RULES &
GUIDELINES
ELROD CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
GENERAL GUIDELINES.
Elrod Cemetery is private property. No person shall be permitted to enter or leave the Cemetery except by the public entrance(s) on Burgess Falls Road during daylight hours. No visitation is permitted before sunrise or after dusk. Gates to the property typically remain open and are in no way an indication of Cemetery visitation hours.
Any person entering the Cemetery other than during visiting hours, without prior authorization from Cemetery management, will be considered a trespasser.
All areas beyond the marked Cemetery grounds—wooded or otherwise—remain the private property of the relevant landowner(s). Trespass upon these areas for any reason is expressly forbidden.
Upon entering the Cemetery grounds, all funeral and/or visitation activities, including funeral processions, shall be subject to the direction of a duly authorized representative of the Cemetery. This representative will typically be a manager from the officiating funeral home or manager of the event.
No person shall be permitted to use profane or boisterous language or in any way disturb the quiet and good order of the Cemetery.
No dogs or other domestic animals, except service animals in the active support of a cemetery visitor, shall be permitted in the Cemetery.
Political gatherings, protests, commercial events, social events other than memorials, general religious meetings and all other non-funeral public gatherings are expressly prohibited on the private grounds of the Cemetery without the express consent of the Elrod Cemetery Association. The Elrod Cemetery Association reserves the sole right to expel and/or ban unruly or non-compliant visitors under applicable local, state and federal law.
Elrod Cemetery maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy for protests or other activities that interrupt or exploit burials and memorials held on Cemetery grounds regardless of the intended purpose, message or affiliation of the protesting party(ies) and reserves the right to take whatever measures deemed necessary at the sole discretion of the Elrod Cemetery Association and relevant law enforcement to protect the privacy and dignity of the Cemetery, the interred, and all rightful visitors.
The possession or consumption of illegal drugs or alcoholic beverages within the Cemetery is strictly forbidden. Visitors are asked to respect the solemnity of the grounds and the health of all visitors by refraining from smoking, using electronic vapor devices, or consuming tobacco products in close proximity to other visitors.
No wheeled or motorized vehicles other than personal mobility devices shall be driven on any surface other than designated roads or parking areas. All wheeled or motorized vehicles shall be operated responsibly and at safe speeds.
All wheeled or motorized vehicles shall park in designated areas as directed by Cemetery management or their appointed representatives conducting funerals or other services. No vehicles shall remain on the property following the conclusion of funerals or other services.
The Cemetery is not responsible for theft or damage to any personal property, including artifacts, personal effects, etc., brought onto the property or placed on or near monuments, interment spaces or elsewhere in the Cemetery.
Except where otherwise expressly permitted by the Cemetery management, it is strictly forbidden to hunt, trap, or to feed or disturb wildlife or other animals within the Cemetery.
No person shall remove any living plant or flower, either wild or cultivated, from any part of the Cemetery.
Tennessee law strictly forbids any one to break, mark or injure any tree or shrub or mar any landmark, marker or memorial or in any way deface the grounds of the Cemetery. All acts of vandalism will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Visitors are responsible for the removal and proper offsite disposal of their own waste items including flowers and other decorations removed from the graves of loved ones. To avoid conflicts with local wildlife, no waste receptacles are provided within the Cemetery.
MONUMENTS & GRAVE DECORATION.
Elrod Cemetery reserves the right to direct the appropriate placement, alignment and orientation of all monuments including headstones, footstones, service plaques and other such monuments. The Cemetery reserves the right to reject monuments, markers, flags and inscriptions deemed inappropriate, offensive or not in keeping with the general spirit and dignity of the Cemetery.
Ground-mounted flowers and decorations will only be allowed on graves five days prior to Decoration Day and 30 days after Decoration Day. Flowers and small ornaments firmly affixed to the headstones are allowed year-round.
No boxes, ornaments, toys, glassware, flags, lights, receptacles, or similar items (other than vases meeting the Cemetery’s specifications) will be permitted to be placed on any grave or elsewhere within the Cemetery. The Cemetery may remove and dispose of items without notice.​
Elrod Cemetery is not responsible for preserving or storing items left on graves. Families wishing to keep items placed on the graves of loved ones are strongly encouraged to remove all such items within 30 days of their placement and/or prior to the annual clean-up that occurs on or after the 1st of June.
Flowers and decorations removed from graves, must be taken from the Cemetery property for disposal. Please respect the sanctity of the Cemetery by helping keep the property and adjacent wooded areas free of discarded flowers and other decorations.
No benches, chairs or like items shall be permitted to be installed or left upon the Cemetery grounds, unless expressly authorized in writing by the Cemetery.
