Only about 100 lots remain available in Mapleview Cemetery, prompting an expansion that will add 1,300 lots and a nearly two-acre lake.
Community members and families of those buried in Mapleview are being asked to contribute to the project, which includes dirt work to raise the existing road at the back of the cemetery, clearing the first section to be developed for graves and creation of the new lake.
Mapleview Cemetery is Crittenden County’s largest cemetery and is the final resting place for more than 5,000 people.
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The expansion will begin on 30 acres behind the cemetery, which the cemetery board purchased in 1990 from the heirs of Mary Rayburn. The plan calls for development in 15 stages, beginning with one section and the lake, which will be situated in a low-lying area unsuitable for grave spaces.
Cemetery board member Denis Hodge early this year worked with the Crittenden County Conservation District to design the lake recommended in a master plan created by the Elberton Granite Association.
“This expansion project is the vision of the late Bill Fox, and because of the legacy he left in the community, and specifically the cemetery, we are building the lake to fulfill his vision,” Hodge said. “The lake is also a practical way to protect water run-off.”
In 2009, the cemetery board took advantage of the granite association’s offer to provide design assistance and blueprints for new or expanding cemeteries.
“The cemetery board feels that the time has come to begin the actual expansion,” said cemetery board president Dianne Newcom, Fox’s daughter, who began leading the cemetery association after his sudden death. “Only about 140 lots are available in Mapleview and approximately 40 of those are not very desirable because of the way they lay.”
Families who own lots in Mapleview or have loved ones buried there are being asked to consider donating to the cemetery expansion account. Cemetery boards are non-profit organizations, so all donations are tax deductible.
A substantial donation of $5,000 was recently received by the cemetery board and was used to kick off the fundraising campaign. Letters describing the project and scope of work will be mailed to potential donors this month, and the project itself will likely not begin until the dry months of August and September. Belt Construction was recently awarded the bid for cleaning the land and digging the lake.
Donations of any amount may be mailed to Marion Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 544, Marion, KY 42064.
The cemetery board does not want to use the Perpetual Care Fund that is earmarked for maintenance and improvements of the cemetery. That money is needed for mowing, tree trimming and other annual expenses – the most expensive being mowing.
