Hoping to get buried in the city’s only municipal cemetery? Time’s running out, because Cambridge Cemetery could run out of space for new traditional burial plots within three to four years, city officials told Cambridge Day this week. The 172-year-old burying ground is preparing for a future focused on cremation and its role as a historic public green space.
The 66-acre cemetery, established in 1854, has room for approximately 240 additional full-body burial plots, including spaces that have yet to be created by removing sections of paved road, according to Marc Selby, who oversees the cemetery’s day-to-day operations. Plots at the city-run cemetery are generally less expensive than those at private cemeteries.
A two-person grave at Cambridge Cemetery costs $2,000, according to prices listed on the city’s website, last updated in April 2023, compared with a starting price of $50,000 at neighboring Mount Auburn Cemetery, just across the Cambridge-Watertown line. However, residents cannot reserve plots at Cambridge Cemetery in advance and must be living in Cambridge at the time of death to qualify.
“The timeline is kind of hard,” Selby said. “This is a slower year for interments than years past. So if we kept with our current number right now, it could be another four years. If things were to pick up … we could be three years.”
The cemetery is the final resting place of several prominent historical figures, including philosopher and psychologist William James, his brother the novelist Henry James, author William Dean Howells and astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, whose discoveries helped scientists measure distances across the universe. Among those buried there are also Medal of Honor recipients Alphonso M. Lunt and Joseph F. Scott, veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War, respectively.
Making room for the dead
The approaching shortage is not unexpected. A 2024 master plan commissioned by the city projected that the cemetery could exhaust its remaining supply of new traditional burial plots within five to eight years. The plan recommended converting sections of existing pavement into additional gravesites while expanding options for burying cremated remains, recommendations the city has already begun implementing. Workers recently removed pavement from a section of Laurel Avenue to create approximately 67 more burial plots, and officials have identified two additional areas that could be converted into gravesites. After that, the cemetery will likely have dug its last traditional grave.
To prepare for that future, the city awarded a $355,361 contract to Bear Excavation LLC this summer to install its first columbarium, a structure for storing cremated remains. The freestanding monument will be capable of holding the remains of more than 200 people and is expected to be completed sometime in 2027, with the exact timeline uncertain due to the lengthy fabrication process, according to Kevin Beuttell, Cambridge’s supervising landscape architect. Beuttell described it as a pilot project, with potential for additional columbaria if there is demand.
“We’re going to be curious to see how the public responds, and if it’s something that people seem very interested in, then … that’s something that we would potentially be looking to do more of in the future,” Beuttell said.
A cemetery for the living
The city’s vision for the cemetery’s future extends beyond burial practices. Cambridge is also seeking to have the cemetery accredited as an arboretum, recognizing its collection of mature trees and promoting the grounds as a historic public green space.
“We wanted to preserve the historic character of the cemetery, and it’s also a public space, so we wanted to enhance the landscaping and make it a more valuable kind of public amenity, a more desirable place for people to visit and spend time,” Beuttell said of the city’s broader plans for the cemetery, including its pursuit of arboretum accreditation.
The city expects to receive Level I accreditation by year’s end, through ArbNet, the organization behind the world’s only international accreditation program specifically for arboreta. The designation requires at least 25 labeled species of trees and other woody plants, at least one educational outreach program annually and a governing body to oversee the collection.
Beuttell said the city may eventually pursue Level II accreditation, which requires documenting at least 100 species of woody plants, but officials are still determining whether the cemetery already has enough species to qualify or would need additional plantings.
Eric Josephson, the Department of Public Works’ information systems manager, said the city is also cross-checking historical burial records against headstones to develop an interactive online map that will allow visitors to search for loved ones and get directions to their gravesites. The city hopes to launch the system by the end of the year.
Future improvements could also include new entrance signs and better directional signage along the cemetery’s winding roads, although Beuttell said no concrete plans have been established for a second phase of construction.
As the cemetery enters the next chapter of its existence, Selby said he hopes the arboretum designation and additional improvements will encourage more residents to appreciate the cemetery both as a solemn place of remembrance and a well-maintained public green space.
“There are a lot of mature trees, with all their colors and textures. It’s a relatively quiet part of Cambridge, so you can hear the wind rustling through the leaves and the birds. It’s peaceful. You can stroll through, see the old gravestones, the craftsmanship that went into creating them, and appreciate the landscaping,” Selby said.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.