Forest Hill Cemetery

Forest Hill Cemetery, at 908 Memorial Drive (County Road 7) in International Falls, Minnesota, serves as a peaceful resting place for the community. It manages and maintains not only its own grounds but also the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) sections, ensuring that all who served are honored with dignity.

Hours
The gates are open seven days a week, including holidays; access in winter depends on the season’s snowfall. Visiting is welcome during daylight hours, and the grounds are closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The association’s office is closed during the winter months, usually October through April, and open by appointment from May through September. The post office box and email account are checked regularly and forwarded to the right person.

Cemetery Layout and Management
The cemetery is organized into numbered blocks, as shown on the map, with designated areas for Forest Hill, the American Legion and the VFW. The American Legion and VFW sections are managed directly by Forest Hill Cemetery. The adjoining St. Thomas Cemetery, on the east side, has been run by St. Thomas Parish as a separate entity since 2014; questions about that section go to the parish office at 810 Fifth Street, International Falls, (218) 283-3293. Forest Hill Cemetery oversees the care and upkeep of its own grounds and its dedicated veterans’ sections.

A Short History
The Forest Hill Cemetery Association was incorporated on April 15, 1911. Before that, burials were made under the supervision of Frank B. Green, and the very first burial was on January 12, 1908. The association was re-incorporated in 1944 and revised its bylaws in 1992. It is a non-profit run by a board of six directors, two elected each year, which sets the rules, the price of lots and the burial fees and hires the groundskeeper, grave locator and grave digger. Its income comes from lot sales, grave openings, private and business donations, contributions from the cities of International Falls and Ranier, and grants.

Purchasing a Plot
To purchase a plot, contact the association (see below). A single lot is $600, plus $120 for perpetual care, paid before the burial. Sales are made per lot, and each lot can hold either one casket and one cremation urn or two cremation urns. A lot owner may sell a lot back to the cemetery with the Board’s approval for half the original price, and any transfer of ownership must be made in writing and filed with the cemetery.

Burial Rates
Current rates, as provided by the association’s records manager on September 29, 2026: opening and closing for a full burial is $1,200 from May through October and $1,800 from November through April; for a cremation burial it is $480 and $600, and for two cremations in one urn it is $720 from May through October and $840 from November through April. A Saturday burial adds $200; the association asks that Saturday burials end by noon but makes exceptions for later times. Winter full burials carry a flat $150 snow-removal fee. Other fees, such as a disinterment or the charge to locate and mark a grave for a monument company, are set by the Board; ask the association, because the rate sheet posted on its website dates from 2022 and no longer reflects the current prices. Fees are paid directly to the cemetery unless the funeral home guarantees payment.

Interment and Burial Guidelines
Full burials are offered year-round. Cremation burials run from May 1 through November 30 and can be extended when the weather permits or with the Board’s approval; a winter cremation request is considered case by case. In winter, a family requesting a full burial pays a flat $150 snow-removal fee so the locator and grave opener can reach the site. A vault or grave liner is required for every casket burial and is arranged through the funeral home; none is required for cremation urns. All opening and closing work is done by a grave opener approved by the Board, and every burial is coordinated in advance with the association.

Monuments and Markers
Monuments and markers must be commercially made of stone, concrete or metal and approved by the Board, and they are installed only by contractors who file proof of insurance with the Board each year. Forest Hill does not install monuments. Upright memorials go at the head of a lot; a marker at the foot must be flat and level with the ground; nothing is placed in the center of a lot. No upright monuments are allowed in the VFW or American Legion sections, and no fences, copings, hedges or ditches are allowed anywhere. Repairs are the lot owner’s responsibility and must be done by a licensed contractor. The association lists four monument companies: Minnesota Monument & Granite Works in International Falls, (218) 244-8097; Little Falls Granite Works, (320) 632-9277; Bemidji Monument Company, (218) 751-6635; and Duluth Monument, (218) 624-1146.

Decorations
Live and artificial flowers are allowed only during the Memorial Day observance, from five days before until seven days after Memorial Day. At the end of that period the cemetery’s staff pick up and dispose of all flowers, ornaments, shepherd’s hooks and anything else that would interfere with mowing.

Conduct on the Grounds
Quiet and respectful behavior is expected at all times. The speed limit is 10 mph; all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and motorized dirt bikes are prohibited, and so are picnics. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Do not touch anything that is not yours, and do not plant, remove or cut shrubs or trees on any lot without the Board’s consent. Volunteers may not clean or work on gravestones other than their own family’s without the Board’s approval, because the wrong tools or products can do irreparable damage. The full Rules and Regulations are posted by the association.

Military Funeral Honors
A veteran’s family can request Military Funeral Honors: the folding and presentation of the United States flag and the playing of Taps by a detail of at least two members of the Armed Forces, one from the veteran’s own branch. Who is eligible is explained in the association’s Military Funeral Honors guide.

Support
The association is self-sufficient and runs on a limited budget; donations, memorials and bequests keep it going. A $5,000 Koochiching Community Development Association grant, with major gifts from Packaging Corporation of America, Green Larsen Mortuary and Minnesota Monument and Granite Works, funded a landscaping and beautification plan. Twenty-one trees, two rock gardens and rock placements along the main driveways are in so far, with a memorial-tree program, permanent water service, new entryway monuments and memorial benches under consideration.

Contact
Burial information: 218-283-4229. Email: foresthillcemeteryifalls@gmail.com. The association welcomes corrections and additions to its burial records from families.

Mailing Address:
Forest Hill Cemetery
P.O. Box 1221
International Falls, MN 56649

Details above come from the association’s website and its posted Rules and Regulations, checked September 29, 2026; the burial rates and lot prices are as corrected by the association’s records manager the same day.