Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

When Colorado Springs was established in 1871, there were two cemeteries already serving the community, however, they were both deemed inadequate to the community's needs. Colorado Springs founder, General William Jackson Palmer, established this cemetery, which at the time was two miles from town. Being designed to be so well maintained and adequate, Evergreen continues to serve Colorado Springs with over 90,000 burials, many being city pioneers, soldiers, celebrities, an astronaut, and many other prominent people.

Images

Original entryway to Evergreen. Circa 1880s

Laying wreaths at soldier tombstones

Original Evergreen chapel as seen today

Portion of the old cemetery

Colorado Springs founder, General William J. Parker, gravesite

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

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 include:

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 (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
Andy Adams (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
One Commonwealth war grave, of a Canadian Army soldier of World War I.

Sources

"CWGC casualty record". cwgc.org.