The world of death in Vicksburg moved into a new realm Monday when its first columbarium was delivered and installed.

This granite columbarium — a place for the storage of cremation urns — weighs nearly 10,000 pounds and was placed by crane near the entrance to Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery, the former Green Acres, on U.S. 80, just east of the Mississippi 27 intersection.

“The cost of burial has risen just like everything else,” said Harry Sharp, owner of Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery. “Being able to offer a columbarium to customers can substantially reduce that cost.”

The columbarium, a hexagon that measures 5-foot-4 by 4-foot-6 by 6-foot-eight, was purchased through Matthews International Corporation and delivered to Vicksburg on an 18-wheeler from California. Benches will be added to the site and can be purchased in memory of loved ones.

Each of the 72 columbaria niches can hold one or two urns and will have a bronze plaque with the deceased’s name, similar to the engraving on a tombstone, said Sharp’s son, David Sharp, general manager at Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery.

Atop the maple mahogany-colored columbarium will be a bronze angel holding a trumpet, reminiscent of the two that topped Vicksburg’s City Hall until a tornado ravaged the city’s downtown on Dec. 5, 1953. Those angels have not been seen since the tornado. The base for the angel was damaged during shipping, so it will be installed once repairs have been made, Sharp said.

Cremation, an alternative to traditional burial, has grown in popularity in Warren County in the 51 years that Charles Riles, owner of Riles Funeral Home, has been in the business.

“There have been 84 cremations reported this year in Warren County to the Mississippi State Board of Health,” he said, “and when I started in this business, we had one that first year.”

“I never thought I’d live long enough to see this in Vicksburg,” Riles said.

The cost for a cremation is significantly less than a traditional burial.

Cremations average $2,000, contrasted with $8,000 for a conventional burial, Riles said.

The cost of purchasing a companion columbaria niche is $1,200, as compared with having a coffin placed in a burial plot in Warren County, which averages $2,400 for two plots, said Harry Sharp.

Several religious faiths discourage or restrict their members from cremation, and others require that urns be buried in a traditional burial plot.

Cremation “is strictly a personal choice and we honor the family’s decision,” said Glenwood Funeral Home Vice President John Kamman.

Mississippi has 19 crematories, and the nearest crematorium and columbarium are in Jackson.

Sharp said the demand for an on-site crematorium at the cemetery isn’t there at this time. “I would definitely consider it for the future,” he said. Talks of building both private and community mausoleums at the cemetery are also in the works, he said.

As of late Monday, one columbaria niche had been sold. “We are ready to make our first inurnment,” Sharp said, referring to the placing of an urn in the niche.

“Vicksburg has never had an option like this,” said Fisher Funeral Home director and manager Bobby Rose.