Ayr Mount is the closest of Hillsborough’s landmarks to us, about a mile and a half up the road.
William Kirkland built it in 1815, one of the first brick houses in the area, and named it for Ayr
in Scotland where he was born. Four generations of the same family lived there for the next 170
years. Richard H. Jenrette bought and restored it in 1985, and it is owned today by the Classical
American Homes Preservation Trust.1
Most people who mention it to us are not talking about the house. They are talking about Poet’s
Walk, the mile-long trail on the grounds that runs down along the Eno River.1
Why Families Bring It Up
Because it is where someone walked. Over and over, when a family is trying to describe a person,
what comes out is a place they went routinely rather than anything on a résumé. Around here that is
often the river path.
That is useful information for planning a service, and it usually goes unused. A memorial built
around where someone actually spent their time will land better than a generic one, and it costs
nothing extra to do. If Poet’s Walk is the answer to “where was she happiest”, say so at the first
meeting.
What we would gently flag: the grounds are a preserved historic site with its own rules and
opening times, so anything held there has to be arranged with the trust rather than assumed. Check
before you tell family it is happening.
Green Burial and Why It Comes Up Here
Families drawn to the river and the grounds are often the same families who ask about green
burial, and the two instincts are related. Green burial means no embalming chemicals, a
biodegradable casket or a shroud, and ground managed as habitat rather than mown lawn.
We handle the majority of natural burials at Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, a conservation
burial ground in the county. Conservation burial places the land under permanent protection, so the
site stays undeveloped. Families are usually surprised by how much they are allowed to do
themselves there. Carrying, lowering and filling are frequently done by the family rather than by
staff, and for a lot of people that turns out to be the part that helps.
Aquamation
The other reason people find us is aquamation, also called alkaline hydrolysis or water
cremation. It uses heated water and an alkaline solution instead of fire and returns bone mineral
to the family much as flame cremation does. According to co-founder Hunter Beattie it releases no
toxic or carcinogenic gases and produces no carbon emissions.
No other provider in the Triangle region offers it. We also hold a United States Department of
Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program grant covering half the cost of a 150,000 dollar solar
installation, which is intended to bring our aquamation and green burial services to carbon neutral
operation.2
Getting the Day Right
A few things worth deciding early, whoever you use:
- Whether there is a body present at the service. It changes the timing more than any other
choice. - Whether the gathering is public or family only, and telling people clearly which it is.
- Who speaks. Two short pieces from people who knew the person beat one long one from someone who
did not. - What happens afterwards. The hour after a service is when people actually talk, and it is worth
planning somewhere for that to happen.
What It Costs
Our general price list is published on this site rather than held back. Any provider in the
United States has to give you one if you ask in person,3 and we would rather you never
had to ask.
Direct cremation is the least expensive thing we do. Aquamation and green burial are priced in
the same range as their conventional equivalents, not above them, which is the opposite of what
most families expect when they call.
Getting Here From Ayr Mount
The drive is short. Ayr Mount sits about 1.4 miles south of the funeral home on Meadowlands Drive, which in normal traffic is under ten minutes. Families often come straight from a viewing or a graveside back to us, or the other way around, and the distance is small enough that nobody has to plan the day around driving.
If you are coordinating a service and a burial on the same morning, tell us and we will build the timings around the cemetery rather than around our own schedule. Processions, pallbearers and clergy all need slack in the plan, and it is easier to add that at the start than to claw it back on the day.
Closer to the centre of town, we also serve families around the streets near the courthouse and along the greenway by the water. Everywhere we cover is on the service area page.
Talking to Someone
If a death has already happened, call and we will walk you through the next few hours. There is no form to fill in first and nothing to prepare. If you are planning ahead instead, you can take as long as you want; preplanning appointments are unhurried by design, and writing your own arrangements down is the single kindest thing you can do for the people who will otherwise have to guess.
Our general price list is published on this site rather than held back until you ask. You should be able to compare what a funeral costs without having to make a phone call to find out.
Endswell Funeral Home
407 Meadowlands Dr, Hillsborough, NC 27278
(919) 907-9777
Building a Service Around a Place
If a walk, a river or a particular view is what a family keeps returning to when they describe
someone, that is usable. A reading chosen because it fits the landscape rather than because it is
what gets read at funerals. A gathering timed for late afternoon because that is when they went.
Ashes divided so more than one person has somewhere to go.
None of that costs more than the generic version. It only requires that somebody asks the
question early, which is why we ask it at the first meeting rather than handing over a menu.
Scattering, and the Rules People Get Wrong
Families often assume ashes can be scattered anywhere. Usually they can, but land ownership
matters, and preserved sites, parks and private grounds all have their own rules. Ask the
landowner. It is a short conversation and it avoids a moment nobody wants at the end of a hard
week.
If scattering is not possible where a family had in mind, there are other routes: interment at a
conservation burial ground, a small amount kept and the rest interred, or simply waiting. Ashes do
not expire. Deciding a year later is allowed and is often better.
A Note on Timing
Aquamation and cremation both separate the disposition from the ceremony, so a memorial can be
held weeks later without anything being rushed. Burial does not offer that. If the family is spread
across the country, that difference is worth weighing before the date is set.
Where We Are
What Families Say
Endswell holds a 4.9 star rating from 71 Google reviews.4 We are not going to reprint them here and tell you what they mean. Read them yourself, then read the reviews of every other funeral home you are considering, and pay attention to what people say about the week rather than the day. Anybody can run a good service. The difference shows in whether somebody answered the phone at two in the morning and whether the price at the end matched the price at the start.
Sources
1. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Ayr Mount Historic Site. savingplaces.org
2. United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Energy for America Program. rd.usda.gov
3. Federal Trade Commission, The Funeral Rule. ftc.gov
4. Local Falcon location record for Endswell Funeral Home, Hillsborough, retrieved 9 September 2026.