Contact Manager Meghann Snyder

585-466-6045

Regulated by the New York State Cemetery Board

NYS Division of Cemeteries:

(518) 474-6226

Alfred Rural Cemetery 

Open from dawn until dusk

Route 244 Alfred Station, NY

Alfred Rural Cemetery Association

PO Box 12

Alfred Station, NY 14803

What to Do First: A Guide for Families Facing an Immediate Loss

If you have just lost a loved one, please accept our deepest condolences. Because the Alfred Rural Cemetery is managed on a part-time basis without a physical office on the grounds, please use the following steps to coordinate a burial.

  • Work with Your Funeral Director First: Please contact a licensed funeral home. Your funeral director will secure the required legal permits and death certificates. They will also reach out directly to our cemetery manager to coordinate the schedule, log coordinates, and arrange for the grounds crew to prepare the gravesite.

  • Contact Our Manager, Meghan Snyder. (585-466-6045) If you need to leave her a voicemail, please leave a clear message with your name, phone number, the name of the deceased, and the funeral home you are working with.

  • Locate Existing Paperwork: If your family has a historic plot or pre-purchased a space years ago, please look for the original deed or plot certificate. Having a section or plot number ready helps us verify ownership records much faster.

  • Meet on the Grounds (By Appointment): If you need to select a new plot or verify a location in person, Meghan will schedule a time to meet you directly in the cemetery.

Alfred Rural Cemetery Association Rules and Regulations

Effective Date: September1, 2026

1. Purpose and Use of Lots

All lots (16 ft. × 16 ft. area encompassing eight 4 ft. × 8 ft. spaces or plots) shall be held in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation of the Alfred Rural Cemetery Association of Alfred, adopted July 8, 1847, pursuant to the laws of the State of New York. The lots shall be used exclusively as burial places for the deceased and for no other purpose.

2. Transfer or Assignment of Lots

Lot proprietors shall not permit interments to be made in their lot for compensation. No transfer or assignment of a lot, or any interest therein, shall be valid without the written consent of two-thirds of the Trustees, endorsed upon the transfer or assignment.

3. Monuments, Structures, and Plantings

  • Proprietors may erect appropriate stones, monuments, and sepulchral structures on their lots.

  • All monuments and all portions of vaults above ground shall be constructed of cut stone or marble.

  • All monuments shall have a foundation constructed under the direction of the Manager.

  • Proprietors must seek permission to plant trees/shrubs or plants on gravesites.

  • No tree growing within a lot or along its border may be cut down or destroyed without the consent of the Association.

4. Trees and Shrubs Affecting Adjacent Lots

If trees or shrubs located on a lot become detrimental to adjacent lots or avenues, unsightly, or inconvenient to visitors, the Association may enter the lot and remove the offending trees, shrubs, or portions thereof after providing due notice to the lot owner.

5. Offensive or Improper Monuments and Inscriptions

If an effigy or inscription placed on any lot is deemed offensive or improper by a majority of the Trustees, the Trustees may remove it after providing due notice to the lot owner.

6. Authority of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to:

  • Lay out or alter avenues and walkways.

  • Establish rules and regulations for the management of the cemetery grounds.

  • Take actions necessary to promote the purposes and objectives of the Association.

7. Access to Cemetery Grounds

Lot proprietors and their families shall be permitted access to the cemetery grounds at all times, subject to all rules and regulations governing visitors.

8. Assessment of Necessary Expenses

Owners of lots within the Association shall pay their proportionate share of necessary expenses, based on the value of their lots, including:

  • Fence maintenance and repair.

  • Other required expenses when the Association has insufficient funds available to cover such costs.

9. Protection of Cemetery Property

Any person entering the cemetery grounds who removes, damages, or disturbs any tree, shrub, plant, decoration, or portion thereof shall be subject to prosecution under the laws of the State of New York.

10. Payment of Charges Prior to Interment

No grave shall be opened, and no burial space shall be deeded, until all charges associated with the lot or burial space have been paid in full.

11. Decorations and Flower Containers

  • Any urn or flowerpot placed on a lot and left unfilled for more than one year shall be removed.

  • The Association reserves the right to remove flowers, wreaths, or other decorations from lots when they become unsightly.

  • Glass containers of any kind are prohibited on cemetery lots.

12. Interment of Cremated Pet Remains

The Alfred Rural Cemetery Association permits the interment of cremated pet remains only at the time of the owner's interment in the same burial space or plot, and with one day’s notice to the Manager.

The following requirements apply:

  1. No animal remains may be interred at any other time or in any location other than the burial space in which the owner is interred.

  2. Pet remains cremated in New York State must have been cremated by a pet crematory licensed by the New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services.

  3. Documentation verifying cremation must be provided before interment.

  4. Owners wishing to inter pet remains cremated outside New York State must provide equivalent documentation from the licensed cremation facility.

  5. An additional Right of Interment fee shall apply in accordance with the Association's current fee schedule.

13. Interment / Scattering of Natural Organically Reduced (NOR) Remains  (YET TO BE DETERMINED BY THE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION)

·       NOR remains can either be interred in a full-size or half-size grave,

 or

·       Scattered in a Memorial Garden section determined by the cemetery.

·       Scattering will not be allowed in any other part of the Alfred Rural Cemetery. 

        Refer to the schedule for NOR disposition fees. (YET TO BE DETERMINED BY THE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION)