ARTESIA CEMETERY DISTRICT

For over a century our cemetery has been chosen as the final resting place for County residents and their loved ones.  The early settlers and pioneers of Los Angeles County are memorialized by the many monuments located throughout the grounds. 

The Artesia Cemetery is owned and operated by the Artesia Cemetery District, and is among the County’s oldest and most established, with having recorded burials since the 1860's.  Although privately owned in the beginning, these cemeteries were formed into separate independent, publicly owned districts in 1920's.  On September 24, 1928, the Artesia Cemetery, by resolution of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, became the Artesia Cemetery District (District).

The District is an independent special district governed by a Board of Trustees who serve four-year terms as appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. The Board of Trustees’ responsibilities include, but are not limited to, passing ordinances, adopting the budget, appointing committees, and hiring of the General Manager and District Legal Counsel. The General Manager is responsible for administering programs in accordance with policies established by the Board of Trustees and within the guidelines of the annual budget adopted by the Board of Trustees.

The annual budget includes all funds of the District. It includes all governmental organizations and activities for which the District’s Board of Trustees is financially accountable. The District provides for interment services and for the operation and maintenance of the cemetery grounds.  The District’s service area includes the Cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens & parts of Lakewood, Norwalk, and Long Beach. 

The District cemetery “endowment care” fund collects a one-time endowment fee for each interment, which is placed into an investment fund strictly for the perpetual care and maintenance of the grounds.