Olivet Cemetery of St. Michaels, MD
The Olivet Cemetery presents a beautiful and peaceful repose for families and their loved ones. Historically, the cemetery has been in use for almost 200 years.
Olivet Cemetery was known as “The Wayfarer’s Lot” and was the burial place for indigents and unknown seamen washed up on the shores of the Miles and Choptank Rivers. When Sardis Chapel, now St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, moved from St. Mary’s Square in 1871 to its present location, the cemetery on St. Mary’s Square ceased to be used. Upon completion of a new church on Talbot Street, Sardis Chapel began using the “stranger’s cemetery”.
Many of the interments were relocated to this cemetery and more land was acquired in 1883. The cemetery was designed with a large center circle with walks and drives to accommodate six hundred and eighty burial sites.
Garretson West, a member of Sardis Chapel, lived in Saint Michaels in the early 1800s – was poor in worldly goods but rich in faith and good works. He died February 23, 1853 in poverty but was revered by the community as a patriarch. A large obelisk was erected in his honor in the circle of the new cemetery addition.
The Garretson West Memorial Columbarium was constructed around the memorial obelisk. It is brick-walled with one hundred and thirty-two spaces for interments. The memorial monument dominates the interior garden of shrubs and flowers. Brick walks flow through and around the inside perimeter.
A vault space in the columbarium is 13”x15”x10” and is designed to contain two urns. A covering slate can be engraved if desired by the owner. Each vault is priced at $1,800 and is provided with a Certificate of Interment as evidence of ownership. The cost of opening and closing a vault is $300 plus funeral home charges. Perpetual care is included in the initial cost.
Ground burial plots are available in The Garden of the Rock section in the west cemetery. Plots are priced at $1,200 each. A set of four corner posts at a cost of $250 is required as part of the purchase.
Certificates of Ownership are provided. The cost of opening and closing a grave is $300 plus funeral home charges. Perpetual care is included in the initial cost.
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Call St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for further information or email the cemetery committee directly at olivet.slmc@gmail.com.