No flowers should remain on the burial site or mounted on stands, plastic vessels, hangers or any other display device other than the headstone itself beyond 14 days following the burial date. Flowers securely attached to the headstone, in monument-mounted vases, or on a "Shepherd's Hook" installed as close to the edge of the monument as possible are allowed to be displayed on the headstone year-round.
All floral decorations, whether natural or artificial, shall be subject to the Cemetery’s decoration policies. The Cemetery may remove floral designs (artificial or natural), flowers, weeds, tree, shrubs, or plants of any kind from the Cemetery as soon as, in the judgment of the Cemetery management, they become unsightly or diseased, or if they do not conform to the Cemetery’s policies.
No trees, shrubs, or plants may be planted by anyone other than the Cemetery, except with the express written permission of the Cemetery. In the event any such planting is allowed, the Cemetery reserves the right to perform whatever maintenance it deems necessary to preserve the appearance of such landscaping, including complete removal of that landscaping if, in the sole opinion of the Cemetery, it should become unsightly.
The Cemetery grounds are sacredly devoted to the burial of the human dead and the provisions and penalties of the law, as provided by statute, will be strictly enforced in all cases of wanton injury, disturbance, and disregard of these Rules and Regulations.
PURCHASE & USE OF INTERMENT RIGHTS.
Reserving Graves at Elrod Cemetery
Interment Rights–commonly called “burial rights”—within the Cemetery shall be used for no purpose other than for the interment and/or memorialization of human remains.
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To purchase interment rights, reserve grave spaces or inquire about availability / location, contact info@elrodcemetery.com or call 931-201-9595.
A digital or printed Certificate of Interment Rights for each individual lot shall be issued to each Owner upon full payment of the purchase price of an Interment Right. Owners may request replacement Certificate(s) of Interment Rights for any lots owned and duly recorded with the Cemetery by contacting info@elrodcemetery.com or calling 931-201-9595. Certificate(s) of Interment Rights are issued at no cost to the owner.
Every Interment Right shall be subject to (a) all applicable laws and governmental regulations; (b) the Articles of Incorporation and other documents establishing the Cemetery; and (c) all Rules and Regulations adopted by the Cemetery, as now in force or as thereafter amended or adopted, whether or not as set forth herein. The Certificate of Interment Rights and these Rules and Regulations, and any amendments hereto, shall constitute the sole agreement between the Cemetery and the Owner, and no statement of any sales agent or other Cemetery volunteer or manager to the contrary shall bind the Cemetery.
The person named in the Certificate of Interment Rights issued and of record will be presumed to be the Owner of the Interment Right unless the Cemetery approves in writing the transfer or assignment of ownership in accordance with these Rules and Regulations as they now exist or may hereafter be amended. All Interment Rights conveyed to the individuals shall, unless stated otherwise, be presumed to be the separate property of the Owner named in the Certificate of Interment Rights.
Upon the receipt of an Order of Distribution by a court having jurisdiction over the estate of a deceased Owner, the Cemetery shall revise its records to reflect ownership of Interment Rights in accordance with such Order.
If an Owner dies without having transferred unused Interment Rights either by a specific devise in the Owner’s will or by a written direction furnished to the Cemetery any such unused Interment Rights descend to the heirs at law of the Owner in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution of the state in which the Cemetery is located, subject to the Interment Rights of the deceased and his or her surviving spouse. Where such a transfer of ownership results in multiple Owners of any Interment Rights, each Co-Owner shall be the right to be interred in any interment space of the Co-Owners which has not been used at the time of that Co-Owner’s death, and the consent of the other Co-Owners shall not be required for any such interment; however, no Co-Owner may convey an Interment Right, or authorize the interment of anyone other than a Co-Owner, without the consent of all other Co-Owners of that Interment Right.
Upon the death of a joint tenant, title to Interment Rights held in joint tenancy immediately vested in the survivor or survivors subject to the vested Interment Right of the remains of the deceased joint tenant.
When there are two or more Owners, they may designate one or more persons for the purpose of granting authorization for interment, memorialization, etc. with respect to the Interment Rights of such Owners. Any such designation shall be made in writing and furnished to the Cemetery. In the absence of such designation, the Cemetery shall not be liable for acting on any direction of any Co-Owner, provided no other Co-Owner has notified the Cemetery of an objection prior to the Cemetery’s acting on such direction.
OPENING GRAVES & PLANNING CEREMONIES.
The Certificate of Interment Rights (or digital/photo copies thereof) for the grave to be used should be provided to both the funeral home and the Cemetery when requesting to schedule an interment. Families without a copy of their Certificate may request one to be issued by the Cemetery at no cost.
All Cemetery charges and fees for interment services, Interment Rights and care and maintenance must be paid in full before an interment is made within the Cemetery.
All fees from disinterments must also be paid in advance.
