New option at historic burial site

SHARON — It’s unusual to have news to report from a cemetery, especially one that was established in 1739.

But there is news at the historic Sharon burying ground this year. And anyone interested in finding out what’s happening in the hereafter is invited to an open house and tour on Saturday, May 11, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The tour is not of the aging and often beautiful headstones in the cemetery proper, although such tours are offered from time to time by the Sharon Historical Society. 

This outing is organized by the volunteers with the Historic Sharon Burying Ground, Inc. 

“Make sure you include the ‘Inc.’,” volunteer Deborah Moore said with a grin as she showed this reporter around the chapel on one of the rare sunny mornings last week. 

She and Marel Rogers are on the committee responsible for this new wrinkle at the old stone chapel, which is on the side street just to the left of the entrance to the burial ground.

The chapel, which is also known as the winter vault, is a beautiful stone edifice, built in 1913. Until this year, it had three main purposes: it served as a nondenominational chapel, where families and friends could hold a service before a burial; it was the storage room for the records of who is buried in the cemetery and who has purchased which plots; and the cold basement of the building served as the winter vault, where the deceased would remain until the ground was soft enough for a grave to be dug. 

The building is sturdy, with block masonry and a slate roof. Inside there is decorative woodwork in the Hudson Valley style, a high vaulted ceiling and leaded windows with a harlequin pattern. The floors are speckled concrete, like terrazzo. 

The floors were covered for many years with thick gray paint. One section has recently been uncovered in a room newly created at the entrance to the building. 

That room is the focus of Saturday’s tour. It is the new columbarium, with elegant mahogany cremation niches that are fronted with brass plaques that will hold the names of the individuals or couples whose remains are nestled within. 

The new space was created by walling off one section of the office/chapel. Architect Scott Samuelson volunteered to do the designs for it. Alistair Jones built the mahogany niches. Ziggy Oskwarek of Stone & Tile Services stripped the old paint off the floor and restored it to its former glossy glory. 

Until now, cremated remains were buried in plots in the cemetery but space is running out; and funeral directors including Sharon’s Brian Kenny of the Kenny Funeral Home had pointed out that more and more people are choosing cremation. 

It’s still possible to purchase a plot in the cemetery; but there is now also the option of purchasing a niche in the indoor columbarium. 

“The downside is that, unlike the cemetery, you can’t visit the columbarium anytime you want,” Rogers said. “Someone has to let you in.”

The records are still in the main office of the chapel, but can now also be found online through the Sharon Historical Society. This is a boon for the many genealogists who come to the cemetery seeking information. 

One request from Rogers and Moore: Don’t wipe the old lichens and dirt from the old headstones.

“It destroys them,” Rogers said. “It’s like using steel wool on your silver.”

It’s easy to remove the dirt by simply spraying water on the stones, she and Moore said. There is also a product called D2 that does a beautiful job. Two sample headstones cleaned with these non-damaging liquids can be viewed to one side of the chapel/winter vault/columbarium.