Washington City Cemetery

Washington City Cemetery has beautiful shade trees and grass located in town at 300 North 300 East. Historic grave sites date back as far as 1859. The pioneer graves are typically located in the far South East side of cemetery. Many of these graves are not marked. There was a flood in the cemetery circa 1900 that removed or damaged many markers but left the graves. The city has many of the names but the locations are lost.

Wreaths Across America

Washington City will be hosting an event on December 17th honoring fallen service members at our city's cemetery. It is called "Wreaths Across America." It is held annually, and it involves a short program as well as placement of a wreath on each Veteran's gravesite. Click here for more information

Regulation Information

This information is to let you know some of the maintenance and administrative requirements related to the Cemetery. By providing this information, many future problems and misunderstandings will be avoided.

Prior to the opening of any grave site, all fees including, but not limited to plot purchase and interment fees must be paid.
All caskets must be placed in concrete, fiberglass, steel, or brick lined vaults. Wooden vaults may NOT be used.
To maintain the beauty of the Cemetery; fences, corner posts, coping of any kind, or any planted vegetation is not allowed. For additional information please call the Parks Office at 656-6382.

Click here for City Ordinance regarding the Cemetery.

Approved Decorum

Based on the dramatic growth of our community, new guidelines have been created to address decorum, cleanliness, and landscape maintenance.

Cemetery grounds are sacredly devoted to the interment and repose of the dead. Strict observance of decorum due such a place shall be required of all persons. Based on concerns such as aesthetics, maintenance, and safety, the following items are strictly prohibited:

Glass containers (vases, jars, bottles, etc)
Paper products (cards, letters, etc.)
Food and/or beverages
Solar lights
Items of monetary value

All decorum should be placed on the headstone or in a prescribed receptacle within the concrete foundation of the headstone. Items should not be placed on or in the grass surrounding the headstone, thus allowing staff to trim and edge without incident or movement of items. Shepard hooks are allowed, but are restricted to one per headstone. To avoid the cemetery becoming cluttered by dead or faded floral arrangements, they may be removed within five days after placement. Human judgment will be used in each instance.

Cremation Services

Washington City now offers an alternative to traditional burial. For those seeking cremation services, we proudly announce the arrival of a new ossuarium to our community. Located in the Cemetery, the ossuarium is surrounded by a beautifully landscaped garden, and offers a peaceful, beautiful place for remembrance. All community members are encouraged to visit this new addition to our cemetery. The word ossuarium is a combination of two words: ossuary and columbarium. It is a receptacle for the ashes of those individuals who have chosen the method of cremation for final disposition. An ossuary provides the option for the single placement of remains contained in a specialized, soft-sided urn using a depository to access the middle enclosure. However, the columbarium provides the option of companionship placement of remains in two individual urns, which are placed together in one niche.

The ossuary has a capacity of 60 individuals. The columbarium companion niche has capacity for 64 pairs (128 total). Each niche is designed to hold up to two urns within. Specifications for urn size are 5.5x5.5x7 in order to fit properly within the niche space. No exceptions.

The name, birth date, and death date of the deceased will be the only information allowed for engraving purposes. Standardized font size for ossuarium is 1" and for the columbarium is 1.5". The engraving color will be white. No exceptions.

Washington City Ossuary

Scheduled Clean up Dates

In an effort to maintain the sacred and peaceful nature of our cemetery, as well as a clean and orderly appearance, it has become necessary to schedule quarterly clean up dates throughout the year. During these times, all items will be removed from the grass around the headstone and markers and discarded. Please remove any keepsakes prior to these dates.

These dates are as follows:

Second week of January
Fourth week of April
Fourth week of June
First week of October

For a map of available plots and plot purchasing information contact:

Parks Department
cemetery@washingtoncity.org
(435)656-6382

For on-site plot location assistance or questions regarding existing grave sites contact:

Tommy Bithell
Cemetery Sexton
sexton@washingtoncity.org
(435)680-0634

Click the map image above for an interactive map for the Washington Utah Cemetery.
The map includes Cemetery Plots and names if occupied.

The Washington City Council has adopted the following Fee Schedule:

View as PDF | View as Google Sheet

Washington City Cemetery does not allow burials on the following holidays:

New Years’ Day January 1
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 3rd Monday in January
President’s Day 3rd Monday in February
Memorial Day Last Monday in May
Independence Day July 4
Pioneer Day July 24
Labor Day 1st Monday in September
Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October
Veteran’s Day November 11
Thanksgiving 4th Thursday in November
Day after Thanksgiving 4th Friday in November
Christmas Day December 25

If any of the above holidays fall on Saturday, the City will observe the preceding Friday as the holiday. If any of the above holidays fall on Sunday, the City will observe the following Monday as the holiday.

More Images (credit: Manwaring):