By LAURIE KIEFABER
Indiana Correspondent

WABASH, Ind. — An Owen County woman made news when she convinced her county commissioners to allow her to bury her husband on the 10-acre cattle farm they owned for 51 years near Spencer, Ind.

In early July, The Associated Press reported the Owen County commissioners voted to take over title for a 20-by-22-foot piece of property on the land and agreed to maintain it forever. Milo Blaker’s body was to be exhumed from a nearby cemetery and reburied on that property.

This practice is not common, however, and funeral and cemetery officials do not recommend it, as it is illegal without permission. “It’s romantic, but not realistic, and creates a lot of problems,” said Curtis Rostad, executive director of the Indiana Funeral Directors Assoc. in Indianapolis.

But in pioneer days, people were much more likely to be buried in small plots. “Out West, pioneers were buried where they fell,” Rostad said. “People were trekking across the country in the 1800s, and (those burials) are protected.

“I have a classic picture of a divided highway, as straight as an arrow, except for a curve to go around a pioneer gravestone. In some states they’re moved, but they create a problem wherever they are. It’s not common to have one or two burials somewhere.”
David Hovde, a research and instruction librarian at Purdue University who used to work as an archaeologist in the 1970s and ‘80s, agreed pioneer burials were often seen.

“It used to be very common practice due to transportation issues and the availability of undertakers and the burial practices post-Civil War,” he said. “I have seen single burials and dozens of small plots across Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.”
Hovde said his experience in other states was that small, rural community family plots were utilized into the late 20th century. Rostad, who is originally from the western United States, said cemeteries developed naturally.

“The community traditionally found the most inaccessible and undesirable property and made that the cemetery,” he said. “They call them ‘Boot Hill’ out West. (The area is) windy, cold and no one wants the land for anything else. It becomes a community cemetery. If you check, most cemeteries in Indiana started the same way.”

Community, church and municipal cemeteries developed this way, Rostad said. “Just willy-nilly burying people on property has never been a common accepted practice. If you go around country ... you see country cemeteries with 15 to 20 burials, but you don’t see a headstone in the middle of a cornfield.”

Casey Miller, executive director of the Indiana Cemetery Assoc. in Fort Wayne, estimated the practice of burying individuals on small plots stopped around 1910 or 1920. However, the desire to be buried on one’s own land is still alive.

“I probably get at least one call a month,” Miller said. “It can be a farmer or someone who lived in one area of Indiana and they want to be buried on their land. There’s nothing uncommon about that. ... But once you make a burial, that’s a forever circumstance.
“When I get these telephone calls, I first tell them they will need the services of an attorney. There are laws that they need to comply with. You are in essence starting a new cemetery, even if there’s just one person buried there. The Indiana Legislature enacted laws to (govern cemeteries).

“It’s a forever situation. That’s where many township trustees have become responsible for cemeteries. It’s expensive (for upkeep and maintenance),” Miller explained.

Rostad said one of the biggest obstacles for people wanting to be buried on farmland or at home is the money. “You have to deposit $100,000 in a perpetual care fund to maintain the cemetery,” he said. “The money is used by the government entity (maintaining the property) if the cemetery would fail or have to be moved.”
In the Blaker case, Owen County took the title for the land, essentially making it a county cemetery. Mrs. Blaker did not have to pay the $100,000.

Miller said there are zoning issues as well. According to Rostad, the land must be platted as a cemetery, county approval must be sought and there may be additional steps if it’s farmland. After platting, there are restrictions on what can be done with the property and how close excavation can be, as well as on underground pipes and electrical lines.

Rostad added the Owen County attorney advised county officials not to pursue the matter.

“They (now) have to take taxpayer money and maintain that property,” he said. “How do you say ‘no’ to the next person? (Someone may ask) ‘Why do they get special treatment?’ They could live to regret that decision.”

Many farmers assume farmland will remain in their family, but this has changed dramatically over the years too, Rostad said. “The family farm is slowly disappearing,” he pointed out. “You don’t have the assurance that the entire family will be there. Burying Mom and Dad on the family farm is even riskier than 50 years ago.

“In some states there are access laws and (landowners) must give access to that family in perpetuity. That might mean road access, you can’t plant around it – it can be a real issue. I’ve not seen that law in the cemetery act in Indiana, but if that’s true, you could be denied access to your own loved ones buried if you sell the property; you may be trespassing.

“Either way, it creates problems,” he said.

Miller said while Indiana laws don’t address access, he’s never heard of any problems about accessing existing cemeteries large or small. Both Rostad and Miller agreed creating a cemetery on farm or residential property is not the best idea.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people I talk to don’t follow through with it because they realize they’re opening a can of worms,” Miller said. “It’s a big undertaking.

“What I recommend is if you love your land, find a cemetery close to where you live. It’s the most economical way to go.”