The Cemetery must be provided with advance notice before an interment can be performed. Exceptions will be made only in cases of death from contagious disease or when so ordered by the authorized representatives of the Cemetery.
The Cemetery may postpone or reschedule a graveside or other interment service if, in the opinion of the Cemetery’s management, too many services are concurrently scheduled or because of inclement weather conditions, or because of other conditions beyond the control of the Cemetery.
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Elrod Cemetery is not currently designed to accommodate the construction and use of above-ground vaults or crypts. All interments are to be made as burials in a coffin and vault or other suitable methods approved by the Cemetery.
As a condition to performing any disinterment, the Cemetery requires written authorization signed by the Owner and the deceased’s next-of-kin or their respective authorized representatives on a form approved by the Cemetery. All disinterments must be conducted in accordance with state and local law.
The Cemetery shall exercise due care in making disinterments, but shall assume no liability for damage to any body, casket, outer burial receptacle, or urn in making a disinterment in accordance with written instructions of the Owner or their duly authorized representative(s). When a disinterment is to be made from one grave to another grave and an outer burial container was not used for the original interment, an outer burial container meeting the Cemetery’s specifications must be furnished by the Owner or next-of-kin for the new interment.
No more than one human remains shall be interred in one interment space, unless specifically authorized in writing by the Owner and next-of-kin or their respective authorized representative(s) and the Cemetery.
The scattering or placement of cremated remains shall be permitted only with prior approval of the Cemetery and in compliance with all applicable laws.
All interments and disinterments within the Cemetery shall be performed only by authorized personnel.
The Cemetery may require that all persons attending an interment or disinterment remain at a safe distance (as determined by the Cemetery) from the interment space during the interment or disinterment process.
The Cemetery relies upon the identification of the deceased provided by the next-of-kin or authorized representatives, and shall have no obligation to independently establish or verify the identity of the remains to be interred.
The Cemetery shall not be liable for any delay in interment (i) where a protest to interment has been made, or (ii) which results from noncompliance with the Rules and Regulations of the Cemetery.
SUPERVISION & MANAGEMENT OF THE CEMETERY.
Elrod Cemetery is managed by the Elrod Cemetery Association, a not-for-profit organization established by the heirs and descendants of those interred at Elrod Cemetery.
The Cemetery reserves the right to compel all persons coming into the Cemetery to obey all Rules and Regulations adopted by the Cemetery.
The Cemetery shall take reasonable precautions to protect against loss or damage to property or interment rights within the Cemetery; by it expressly disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage from causes beyond its reasonable control, and specifically, but not by way of limitation, from loss or damage caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, assailants, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosion, unavoidable accident, invasion, insurrection, riot, government act or regulation or order of any military or civil authority, whether the loss or damage be direct or indirect.
The Cemetery reserves and shall have the right to correct any errors that may be made by it in making interments, disinterments, or sales, transfers, or conveyance of Interment Rights, including the right to substitute and convey in lieu thereof other Interment Rights of comparable value and similar location (to the extent possible) as may be selected by the Cemetery. Alternatively, the Cemetery, in its sole discretion, may refund the amount of money paid on account of the purchase of the Interment Rights, merchandise or services to which the error relates. In the event such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person in an incorrect location, the Cemetery reserves and shall have the right to remove and transfer such remains so interred to the correct location or to a similar location of comparable value, as may be selected by the Cemetery. The Cemetery shall have no liability as a result of any errors of the type described in this paragraph other than its obligation to take the remedial actions described in this paragraph.
The Cemetery reserves the right to enlarge, reduce, replace or change the boundaries or grading of the Cemetery or of a section or sections thereof, from time to time, including the right to modify or change the locations of, or remove or re-grade, features, roads, drives, trees, shrubs, flowers, landscaping and thoroughfares. The Cemetery further reserves the right to lay, maintain, operate, alter or change pipelines, ditches, berms or gutters for irrigation, drainage and water impoundment as well as the right to use the Cemetery property, not sold for interment, for Cemetery purposes.
The Cemetery shall have sole and exclusive authority with respect to the planting, sodding, surveying and improvements within the Cemetery.
No persons, other than the duly authorized employees, volunteers or agents of the Cemetery, shall be allowed to perform any work within the Cemetery without authorization of the Cemetery management, and any such work so authorized shall be subject to all provisions contained therein pertaining to such activity.
If any tree, shrub or plant, by means of its roots, branches or otherwise, becomes detrimental to the interment space upon which it stands or to any adjacent interment spaces or roadway, or if for any other reason its removal is deemed necessary, the Cemetery management shall have the right to remove such tree, shrub or plant, or any part thereof, or otherwise correct the condition existing as in its judgment it deems best. In the event of any such removal, the Cemetery shall have no obligation to replace the removed tree, shrub or plant.