Cemeteries in Maine: Who Runs Them and Who Keeps the Records

Maine's burial grounds run from Mt Hope Cemetery & Crematory on State Street in Bangor to small neighborhood plots such as Nutter Cemetery on Packard Road in Corinna. They were never built as one system. They grew town by town over three centuries, so finding the right office takes some local knowledge. This page explains how cemetery care is organised across Maine and who to call for a lot, a burial or an old record.

The first thing to know is that no single state agency runs Maine's cemeteries. Most are local. A town, a cemetery association, a church or a family owns the ground, and that owner sets the rules. The state steps in at the edges. It licenses funeral directors, keeps vital records, and operates a veterans' cemetery system.

Three Kinds of Cemetery Owner in Maine

Municipal cemeteries. Cities and towns own and maintain many public burial grounds. Title 13 of the Maine Revised Statutes covers cemeteries and burial grounds. In general, it leaves municipalities responsible for public cemeteries and for old burial grounds with no active caretaker. In practice, a select board, a cemetery committee, elected trustees or a public works crew does the work. Listings with a town name in the title, such as Gorham North Street Cemetery on Fort Hill Road or Augusta Cummings Cemetery on Eight Rod Road, are usually handled through the local town or city office. Confirm that by phone before you plan anything.

Associations and corporations. Some cemeteries are run by nonprofit associations or incorporated companies. Mt Auburn Cemetery Corporation at 200 Mount Auburn Avenue in Auburn is one example in our listings. These groups sell lots, hold perpetual care funds and keep their own burial registers. Church and parish grounds, such as Center Baptist Church Cemetery on Crowell Hill Road in Vassalboro or Saint Ignatius Cemetery on Berwick Road in Sanford, are generally managed by the congregation or parish. Their rules on who may be buried there can differ from a town cemetery's.

Family and neighborhood burial grounds. Names like Toby Cemetery in Canaan, Dolley Cemetery in Windham and Smith Bean Cemetery in Waterboro often point to old family plots that grew into community burial grounds. Ownership today varies. The town office is usually the quickest way to find out who looks after a given site.

How Cemetery Services Differ Across Maine's Counties

Maine has 16 counties, and the experience of dealing with a cemetery changes a lot between them. The split is mostly between the southern coastal corridor and the long rural interior.

Greater Portland. Cumberland County has the densest mix. Portland's historic burial grounds include Eastern Cemetery and Evergreen Cemetery. Portland Western Cemetery sits on Vaughan Street, and Browns Hill Cemetery is on Ridgeland Avenue in South Portland. Suburban towns such as Gorham, Westbrook and Windham add many smaller town cemeteries. Gorham's long list reflects its many village and rural burial grounds, not one large operation. In the more populated towns you are more likely to find posted office hours, written lot regulations and a staff member who handles sales.

The capital region. Kennebec County includes Augusta, Vassalboro, Readfield and Chelsea. Chelsea is home to Togus National Cemetery, which is run by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Augusta also has the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, operated by the state's Bureau of Veterans' Services. Both are separate from the town cemeteries listed here, such as Douglas Extension Cemetery on River Road in Chelsea.

Bangor and the Penobscot valley. Penobscot County is anchored by Mt Hope Cemetery & Crematory, a large city cemetery dating to the 1830s that also offers cremation on site. Nearby towns like Brewer, Newport and Corinna have smaller grounds, including North Brewer Cemetery on Day Road and North Newport Cemetery on Mullen Road. Expect a city office in Bangor and a part-time contact in the smaller towns.

Lewiston-Auburn and the river towns. In Androscoggin County, the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn sit beside Lisbon and Leeds. Lewiston Davis Cemetery on Sabattus Street and River Grove Cemetery on River Road in Leeds show the range, from city-maintained ground to quieter rural sites.

Southern Maine. York County mixes mill-town parish cemeteries, like Saint Ignatius in Sanford, with older rural grounds such as Smith Bean Cemetery on Middle Road in Waterboro.

The rural north and interior. Aroostook County, Somerset, Piscataquis and much of Oxford have wide spacing between towns. Many cemeteries there are looked after by a part-time sexton or a volunteer committee. Toby Cemetery in Canaan, East Dover Cemetery in Dover-Foxcroft and Canton Cemetery on Staples Hill Road follow that pattern. Call ahead, leave a clear voicemail, and expect a callback rather than a walk-in counter. The same is true on the coast. Cushing, in Knox County, has ten listings despite being a small town, including Cushing Pleasant View Cemetery on Davis Point Road.

How to Arrange a Burial or Buy a Lot in Maine

The steps are similar whether you are dealing with a town or an association. Most families work through a funeral director, who coordinates with the cemetery. If you are buying a lot yourself or arranging a burial directly, this order works well:

Funeral homes in Maine are licensed through the Maine Board of Funeral Service. If you have a complaint about a licensed funeral director, that board is the right place to raise it. A complaint about a town-run cemetery goes first to the select board or city council, since the town is the responsible body.

