Honoring history and heritage, where the past rests in timeless peace
Historic Westminster Cemetery, located at the end of North Church St, Westminster, MD 21157, is a significant landmark with deep historical roots dating back to the late 18th century. Since 1790, this cemetery has served as the final resting place for many of Westminster's most notable citizens and veterans, reflecting the rich tapestry of the town's history.
The Westminster Cemetery is a private nonprofit group organized for the benefit of the community. The cemetery operates without government support or funding. The budget requires significant donations from the private sector. Please consider supporting this scared space.
The Westminster Cemetery (WCC) is a private non-profit organization that operates with volunteers for the general public. No residency requirements or membership is needed to find a forever place. We welcome all faiths and ethnicities. Lots are sold in order of purchase and there is no payment plan or saving spaces.
Each lot is 10’ by 4’ wide and sells for $800. All sales are final. Unused lots may be donated back to the organization with no monetary exchange. Additionally, there is a fee to dig the grave which is at the total discretion of the grave-digger; an independent contractor. For every soul we welcome, we collect $400 at the time of burial. In addition, there is a fee for opening and closing each grave site. This hole-opening fee is at the sole discretion of the independent contractor.
Columbarium niches can hold two cremations and sell at a range of $2000 to $2400 each. Name plates are NOT included in the costs. The nameplates are to be created by a local firm and arranged by the purchaser. All sales are final.
Volunteers will place a bunch of approved flowers on any grave in the proper area for a fee of $50. A photo will be texted to the purchaser for confirmation.
Family research of our records can be facilitated. The first hour is free with additional time priced at $25 per hour. Replacement lot owner certificates are available for $25 and can be mailed, or emailed if preferred, to the lot holder of record.
If necessary, we can add a few sentences about the general geography of the cemetery, location relative to city streets, and sector numbering features.
History note
The Historic Westminster Cemetery in Carroll County, Maryland traces its beginnings to 1790 based on the date of death engraved on the earliest tombstone at the site. Despite continual use of the vicinity as a graveyard, it was not until February 18, 1864, when the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act of Incorporation to establish by “name, style, and title” the Westminster Cemetery Company. The same legislation revived the 1813 charter of the Westminster General (Union) Meeting House and Burial Ground and conferred all “rights, franchises, privileges, and immunities of that corporation” to the cemetery.
Few places in the city have a more storied history than the location of the brick meetinghouse erected during the early 1880s, considered the successor to a log structure that may have predated the American Revolution. Here, the community has gathered for well over two centuries for an abundance of occasions, both sacred and secular. Several present-day Protestant congregations organized at the meetinghouse. At the political formation of the county in 1837, citizens gathered, grateful for an indoor assembly hall in the midst of a snow storm, for an “occasion of great rejoicing.” The county court convened in the building until the new jurisdiction built a courthouse. The American Civil War saw the then shuttered building briefly reopened in 1863 as a field hospital first for casualties from Corbit’s Charge and then following the Battle of Gettysburg. Soon again vacant the meetinghouse deteriorated further and was taken down in 1891. Its former site is now identified with a large Victorian urn situated in the middle of the landscaped Center Circle on the knoll just beyond the cemetery’s North Church Street entrance.
A recent newspaper article asserted that the “community’s history comes to rest at Westminster Cemetery.” The distinction is revealed in the personalities, both the heralded and less heralded, connected with this hallowed ground. William Winchester (1710-1790), who in 1764 did “lay out a piece of Ground in Lotts, Streets, and Alleys” for his proposed and eventually established Town of Westminster, is buried here. Nearly 500 veterans of the U.S. Armed Services, including several from the Revolutionary War, are interred here and especially remembered during annual Memorial Day observances. Westminster was among communities from across the nation in May 1868 to conduct one of the first memorial observances. Mary Bostwick Shellman, then 18 years old, assembled a group of school children and proceeded with them to the Westminster Cemetery. The boys and girls strewed flowers on the graves of Civil War soldiers during what was then known as Decoration Day.
By the 21st Century interments at Historic Westminster Cemetery totaled 6,000.
Both books are available through the Carroll County Public Library. The Bearr/Ashcraft volume is also available online through the CCPL website.
Historic Westminster Cemetery & Union Meeting House Westminster Cemetery Company, Inc., 2017
Volume Five, Part Three: Westminster Cemetery Carroll County Genealogical Society, 2004
Stands as Hallowed Ground
We have a Board of Managers that are all volunteers who oversee all operations of the cemetery. Some operations and services, such as grass cutting, are done by independent contractors. Special projects like trash pick up, grant management and hosting the Memorial Day event require the support of many volunteers and also funds which are obtained entirely through donations. require volunteers. All activities require donations.
In order that the Cemetery presents a neat and orderly appearance, the Board of Managers has created and implemented the following set of rules:
No lots or niches can be opened without the approval of WCC who will schedule the event. The fee must be paid at the time of the opening. For lot and niche openings that take place more than one month after purchase, there is an administrative fee of $400.
It is possible to have a cremation buried in a lot with an existing loved one. There is a grave-opening fee which is determined by, and collected by, our independent contractor as well and an administrative fee paid the WCC of $400. There must be clear written evidence that a family member intended to have the right to be interred with a loved one like a will, notarized letter or an indication on the headstone that other family members are going to be included in the lot. Verbal assurances are not sufficient documentation for that privilege.
Snow removal is a separate contracted fee. The WCC will help you find an approved contractor.
The Westminster Cemetery does not provide headstones, foundations, care for headstones or set headstones. Those items are purchased by the families; however, we can assist in locating contractors for those services. We do not offer any graveside services.
Here you will find information about the famous people that have become part of Westminster's community
Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area The Westminster Cemetery gratefully acknowledges technical assistance from the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
Maryland Heritage Areas Authority This project has been financed in part with State funds from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. However, project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority
Hey Westminster The Historic Westminster Cemetery would like to thank Hey Westminster for a generous donation
The Cemetery is open daily (as weather allows) from 10AM to Sunset for visitors who wish to quietly pay their respects to loved ones.
Remember - sunset is earlier in the winter months than the summer months.
We will not open the gates if the government and/ or schools are closed due to weather.
Please visit quietly and respectfully.
