Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Evergreen Cemetery is the city-maintained cemetery for Colorado Springs, Colorado, on the National Register of Historic Places in El Paso County, Colorado.

Evergreen Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1005 S. Hancock Avenue Colorado Springs, Colorado
Coordinates	38°48′56″N 104°47′43″W
Area	220 acres (89 ha)
Built	1871
Architectural style	Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	93000035[1]
Added to NRHP	February 11, 1993

When Colorado Springs was founded in 1871 there were already two cemeteries serving El Paso County but both were quickly found to be inadequate in serving the needs of the rapidly growing city. In 1874, the founder of Colorado Springs, General William Jackson Palmer, founded a new cemetery two miles from town. The original names were the Mount Washington or Mountain Home Cemetery. In 1877, the name was changed to Evergreen Cemetery. In 1875, the original 10 acres or so was deeded to the city of Colorado Springs and it has been a city owned and operated cemetery since then. In 1993 the cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original 10 acres has grown to over 220 acres with 90,000 plus burials in 2014 and the cemetery still performs about 700 burials per year.

Evergreen Cemetery is the final resting place of many of the people that built the city of Colorado Springs along with founders of many neighboring cities. It is also the final resting place of many of the people that made millions from the last Colorado gold rush, world renowned artists, writers and composers, philanthropists, captains of industry and business, Union and Confederate soldiers, sports figures, politicians, actors, and even an astronaut.

Notable burials

• Gretchen "Gretta" McRae (1898-1978), civil rights activist, writer
• William Jackson Palmer (1836–1909), railroad builder, city father
• Winfield Scott Stratton (1848–1902), mine owner, philanthropist
• James Ferguson Burns (1853–1917), mine owner, philanthropist
• Edward William Purvis (1857–1888), British officer and Hawaiian official
• Francis Henry Maynard (1853–1926), cowboy, author
• Franklin Eli Brooks (1860–1916), politician
• Leo Arthur Hoegh (1908–2000), military figure
• Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–1885), activist
• Bob Johnson (ice hockey, born 1931) (1931–1991), hockey coach
• Stan Keller (1907–1990), bandleader
• Floyd K. Lindstrom (1912–1944), military figure
• John Franklin Forrest (1927–1997), military figure
• Robert Williamson Steele (1820–1901), territorial governor
• Marshall Sprague (1909–1994), author
• Dale Gardner (1948–2014), astronaut
• Frederick Phillips Raynham (1893–1954), British aviator
• Vic Heyliger (1912–2006), hockey player and coach
• Harry Hunter Seldomridge (1864–1927), politician
• Allen Tupper True (1881–1955), illustrator
• Stephanie Westerfeld (1943–1961), figure skater
• Sharon Westerfeld (1935–1961), sister of Sharon Westerfeld
• Andy Adams (writer) (1859–1935), writer
• Pat Brady (1914–1972), actor
• Irving Howbert (1846–1934), public servant, businessman
• Sherman Coolidge (1862–1932), Episcopal Church priest, Indian advocate
• Roland W. Reed (Royal Jr.) (1864–1934), artist, photographer
• Hildreth Frost (1880-1955), Captain in Colorado National Guard during Colorado Coalfield War.
• One Commonwealth war grave, of a Canadian Army soldier of World War I.[2]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Colorado
• Fairview Cemetery (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "CWGC casualty record". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2016-09-29.