New in 2026

The columbarium

A resting place in Johnson City for families who choose cremation — permanent, engraved in granite, on ground held in trust since 1892.

The installed columbarium: four rows of polished black granite niche covers framed in silver-gray granite, beneath the cemetery trees. — The columbarium in Casparis B, September 2026. Photograph retouched to remove reflections.

Why a columbarium

Staying in Johnson City

More than half of Texas families now choose cremation. Until recently the cemetery had no good answer for them: an urn can be buried in a full grave space, but that uses ground meant for a casket burial, and it leaves nothing above the surface for a family to visit. Families who had lived in Johnson City for four generations found themselves keeping a parent's ashes on a shelf, or driving to a columbarium in Austin.

The lodge's answer is a granite columbarium in Casparis Section B, the strip along the west fence, within sight of the historic section. It was fabricated by Tri-County Monuments of Blanco to a design finalized in February 2025, with rows of niches behind polished black granite covers, a silver-gray granite frame, and a concrete plaza. The artist’s interpretation below shows how inscriptions and memorial benches could complete the setting. The covers are engraved to one standard, so the whole structure reads as a single memorial rather than a wall of mismatched plaques.

A niche here is bought the same way a grave has always been bought: a specific numbered place, a written certificate, and a record kept by the lodge. The right lasts as long as the cemetery does, and the cemetery has been dedicated exclusively to that purpose under Texas law.

An artist’s interpretation

A place to pause and remember

Soft light through the oaks, names engraved in granite, and a quiet place to sit. This view imagines the actual columbarium with example inscriptions and two matching memorial benches.

Photorealistic artist’s interpretation of the actual gray-and-black granite columbarium with illustrative inscriptions and two granite benches in warm light beneath the oaks. — Artist’s interpretation based on the actual columbarium, showing illustrative inscriptions and proposed benches. Names are examples; final designs and placement are subject to personal preferences and cemetery policies.

The columbarium today

Granite, light, and open sky

Photographs of the installed columbarium and its setting.

A corner view of the installed columbarium showing its solid gray granite side, polished black covers, and bronze rosette fasteners. — Silver-gray granite frames the polished niche covers.

Looking along the columbarium’s polished face toward the cemetery’s trees and open grounds, reflected naturally in the granite. — The surrounding trees and grounds reflected in the granite.

See more photographs of the columbarium and cemetery →

One

Single niche

One urn. The outer column on each face. Granite cover engraved with name and dates; epitaph and emblem optional.

$2,000 upper rows · $1,500 lower rows

Two

Companion niche

Two urns, one cover, two names. The three center columns on each face. The most common choice for a couple; the second name is engraved when needed.

$3,500 · $3,000 · $2,500 by row

Three

Memorial bench

Discuss a memorial bench for the plaza, engraved in memory of a person or a family, with the committee. The benches in the artist’s interpretation illustrate one possible design and placement.

Ask the committee

Which niches are open

Choose a niche

Forty niches in all, twenty on each face, laid out the same way on both. The narrow end niches hold one urn; the wide center niches hold two. Prices step down by row from eye level to the ground, and every price includes the granite cover. Tap an open niche to ask about it; the inquiry form opens with that niche filled in.

Prices effective September 2026. Engraving and opening/closing are listed on the fee schedule.

40 of 40 niches open

16 single · 24 companion · as of September 23, 2026

North facetoward the historic section, the side in the photograph above

Row 1 at top · niche 1 at your left

South facetoward the ball field

Row 1 at top · niche 1 at your left

Open: tap to ask about it
Reserved by a family
Occupied

Availability is updated as reservations are made. The committee confirms the niche before any payment, and the map does not hold a niche.

Close view of the actual polished black niche covers, bronze rosette fasteners, and speckled gray granite rail. — A closer look at the granite and bronze rosette fasteners.

Engraving

Covers are engraved by Tri-County Monuments using their niche engraving order form, so every cover matches. The base engraving is the surname, first name and middle initial, and dates of birth and passing. Options: a second name for a companion niche, an epitaph of a line or two, and one emblem from their sheet (religious, military, fraternal, and others). If a niche is bought pre-need, the date of passing is added later; the monument company charges per trip to the cemetery, so families sometimes wait to engrave a companion cover until both dates are known.

Current engraving fees are on the fee schedule. Contact Tri-County Monuments at [email protected] or (830) 885-2261 to place an engraving order once the lodge has confirmed your niche.

Artist’s rendering of a black granite niche cover with an illustrative inscription and an oak-and-acorn engraving. — Artist’s rendering. Actual covers may vary with personal preferences and cemetery policies.

Step by step

How to reserve a niche

1Send an inquiry using the form, or call. Tell us single or companion, and whether it is pre-need or at need.
2Choose the niche. Pick an open niche on the niche map, or ask the committee to suggest one. The committee confirms it is still open before anything else. If you wish to walk the grounds, a meeting can be set up.
3Arrange payment. The committee provides payment instructions and confirms the documentation for your right of inurnment. There is no purchase agreement to sign. The cemetery rules apply to the use and care of your niche.
4Order engraving from Tri-County Monuments, now or later.
5At the time of need, the funeral home or the family contacts the lodge to schedule the inurnment. A brief service at the columbarium is welcome.

Reserve a niche

Niches are not sold by online checkout. The committee approves each reservation first, and payment alone does not hold a niche.

Questions families ask

Who can purchase a niche?: Anyone. The cemetery has never restricted burial by lodge, church, family, or residence, and the columbarium follows the same rule.
What does a purchase actually buy?: The exclusive right of inurnment in a specific numbered niche, recorded on the cemetery's plat, together with the granite niche cover. The land and the structure remain the property of the lodge, as with every grave in the cemetery. You receive a written certificate.
How many urns fit in a niche?: A single niche holds one urn; a companion niche holds two. The niche interior dimensions and the maximum urn size are printed on the certificate and on the fee schedule. Urns must be of a durable, sealed material — no cardboard or temporary containers.
Who does the engraving?: Tri-County Monuments of Blanco, which fabricated the columbarium, engraves the covers to a uniform standard using their niche engraving order form. Name, dates, an optional epitaph, and an optional emblem chosen from their sheet. Engraving is ordered and paid separately from the niche.
Can I buy now and use it later?: Yes. Most niches are bought pre-need. Your certificate records the niche number; when the time comes, the funeral home or the family contacts the lodge to schedule the inurnment.
Can a niche be sold or transferred?: A niche cannot be resold to a third party. It can be transferred to a family member, or returned to the lodge, only in writing and with the lodge's consent, as set out in the rules. Once an inurnment has taken place the purchase is final.
Can flowers be left at the columbarium?: Fresh flowers may be placed on the plaza on the day of an inurnment and on holidays. Nothing may be attached to the granite, no glass, and the committee removes faded arrangements, as the cemetery's Conditions and Restrictions provide.