue streams will provide the revenue to support the care and restoration of the cemetery, and its financial security for generations to come.

We invite the public to visit Woodward Hill Cemetery.