Headstones in the Hudson Valley, NY | Granite

The Hudson Valley runs from the edge of New York City up through the Catskills, and its nine counties hold an extraordinary range of cemeteries: colonial-era churchyards, famous Victorian garden cemeteries like Sleepy Hollow in Westchester, large suburban memorial parks such as Kensico, and quiet mountain burial grounds in Sullivan, Ulster and Greene counties.

The counties

Westchester — dense suburbs with large, historic and religious cemeteries serving families from across the metro area.
Rockland and Putnam — suburban and semi-rural, with many religious and town cemeteries.
Orange and Dutchess — river towns, farmland and growing suburbs.
Ulster, Sullivan and Greene — Catskills country, with small mountain cemeteries and some large faith cemeteries.
Columbia — rural, with historic villages and old Dutch-era burial grounds.

Historic stone and why granite replaced it

Walk through an old Hudson Valley churchyard and you'll see sandstone, slate and marble stones from the 1700s and 1800s. Westchester even had its own marble — Tuckahoe marble, quarried in the 19th century and used in New York buildings and gravestones. Marble's weakness is that it slowly dissolves in acidic rain and spalls in freeze-thaw winters, so many of those inscriptions are now faint. Granite took over as the standard memorial stone because it doesn't. Our granite vs marble vs bronze comparison explains the differences.

Matching historic settings

In historic cemeteries and older sections, many families want a new stone that fits in:

Grey granite with a honed or rock-pitch finish reads as traditional.
Classic shapes — tablet, gothic or roman tops — echo older stones.
Serif lettering suits historic surroundings. See our fonts guide.

Some historic cemeteries restrict modern features like large etched portraits in older sections — always check.

Faith traditions

The Hudson Valley has large Jewish communities, particularly in Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Westchester, as well as Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant cemeteries throughout. For Jewish memorials, plan production around the unveiling, and proof Hebrew lettering carefully. See our unveiling guide.

Mountain cemeteries

In the Catskills:

Winters are harsher and installation seasons shorter.
Access can be limited by steep or unpaved lanes, especially at spring thaw.
Foundations must go below the local frost line and account for slopes.

See our foundation guide.

Cemetery rules

From big Westchester cemeteries to tiny Columbia County churchyards, every cemetery has its own rules on size, material, foundations and approvals. Get them in writing — our cemetery rules guide helps.

Factory-direct to the Hudson Valley

Marwaa Memorials manufactures in our own factory and delivers door-to-door under DAP terms — freight, customs and duties included. Design in our Design Studio and request a quote.

Frequently Asked Questions