Coming soon to Quincy cemetery: A waterfall, veterans memorial, thousands more spaces

QUINCY − From the top of Pine Hill Cemetery, green fields of newly sprouted grass slope down gently to the north and east. With views of the entire cemetery, surrounding woods and the abutting Blue Hills Reservation, the spot provides what Natural Resources Commissioner Dave Murphy calls an ideal place to "sit, reflect, mourn and pray."

Concealed under a few feet of topsoil are rows of pre-installed vaults, space for thousands of new burials.

“It’s not just an expansion,” Murphy said. “It’s also renovation.”

In addition to preparing 7 additional acres of space, construction teams will restore roads, plant trees and flowering bushes, finish a new office building at one gate and a waterfall at the other, and improve the cemetery's veterans section.

Murphy said the work, carried out by C. Naughton, is about 75% complete and will wrap up in the spring of 2024, when existing space at Pine Hill is expected to run out. There have been funerals almost every day as work progressed, Murphy said. He credited C. Naughton with preserving a serene atmosphere for family and friends of the deceased.

The project costs $16.4 million, which the city council approved in May 2022 after some back and forth over the scope and nature of the plans. Murphy said it will more than pay for itself with the sales and fees it generates. He said he expects $22 million in revenues over time.

The last significant addition to Quincy's public cemeteries

The 7-acre expansion and added cremation niches will make 13,600 new final resting places. Murphy said the added space will meet demand, which has been rising, for the next 30 years.

He said this could be the last significant increase of available space in Quincy’s six public cemeteries.

They include three historical cemeteries that no longer have burials: Hancock Cemetery in Quincy Center, Snug Harbor Sailors' Cemetery in Germantown and the National Sailors' Home Cemetery off Fenno Street.

The two other active cemeteries are Mount Wollaston Cemetery off Route 3A and Hall Cemetery on Crescent Street in West Quincy.

The city owns an additional 8-acre tract contiguous with Pine Hill Cemetery that can't be used, at least for now. The state has designated the land a protected habitat for timber rattlesnakes, which are endangered in Massachusetts.

Murphy said construction workers familiar with the area say they haven’t seen a rattlesnake for 30 years. Still, special fencing around the site creates a safe buffer for workers and visitors.

The new vaults – which encase caskets − have been double-stacked in the ground to maximize space and efficiency.

With the expansion, Quincy residents for the first time can reserve plots rather than arranging for an immediate need. Murphy said many families arrange a "pre-need" burial in advance rather than at the time of death, when many are overwhelmed by feelings of loss and grief.

At Pine Hill, a single plot, which holds two burial spaces, costs $2,525 and a double plot costs $5,025, including fees. Residents can buy a maximum of eight plots.

Cremation niches, also with two interment places, cost $2,000 plus a $500 engraving fee. Quincy residency is a requirement at the time of purchase.

The work will add “dignity and respect for the thousands of Quincy families with loved ones buried here," Murphy said.

A waterfall and improved veterans section

The primary entrance on Chickatawbut Road will lead to a large-scale water fixture, what Murphy calls a "feature area" of the cemetery. A waterfall meanders down several levels of sculpted granite blocks set into a hillside. In recognition of the site’s endangered (and venomous) neighbor, the image of a timber rattlesnake stretches across one of the blocks.

The fixture was designed and constructed by Ryan Ackerman, a Quincy native who is a member of the Monti family, which has created stone monuments, memorials and decorations for several generations.

The need to expand and improve the cemetery's veterans section has arisen due to the wars waged by the United States for past 30 years, Murphy said. A large granite wall will frame this section, inscribed with the words, “All gave some. Some gave all.” Five new flagpoles will also adorn the veterans section.

During the planning phase, Murphy said the city consulted with residents of various faiths and ethnic backgrounds. This process, which informed decisions about directionality of plots and other features, helped “accommodate all the interests of the people we serve,” Murphy said.

Those wishing to reserve plots should call the Cemetery Division at 617-376-1295.

Improvements to Mount Wollaston entrance near completion

The veterans section at Mount Wollaston is also set for renovations. The city announced last week that the area will be regraded and sodded, and grave markers that lie flush to the ground will be reset to the proper grade if they have sunk.

The city asks loved ones not to plant fall flowers or place grave items for the time being.

The Sea Street entrance to Mount Wollaston Cemetery is also a site of ongoing improvements. Workers have already completed many tree plantings, installed irrigation, realigned veterans monuments, restored historical cannons at the Civil War Memorial and added flagpoles to represent the six military branches, city, state and country, according to a city spokesperson.

In addition, the entrance road has been narrowed at its mouth to improve safety. Foundations for a new gate will be installed through November. Late November is the anticipated completion date.

According to the city's website, the wrought-iron gate will stand 25 feet high and 85 feet wide. Its gothic style will recall the period in which the cemetery was consecrated in 1885.

The $3 million price tag of the improvements is covered by a federal grant through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

In the spring, the city will unveil a new monument at Mount Wollaston to Quincy veterans of wars spanning from the Gulf War of 1990-91 to the end of the Afghanistan War in August 2021.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy public cemeteries restored and expanded