The Chapel

The chapel at Swan Point is a particularly lovely one. It is not large but does have a seating capacity of 100 persons and may be adapted for use by all religious faiths.

In many instances its stained glass windows have been given to the cemetery as memorials to departed loved ones. Although in the same building as the offices and Reception Room, it is separated by a vestibule from the former. There are outside entrances to each facility, thus providing good flexibility. A fine Allen Organ is in place and an organist is provided on request. A sound system permits the playing of recorded music if that is desired.

Photo courtesy International Cemetery and Funeral Association

The chapel is used for cremation committal services, memorial services and as a necessary substitute on occasion for a graveside service. It is highly adaptable and has also been used for lectures, annual meetings of the proprietors and an occasional wedding.

Reception Room

Adjacent to our chapel, this beautifully appointed room is available for use and, we believe fills a need for family members and friends to meet following any type of service. It holds approximately seventy-five people, with adjoining facilities for use by a caterer approved by the cemetery.

Crematory

Although not unique to Swan Point, not all cemeteries and very few funeral homes have cremation facilities. This service is made available to all who desire it. The Crematory with its cremation chambers and Committal Room is in a building north of the chapel. This permits the process of cremation to be carried with reverence and dignity.

For those desiring the cremated remains to be memorialized at Swan Point Cemetery, there are several choices available to them. Inurnment in a niche in one of the two Columbaria or earth burial are the most usual methods of disposition. An additional alternative is Memorial Grove where, under the supervision of cemetery personnel, the cremated remains may be scattered. This is a lovely area, very natural in appearance and highlighted by a large megalith. Memorialization on a common ledger stone is included with all services.

Burial Lots

Burial lots are available for sale to meet every taste and requirement. In developing new sections of the grounds, the cemetery maintains a policy established in its early years whereby all lots are graded, bound stones set, paths constructed and water drainage lines extended, before the lots are made available for sale. It will thus be observed that a lot owner acquires interment rights, as well as interest in a large estate that has been developed, beautified and made available for the purpose to which it is dedicated. Since the early part of the last century, the Cemetery has followed the practice of including, in the purchase price of the lot, an amount sufficient to provide perpetual care of the grass on it. This contributes to and makes possible the maintenance of the entire cemetery in accordance with the high standards established many years ago and always followed.

Columbaria

The cemetery's two Columbaria face each other across a courtyard just east of the office building. The older one is the closer to the office and contains a vestibule and two niche rooms for the permanent placement of inurned cremated remains. The newer columbarium contains both interior and exterior niches.

Interior niches in both buildings are varying sizes to accommodate one or more urns. A greater variety of niche closures of marble or wood are also available.

Exterior niches in the newer building are uniform size and will accommodate one or two urns. Granite facings are also common to all these outside, or garden-type niches.

The purchase price of niches varies with size and location. All, however, include perpetual care. Upon purchasing a niche the owner will receive a grant of entitlement of deposit and keep, in perpetuity, specified cremated remains in a designated niche. All such grants are permanently recorded in the record books of the cemetery.

Mausoleum

Adjacent to both the office building and the Columbaria is a modern and attractive mausoleum designed for both single and multiple entombment. Both interior and exterior (garden) crypts are available. Italian perlatto marble is the facing for these inside; Finnish red granite for those outside.

The purchase price for each crypt (defined as the space occupied by a single casket) varies as to size and location. All include perpetual care and upon purchasing a crypt the owner will receive a grant of entitlement to deposit and keep, in perpetuity, specific remains in a designated crypt. All such grants are permanently recorded in the record books of the cemetery.

Memorial Grove

A considerable amount of Swan Point's underdeveloped property consists of unspoiled woodland in which can be found many varieties of trees, evergreens and flowering shrubs. The Cemetery would like to perpetuate a portion of this reserve in its natural condition.

We have, therefore, dedicated one and one-half acres of woodland park to be known as "Memorial Grove" in commemoration of those who are interred in family lots in Swan Point or, for that matter, in any other specific location. This memorial plot may include those who have been lost at sea or those who have fallen in battle and not returned. This attractive parcel of land will also include those who have chosen cremation followed by the informal distribution of the remains. We recognize that there are some who wish their cremated remains to be scattered rather than interred in a burial lot. In this memorial area it is possible to carry out this wish and still not lose the privilege of recording the name and the dates for posterity.

In order to memorialize a person, the Cemetery will, upon the payment of a fee, record and add to our permanent files the name, dates and the family background concerning the decedent. Furthermore, this Cemetery will undertake to have the name and dates incised upon a granite ledger which will be permanently situated in Memorial Grove.

Many have expressed their wish to have their remains scattered, and in response to these requests the Cemetery has agreed to make a disposition of the cremated remains in this section. This will be done with the written consent of the person authorizing the cremation. It is understood that there will be no specific location concerning this disposition except that it is within the confines of Memorial Grove.

The Megalith

In the midst of Memorial Grove, Swan Point has had erected what we believe to be the largest single stone ever to have been set in an American cemetery.

When we considered a central feature for this grove of trees, we quickly discounted any style of hand-crafted edifice with the thought that man's creations would be somewhat incongruent in this otherwise natural setting. Instead, we relied upon Swan Point's long association with boulders - for example, our walls and entrance, and we have selected a natural boulder as our "monument".

We sought out and finally found near Westerly, Rhode Island, a boulder whose size and shape were suitable for this purpose, and it is now situated in the Grove. It is roughly eight feet square at the base, about seventeen feet high, and is estimated to weigh over fifty tons.

Dr. Bruno G. Gilletti, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, has examined the stone, and he explains it in geological detail in a comprehensive report available at the Cemetery Office.

We have chosen to call the stone simply "The Megalith", and we feel that it is an impressive addition to our landscape. This boulder, according to its geology, has been a part of the structure of what is now Rhode Island for at least five million years. Eternity is expressed in many ways - the stars, the earth, the sea or the mountains - and all of these are represented in this one great stone. It is, in fact, a microcosm of the universe, and we believe a worthy expression of mankind's kinship with nature.

This megalith is reminiscent of the great pre-Christian sarsen stones to be found in various parts of Britain - particularly at Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire. They are not stones native to that area but were transported there on rollers for many miles. Some of them are identified as from Wales and others from Ireland. After being brought by sea to the coast of England, they were manually rolled from the landing spot to their ultimate destination. This all happened about 4,000 years ago, 2,000 years before Christ.