Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine)

Evergreen Cemetery is a garden style cemetery in the Deering neighborhood of Portland, Maine. With 239 acres (97 ha) of land, it is the largest cemetery in the state.[2] Established in 1855 in what was then Westbrook, the cemetery is home to one of the state's most prominent collections of funerary art. The 140-acre (57 ha) historical portion of the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[1]

Evergreen Cemetery
One of the entrances from Stevens Avenue
Location672 Stevens Ave.
Portland, Maine
Coordinates43°40′54″N 70°18′4″W
Area239 acres (97 ha) (cemetery size)
140 acres (57 ha) (National Register listing size)
Built1855
ArchitectCharles R. Goodell; Frederick A. Tompson
NRHP reference No.92000791[1]
Added to NRHPJune 18, 1992
Evergreen Cemetery
Details
Established1855
Location
Portland, Maine
CountryUnited States
Owned byCity of Portland
Size239 acres (97 ha)
No. of graves~60,000-70,000
Find a GraveEvergreen Cemetery

Description and history

The main areas of the cemetery are laid out in with winding curvilinear paths, typical of the rural cemetery movement popular in the 19th century, while later sections of the cemetery are typically (but not entirely) laid out in a more rectilinear fashion. A number of architecturally significant mausoleums are located in the cemetery, the most prominent of which are the Chisholm Tomb and the F.O.J. Smith Tomb; the former is a small-scale Classical Revival replica of the Maison Carrée, a Roman temple in Nîmes, France.[3]

The cemetery was established in 1855 in Saccarappa (Westbrook) and became the area's main cemetery after the Western Cemetery. The original parcel appears to have been about 45 acres (18 ha), which was repeatedly enlarged beginning about 1869.[3] As of March 2011, only 110 acres (45 ha) were used for cemetery-related activities.[4] The cemetery holds the records for Forest City Cemetery in South Portland. In April 2014, it was announced the cemetery would add an additional 800 to 1,000 gravesites near the main entrance while also adding a columbarium, which will hold cremated remains above ground. An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people are interred in the cemetery.[5]

Wilde Memorial Chapel

Wilde Memorial Chapel is a Gothic-style chapel. It was built as a mortuary chapel by Falmouth native Mary Ellen Lunt Wilde in 1890. It was designed by Portland architect Frederick A. Tompson and gifted to the city in 1902.[6] The granite building is used for both memorial and wedding services, with a maximum capacity of 105.[7]

Civil War veterans

Evergreen Cemetery contains the remains of about 1,400 veterans of the American Civil War.[8] A memorial to Civil War veterans was donated by brothers Henry (then Governor of Maine) and Judge Nathan Cleaves and dedicated on May 30, 1895.[8] The monument consists of a metal soldier standing atop a granite base.

Notable interments
  • Civil War Memorial
  • The Wilde Memorial Chapel at Evergreen Cemetery
  • The Baxter Family Monument in Evergreen Cemetery

See also

Notes
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, 1869". Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  3. "NRHP nomination for Evergreen Cemetery". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  4. Portland cemetery's plans would uproot gardeners Portland Press Herald, March 22, 2011
  5. Miller, Kevin (April 14, 2014). "Portland plans expansion of Evergreen Cemetery". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  6. Wilde Memorial Chapel Friends of Evergreen Cemetery.
  7. "Portland Maine Public Service site: Wilde Chapel". Archived from the original on 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  8. Swartz, Brian (4 September 2014). "Meet the Heroes of Evergreen Cemetery: Part II". Maine at War: Maine and the Civil War. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. Scee, Trudy Irene (2019). Garden Cemeteries of New England. Down East Books. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-60893-908-4.
  10. McNelly, Sue. "Biographical Sketch of Lydia Louisa Neal Dennett". Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920 – via Alexander Street.
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