The Cemetery Commission was authorized by the 1912 Annual Town Meeting to oversee care and maintenance of the Town cemeteries. The Commission's three members are elected officials, each serving a three-year term.
The Town of Shutesbury has thre
e cemeteries. The main cemetery is the West Cemetery on Leverett Road, created in 1822 as a successor to the old "burying yard."
In 1954, the Town assumed control of the Luther Henry Tomb Lot, a family cemetery northwest of West Cemetery, and it became part of the main
cemetery. The Henry Tomb (ca. 1820) is the most impressive burial structure in West Cemetery.
The other two Town cemeteries are for inhabitants who lived far from Town Center: Lock's Pond Cemetery, near Lake Wyola (1808) and the Pratt Corner Road Cemetery (1823).
Management and Administration of the Town cemeteries
Activities of this past fiscal year included updates to policies and to burial plots, highlighted in the Cemetery Commission Annual Report FY20.
To ensure that there would be space available for some time to come for burials for people from Shutesbury, the Commission decided to limit the purchase of lots to people who are residents, or people who have earlier lived in Shutesbury, have family members in town, or are descended from earlier inhabitants (see grave site price list). The Commission would have discretion to approve purchase by those who can demonstrate other significant connections with the town. Questions should be addressed to the Commission Chair.
Regulations for Traditional Burials can be found here. In 2017, the Cemetery Commission approved Natural Burials in the West Cemetery. Regulations for Natural Burials can be found here.
Information for Family Cemeteries on private property is available from the Board of Health.