Winter Changes the Schedule

Maine's frost shapes burial timing, especially north of the coast. When the ground is frozen, some cemeteries delay interment until spring and use a receiving tomb or holding vault in the meantime. Others keep a few winter plots accessible or use equipment to open the ground. Policies differ from one cemetery to the next, so ask directly. Memorial Day weekend is also a busy time. Towns clean up grounds, place flags on veterans' graves and field more calls than usual, so allow extra time for answers in late May.

Finding Old Graves and Family Records in Maine

Many people contacting Maine cemeteries are tracing ancestors rather than planning a burial. Older burial registers often sit in a town office, in the trustees' files or with a local historical society. Town annual reports sometimes list cemetery trustees and lot-holders, which helps when a site has no website. The Maine Old Cemetery Association and local genealogical groups have walked many small graveyards and recorded the stones, and their transcriptions can save you a long drive.

Be careful with fragile stones. Do not use bleach or wire brushes on old slate and marble. Plain water and a soft brush are the safest start, and you should ask the cemetery's caretaker before cleaning or resetting anything. If you think a graveyard is abandoned, contact the town office first. Municipalities generally have a role in keeping such sites from being lost, and they can tell you whether anyone holds a claim to it.

Veterans' graves have their own track. Eligible veterans can receive a government-furnished headstone or marker, and the veteran's discharge papers (DD-214) are the usual proof you will need. The Bureau of Veterans' Services can point families to the right federal or state cemetery.

Government cemeteries in Maine include facilities administered by the VA's National Cemetery Administration, state veterans cemeteries funded through state and federal partnerships, and local municipal and county cemeteries operated by city and county governments throughout the state.

Cemetery locations are available in 167 cities across Maine. They are spread across 16 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Gorham, Portland, Windham, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Maine may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Maine Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Services to confirm eligibility requirements and available state-operated facilities.

Cemetery by Counties

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Families and genealogists in Maine can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Maine counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

Browse Cemetery by county across Maine to find the nearest location.

Planning Around Maine's Local Cemetery Offices

In Maine, the practical answer to almost every cemetery question starts at the town office. Even in a city like Portland, the sale of a lot, the opening of a grave and the recording of a deed are handled by a named person or board, not by the state. That is why a listing's phone number matters more than a general search. For a town such as Windham or Westbrook, a short call to the number on the listing usually tells you who is in charge this year, since sextons and trustees change.

Before you visit, write down the cemetery name and street, the family surname, and any known death date. Bring a notebook, a camera and, for a lot purchase, identification and a checkbook. Rural sites may lack signs or paved access, and winter conditions can limit entry. If you are weighing several options across counties, compare written lot regulations side by side before you commit.

The questions below cover the issues Maine residents raise most often.

No single state agency runs Maine's cemeteries. Title 13 of the Maine Revised Statutes sets the legal framework, and most day-to-day control sits with the owner, whether that is a town, an association, a church or a family. Funeral directors are licensed through the Maine Board of Funeral Service, and death records and burial permits run through the municipal clerk and the state's vital records system. If you have a concern about a municipal cemetery, begin with the select board or city council in that town.

Start with the phone number on the listing, such as 207-354-2375 for Cushing Pleasant View Cemetery or 207-222-1670 for Gorham North Street Cemetery. If nobody answers, call the town office and ask for the clerk, the cemetery sexton or the cemetery committee. Towns with many small grounds, like Gorham and Cushing, often split care among several trustees. Annual town reports and historical societies can also name the current caretaker, especially for older family plots.

Maine has a long tradition of family burial grounds, and private burial is generally possible, but it is governed by state law and local rules. Before you plan anything, talk to the town clerk and the code enforcement officer about zoning, setbacks and recording requirements. Ask about water supplies and property boundaries too. Many families have the burial ground described in the deed so that future owners know it exists. A funeral director can help with the burial permit.

Practices differ by cemetery. Some Maine cemeteries, especially in colder inland and northern towns, hold the casket in a receiving tomb or vault until the ground thaws in spring. Others can open a grave in winter with equipment, sometimes at extra cost. Larger operations in the Portland and Bangor areas tend to have more options. Ask the cemetery and your funeral director early. A graveside service can still be held at the time of your choice, with the committal completed later.

Eligible veterans can be buried in Togus National Cemetery in Chelsea, which is federal, or in the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, which the state's Bureau of Veterans' Services operates. Veterans may also be buried in any town or association cemetery that has space. The usual proof of service is the discharge paper, DD-214. A government headstone or marker can be requested for a veteran buried in a private or municipal cemetery, and the cemetery must approve its placement.

Begin with the town where your ancestor lived, since burials usually took place close to home. Call the town clerk and ask whether burial registers or old cemetery maps exist. Then contact the local historical society and check the Maine Old Cemetery Association and local genealogy groups for transcriptions. In counties such as Aroostook County and Piscataquis, small family plots may not appear on any map, so neighbors and longtime residents are often the best guides.