Katy Turnbaugh’s life has revolved around doing everything possible to protect Mother Earth. The last thing she wants after her death is to be embalmed with toxic formaldehyde—which eventually leaches into the environment—or create large amounts of carbon pollution with a cremation. She would rather give money to the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library than purchase an expensive casket that would be lowered into the ground and never seen again.
“It is important that we don’t denigrate the Earth –soil, water and air – that has given us life by choosing methods for our bodies after our death that harm the environment,” Katy said. “I think embalming our bodies after death veers away from the spiritual aspects into the commercial and cosmetic. That isn’t the peace and love I want to give to my body or the planet when I go. We are all came from stardust and to stardust we will return.”
Katy thought she might have to have her body transported to another state that allows green or natural burial. So, she was delighted to learn recently that green burials are allowed at the Eureka Springs Cemetery – at a cost far more affordable than the other options. She purchased a 5×8 plot for $500. She has made arrangements to be wrapped in a shroud, laid at rest in the ground, and composted.
This option harkens back to the past when most burials were natural. Cemetery Supt. and Acting Sexton L.B. Wilson said most of the 800 unmarked graves at the cemetery are very, very old, and are probably the last resting spot for people who were wrapped in a shroud or perhaps buried in a wooden crate or coffin.
“With that many unmarked graves throughout the cemetery, you know there were a lot of natural burials,” Wilson said. “Not everyone has the same idea of how they want their body to be handled after their death, so we want to address as many of those options as possible. With the costs of today’s traditional funerals, which are getting higher and higher, I think this is a trend that’s just starting. A traditional casket burial can be very expensive. I think that is one reason people are going away from that type of burial.”
A special area of the cemetery has been set aside for natural burials. Four natural burial plots have been purchased recently and one person has been interred. Plots can vary in size and need concrete or marble markers on the four corners. The commission made a change a month ago so now all plots are sold by the square foot. One square foot is $12.50 and includes perpetual maintenance.
David Danvers, Chair of Eureka Springs Cemetery Commission, said green burials have been going on as long as there has been an area prescribed as the State of Arkansas.
“It’s nothing new,” Danvers said. “We do have our rules and regulations. The minimum requirement for burial for the Eureka Springs Cemetery is for one body per plot with the body to be covered with a shroud. A body that is not buried within 48 hours of death must be embalmed or refrigerated according to the laws in the state of Arkansas.”
Danvers said there are quite a few bodies in rural Carroll County interred on someone’s farm or estate. He doesn’t know of any regulations prohibiting it even today but advises people to check local ordinances.
Most people still prefer a more traditional funeral and burial. Danvers said funeral homes have well served people who prefer the formality of a funeral home for viewing and a memorial service.
“But when people call and ask us if they can have a green burial, we say, ‘Sure, absolutely,’” Danvers said. “I think a green burial is just an awesome thing.”
You can still have flat headstone on natural burial plots. That minimizes maintenance for mowing. And the headstone provides a place for loved ones to come to honor their friend or family member.
There may be few other cemeteries in the state that offer this option. Kirby & Family in Mountain Home states on its website that it is Arkansas’ first funeral provider to offer green burial services and features a special section of ground dedicated specifically for green burials. Kirby’s website states that the option reflects a personal concern for the environment, uses essential oils in the embalming process and memorial markers are made from flat native Arkansas limestone that are integrated into the landscape.
“Over time, the grave blends seamlessly into the surrounding countryside,” the Kirby website states. “Wrapping an un-embalmed human body in a shroud, placing that body in a grave, covering it with earth, and letting nature take over – imagine the beautiful simplicity of a natural burial.”
The 46-acre Eureka Springs Cemetery was started by homesteaders James and Rachel McAtee Lamar in the 1880s. In 1889, the site was deeded to Lodge 83 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a charitable fraternal organization. IOOF was involved in the cemetery until 1965 when the city took it over. Wilson said city ownership helps preserve the cemetery that is on both the Arkansas Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
“We wouldn’t be able to maintain this cemetery as a commission without the city,” Wilson said. “They have been fantastic providing funds to help with the maintenance and upkeep out here. We don’t receive a tax. The city’s support along with donations and sales of plots makes it possible to keep the cemetery in good order. There is a lot of history out here and we work to honor that. Everything we do is with reverence to the past, as well as the future.”
In the past year more than 60 old headstones have been rebuilt, and nearly 100 stumps have been removed. Wilson said they probably have less than a half dozen more stumps to be removed. Removal of stumps opens up ground for more burial plots.
It is estimated that about 4,600 people are buried at the cemetery. Wilson said Eureka Springs may have the largest municipally owned cemetery in Arkansas. Eureka Springs Cemetery, (479) 579-7372.