Maury County, City of Columbia agree to seek one-year funds to maintain Rose Hill and Rosemount cemeteries

The Health and Environment Committee of Maury County voted to forward a proposed $56,000 county contribution to the budget committee to help pay for mowing and basic upkeep at Rose Hill and Rosemount cemeteries for one year.

Adam Southern, secretary of the Rose Hill Cemetery board, told commissioners the two sites are historic and at immediate risk without outside help. "Rose Hill is about 40 acres with roughly 13,000 graves," Southern said. "Rosemount is about 20 acres and about 4,000 graves, many unmarked." He said the cemetery association’s accounts have been largely exhausted and that mowing alone costs about $80,000 a year for Rose Hill. A combined mowing bid for both cemeteries came in at $112,000.

Why it matters: both cemeteries contain veterans’ graves spanning the Revolutionary War through modern conflicts and other local historical figures. Southern and other speakers described continued vandalism, storm and tree damage, and a steep decline in perpetual-care funds. Without an interim funding solution, speakers warned the properties risk becoming overgrown, inaccessible and eventually abandoned.

City of Columbia officials who attended indicated the city would commit to half the one-year expense. The city’s attendance and the mayor’s comments framed the proposal as a short-term, joint lifeline while cemetery boards pursue longer-term solutions including applying for historic registry status, pursuing grants, and exploring tourism or contractual options to make operations sustainable. The mayor said such registration and tourism-related approaches could open new grant sources and hotel-motel tax possibilities.

Commission discussion focused on precedent and process. Several commissioners said they were reluctant to begin a long-term subsidy of private nonprofits but supported a one-year measure to avoid immediate loss of access or further deterioration. Concerns included whether the county should start funding other private cemetery associations and how to ensure accountability for the funds.

The committee motion requests $56,000 from the county’s 101 fund — one half of the $112,000 mowing bid — to be reviewed in the county budget process. The motion also called for the mayor to appoint an ad hoc city–county committee to coordinate next steps, pursue grant and registry work, explore contracting and stewardship options, and report back to the commission.

The committee voted to send the $56,000 recommendation to the county budget committee for consideration; the proposal will return to the full commission for a final appropriation vote if approved by budget. The cemetery boards said they will continue fundraising and exploring other revenue sources during the year of proposed county–city support.