Association of American Cemetery Superintendents
The Association of American Cemetery Superintendents (AACS) started in 1887 to share ideas and improve cemetery design, groundskeeping, and horticulture. Today it is known as the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (ICCF). The idea for the group began in 1886 with eighteen people, and the first meeting took place in October 1887 in Cincinnati, led by Charles Nichols. The main goal was education; annual meeting papers written by cemetery superintendents were widely read by libraries and schools to spread useful knowledge about cemeteries.
The AACS worked to better cemeteries and their upkeep across the United States and encouraged superintendents to keep graveyards well maintained. The organization even focused on rural cemeteries, recognizing their importance to communities. A notable example from the early days describes a group of all-women cemetery caretakers for a very old rural churchyard; with encouragement from the AACS, they improved the cemetery’s appearance and upkeep, showing the broad impact the association aimed for.
Over time, the AACS became one of the three oldest societies devoted to landscape and cemetery gardening and rural art in the United States and it continues today. It produced practical guidelines for laying out grounds, choosing headstone sizes, and selecting materials for vaults and monuments. In 1888, cemetery engineer Jacob Weidenmann published an influential essay, “Modern Cemeteries,” about land-planning and landscaping to improve unused plots. In 1890, the association set standards: headstone sizes, a four-inch height limit for grave mounds, and a rule that family plots could have only one monument, along with recommendations on vaults and materials. These guidelines helped standardize cemetery appearance while allowing individual style.
During the first twenty years, the AACS drove major improvements across many cemeteries, including care of grass and gravestones. Churchyards posed a challenge because they weren’t overseen by cemetery superintendents in the same way; efforts to engage them included a Chicago convention idea to use newspapers to raise public interest, which didn’t work. Another effort suggested appointing a women-led committee with the motto “Keep Clean” to sidestep objections and promote upkeep.
The organization gradually changed names over its first century and, in 1996, became the International Cemetery, and Funeral Association. The term “cremation” was added in 2007 to reflect a broader mission. Today, ICCF serves about 9,100 cemeteries, crematoriums, memorials, and related services worldwide. It continues to hold conventions and meetings to share laws, regulations, and educational information.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:25 (CET).