Facts
CEMETERY FACTS
Facts and Fees as of December 2021 (subject to change)
• Total Burials 7,540 with over 120 years of lots available
• Spaces Sold - 10,300
• Spaces For Sale - 2,000
• Undeveloped Spaces - 3,200
• Undeveloped Spaces on west hillside - unknown
• Potters Field - 168
• Lot size -- 30’, 1/2 lot is 15’; 45 inches to the space with the head of grave is to the West, foot to the East
BURIAL SPECIFICATIONS
• Burial Space $500 (includes permanent care fee of $100)
• Open & Close
Full Burial - $950
Oversize full burial - $1,125
Burial of Infants or Ashes - $600
• Burial of Ashes in Approved Monument or Marker - $200
• Burial after 12 p.m. on Saturdays or on permitted Sundays or Holidays
(add to above Burial Fees) - $150
• Thaw Graves - $150
• Flat or Wet-set Markers - $125
• Transfer Fee per Deed - $25
• Duplicate Copy of Deed - $10
• Duplicate Copy of Certificate - $10
• Re-sell Spaces for an Owner (includes Transfer Fee) - 20% of sale price
• Monument Footings (plus cost of footing) - 0.08¢ sq. inch
• Wet-sets on any grave in the Cemetery, or any wet-set
or marker at the head of a grave in Section 3M - $125
• Move and re-set a Monument
(plus cost of new footing, if needed) - $65
HARLAN CEMETERY ASSOCIATION GENERAL REGULATIONS
Effective: April 1, 2022
Contact the Secretary at 712-235-8888 for more information.
PURPOSE
These General Regulations are designed for the protection of Owners of Interment Rights as a group. Their enforcement will help protect your Cemetery and create and preserve its beauty.
DEFINITIONS
• OWNER means the owner of rights of interment.
• INTERMENT means the burial of the remains of deceased persons.
• INURNMENT means the placing of a deceased person's ashes in an above-ground memorial.
• MEMORIAL means an approved marker placed upon graves for identification in memory of the interred.
• BOARD means the Harlan Cemetery Board of Trustees.
SUPERVISION
• The Cemetery reserves the right to compel all persons coming into the Cemetery to obey all rules and regulations.
• Pets are permitted in the Cemetery only on a leash; clean-up is required.
• No snowmobiles, motorcycles, or other large vehicles are permitted.
• It is not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages on to Cemetery property or to leave the containers.
• Vehicles must drive only on the roads to avoid damage to the grounds, memorials, and unmarked burials.
BURIALS
• Funerals are permitted on any day, except Memorial Day and Christmas Day, during daylight hours only.
• There is an additional charge after 12:00 Noon on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays and Holidays for any burial or inurnment.
• The fee for inurnment is payable before the memorial is set.
• Burials will only be on the east side of the memorial.
• All burials in the Harlan Cemetery require an outer concrete burial container (vault).
• Contact the Secretary for burial of ashes or inurnment when a funeral director is not needed.
• There will be no more than three burials per space, with approval of the Board.
• Burial of pets/pet ashes is not permitted.
PLANTING & GRAVE DECORATING
• All planting of any kind on all lots or graves is not permitted.
• Glass or ceramic vases and decorations, solar lights, gravel or rock, mulch, pavers, fences, alcoholic beverages or alcohol containers, or any decoration containing wire are not permitted.
• Cut flowers may be used at any time.
• Wreaths, flowers, etc., are permitted on Easter, Mothers' Day, Memorial Day, Fathers' Day, Veterans' Day, and Christmas, and may be left for ten days.
• When possible, flowers and decorations should be placed on the sides (north-south) of the monument to keep the area clear tor maintenance.
MEMORIALS & FOUNDATIONS
• All approved memorials and benches are to be placed on an approved foundation in uniform lines as prescribed by the Cemetery. Installation will be only by approval ofthe Cemetery Board.
• A permanent approved memorial on an approved foundation is required to be installed within one year of burial.
• It is not permitted to add a separate footing or precast for vases, plaques, niches, etc.
• Only one grave memorial will be permitted on one grave space, with the exceptions of VA markers or additional burials on the space.
• The inscriptions on all memorials will be read from the east (grave) side when possible, from the west side in Section 3M, and from the east side in Section 4M.
• Foot stones are not permitted.
• Vases must be part of the memorial or base, not the foundation, except by permission of the Board.
• Over-sized monuments, if approved, may require the purchase of extra spaces.
• All costs of installation must be paid in advance. All costs for repairs and maintenance of the above are the responsibility of the surviving family of the interred, with the approval of the Board.
SPACE SALES & PERPETUAL CARE
• Cemetery spaces may only be purchased from the Harlan Cemetery Board.
• All sales and transfers must be verified and approved by the Secretary before a Certificate will be issued.
• The Cemetery Board will sell spaces for an owner for a 20% fee, which includes a Certificate to the new owner, or owners may sell or transfer their own spaces, and a Certificate will be issued to the new owner for $25.
• All space owners are required by the State to pay toward the Perpetual Care Fund, which is included in the cost of the spaces purchased. Only interest from this Fund can be used for upkeep of the Cemetery and covers care and upkeep of the grounds, but not repair of memorials due to vandalism and aging.
MEMORIAL GARDENS
(Section 3M -Flat Section)
• Only flat bronze or granite markers set flush with the turf may be used for grave markers.
• Upright or turn-down vases must be installed on the granite or on the side of the footing containing the granite.
• VA plaques or niches may be wet-set flush with the turf or on an approved precast footing, with required wash, only as a headstone or in the center of the grave. A VA niche may also be attached to the granite or the wash if there is room.
• It is not permitted to add a separate footing or precast for vases, plaques, niches, etc. next to the granite.
• All markers, footings, plaques, niches, and vases shall be installed only with the approval of the Cemetery Board.
• All installation costs and repairs are the same as for Memorials and Foundations, above.
CONTACT
Harlan Cemetery Assoc. - PO Box 184, Harlan, IA 51537 - Phone 712-235-8888
Eldon Erickson, Secretary - 407 Court St., Harlan, IA 51537 - Phone 712-755-5906