Forest of Memories

111 West Main Street
Westminster, South Carolina 29693

Phone: (864) 647-7798
Email: kimberley@memorialecosystems.com

In 1998, Dr. Billy Campbell he and his wife, Kimberley, opened the Ramsey Creek Preserve in upstate South Carolina. It specializes in burials that eschew embalming, traditional coffins and headstones in favor of a simpler, less costly, more natural approach.

A green burial reduces costs by about half as compared with
traditional burials. Graves are hand-dug, and instead of using expensive, finished coffins, the dead are buried in shrouds or a plain wooden box without a vault or grave liner. In addition, Ramsey Creek doesn´t look like traditional cemeteries with their paths and rows of headstones. Instead, it looks like a natural wooded area, which it is. If you didn´t know you were in a cemetery, it might be hard to tell.

Many graves don´t have any markers at all, and those that have
markers use simple, flat stones with modest engraving. Global
Positioning Satellite equipment helps mourners find the unmarked graves when they visit. Instead of placing cut flowers on graves, families are invited to a plant tree or shrub -- but the plantings must be native to the area.

The goal also is to create a nature preserve that benefits the
community. The living are invited to hike or picnic and observe
wildlife at the 37-acre preserve.