“Show me your cemeteries and I will tell you what kind of people you have.” — Benjamin Franklin

Evergreen Cemetery, created in 1855, was part of a remarkable rural cemetery movement that changed the way Americans thought about death and burial. Unlike the barren, crowded burial grounds of earlier years, rural cemeteries were carefully designed landscapes intended to soothe and inspire the living and create a lasting memorial to the dead. In the era before parks were common, cemeteries were also important public recreational grounds. The ideals that shaped Evergreen remain an important part of its legacy.