Did you know?
Evergreen Cemetery is on the National Register of Historical Places.
Evergreen’s location was called Westbrook until 1871 when the town of Deering separated from Westbrook. The city of Portland annexed Deering in 1899 and Evergreen was then in Portland, its third and final location.
There are more than 10,000 monuments and 60,000 graves.
There are over 1000 Civil War Veterans buried here.
In 1913 the cemetery bought its first automobile, and in 1919 traded it in for a Dodge. In 1935 the cemetery bought a Hudson Terraplane truck for $831.
Local Dignitaries
Many of the streets of Portland are named after prominent business people who are interred here.
There are specific areas for Firefighters, Policemen and Veterans.
Click HERE to see a working list of notable citizens interred in Evergreen Cemetery.
Jacob S. Winslow 1827 - 1902
Nature
There have been over 174 different varieties of birds sighted at Evergreen cemetery
In 1864 the street railway lines extended out to Evergreen, making it readily accessible to all Portland residents. The cemetery figured prominently in Portland guide books of the period where it was praised for its scenery and splendid monuments.
Evergreen is Portland’s largest open space and site of the city’s largest urban forest.
On July 5, 1888 an ordinance went into effect stating, “The owners or keepers of dogs shall not permit them to go at large in Evergreen Cemetery.”
The Ponds
Expenditures in the 1870s focused on the ponds introducing white swans and geese, and building bridges and gazebos.
In the 1880s, Evergreen Cemetery had 17 flowering gardens, 3 green houses and a staff of 50.
There were many more ponds on the original plan than there are today.
The Chapel
In 1902, The Wilde Memorial Chapel was donated by Mary Ellen Lunt Wilde for $25,000 to provide funeral options for those living in apartments or small homes. LEARN MORE.