RECENT COMMENTS
Back to Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery is a historic black cemetery in Richmond’s East End and is the final resting place of such notable Richmonders as Maggie L. Walker and John Mitchell, Jr. Opened with no means for perpetual care, the cemetery was at some point left to be overgrown by vines and weedy trees, and has been almost completely overgrown.
Almost 2 years after Seldon Richardson sent me out to Evergreen Cemetery with his description in Built by Blacks of this decaying monument to Richmond’s early-20th-Century black history, I was back out there yesterday. An end of the year visit to this overwhelming physical manifestation of the passing of time and mortality is perhaps the most concrete opportunity of its type in the city. Consider yourself warned.
Since 2007, a small but reliable ad-hoc volunteer group has sprung around the Evergreen Yahoo Group. A handful of folks go out to Evergreen almost every Saturday at 9AM (at the Richmond Road entrance) to clear individual plots and to reclaim the walkways from the forest.
If you are interested in helping out, know that anyone that can pull weeds, rake, cut trees, or haul debris can be a big help. If you can give up 2 hours on a Saturday to help make right something that was let go wrong for so long, check out the Evergreen Yahoo Group to get in touch with the other volunteers.
I know with one of our ancestral cemeteries back in Iowa, many graves have missing markers due to being weather worn and destroyed but the plots have been identified. For Evergreen, there is a list of burials with the city as well as a copy at the State library. With the group in Iowa, they erected wooden markers with burned in names as a temporary means to identify those buried and attempt to locate living relatives. Not sure if anyone would be willing to do the same?
With the group in Iowa, they erected wooden markers with burned in names as a temporary means to identify those buried and attempt to locate living relatives. Not sure if anyone would be willing to do the same?
For some reason, whenever I think of wood-burning, I think of Boy Scouting. But seriously, a restoration project would be great for a scout troop (boys or girls). It’d combine public service, crafts and history.
From the Evergreen Yahoo Group:
Seems like a couple of posts are missing here?
I went out to Evergreen looking for someone last week and found it an absolute shame. The hand painted sign on the road points the way to a road that leads through a densely wooded area that has claimed many graves – some with 30-foot trees on them. Not sure how this could be cleaned off but I do wonder this.
The City of Richmond Parks and Recreation Department owns the property – why haven’t they cleaned this up? The same with a perimeter of Woodland?
I know some states and cities have certain codes required to follow concerning cemeteries and their condition – does Richmond and/or Virginia?
Eric
Actually I stand corrected. Evergreen and Woodland are privately owned by a company called UK Corp. Any idea who this is?
As if things couldn’t get any worse at Evergreen, large parts of it are now covered with either ivy or kudzu vines. Soon the whole thing will disappear and the trees will eventually be killed, bringing them down on fragile markers.
Despite a news story on the subject a year ago, the one mausoleum at Evergreen remains vandalized and the caskets pulled out and open. The skull and other bones I observed and photographed there are now gone and the whole thing has become some kind of goth tourist spot.
When all this was reported to the mayor’s office, their response was that this is private property and no concern of theirs. Still, there seems some basic understandings here that a culture (and we use that word loosely) will, if not enshrine, than at least protect the bodies of the dead from display and dismemberment.
The whole story of Evergreen is pretty grim, and I don’t know of a more tragic, sad, lonesome or desolate place in Central Virginia.
But if this “private owner” opens the gates for the public to still bury their loved ones there, he must have some sort of obligation with the city and state to adhere to concerning the graves and burials?
Even developers have a certain obligation to find family to move graves before they have to prior to construction… why should an owner of two complete cemeteries be any less responsible? Why not just close it down all together and move the graves to a different place if he doesn’t want the responsibilities that goes with it?
And as Right on Broad is eluding to, it is a SLAP in the face of black people who have loved ones there with siblings, parents, grandparents, all HUMAN BEINGS just tossed out like trash in a landfill. There should be support in the black community to take charge of what has happened!
In the mean time I am going to check into this further myself. NO ONE’S memory should be forgotten no matter of race, creed, beliefs, preferences, or financial standing.
Eric S. Huffstutler
BTW… I did find the owner’s name: Isaiah Entzminger
Eric – check out Evergreen Yahoo Group. There are some folks there that have been working on this for years.
Thanks for pointing me there John. I requested to join but see there isn’t much activity – a shame.
If I recall, somebody got in touch with Mr. Entzminger not too long ago and he was very regretful for ever having got involved with Evergreen. I expect he felt he could sell out that “new” open area and leave it, letting the families maintain it just as has happened in the old part in the woods. The new section is just as sad as the old, only it doesn’t have fifty year’s growth of trees on it. The places where a mower has hit those temporary funeral home markers and sent the letters flying speak to the future of the whole cemetery.
ALL I CAN SAY IS SADDDDDDDDDDD WOW I WENT WITH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO JUST BURIED HER SON THERE,THANKS TO THE SELFLESS PEOPLE I MEET THERE SATURDAY I WILL CON TINUE TO SHOW UP.I FEEL THAT IF THE OWNER THAT OWNS THE CEMETARY IS STILL HAVING PEOPLE BURIED THERE HE COULD AT LEAST HELP US TO RESTORE IT HE SHOUD BE FINED FOR THIS. THERE ARE A LOT OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES WHO DON’T HAVE INSURANCE MOST OF THE TIME EVERGREEN IS THERE ONLY OPITION.YOU THINK THE OWNER HS ANY COMPASSION OR IS HE JUST A THOUGHTLESS PERSON I HOPE HE HAS A NICE PLOT TO HAVE HIMSELF BURIED IN AND ITS MNTAINED ON A REGULAR BASIS.SEE YA’LL SATURDAY.PACE BE STILL.
i went to visit a friend there not to long ago. i couldnt find his grave site. i called Evergreen [the # you see at the entrance] it took them a couple of days to call me back. they first informed me he wasnt buried there. i got a phone call later that day saying they found the grave site. the so called care taker told me he was buried there and gave me the lot # and said Wait to the fall when the ivy and vines die to resume my search for my friends grave.i had the cemetery board investagate the condition of the whole grave yard.they told me they couldnt help{privateley owned}.call 12 on your side said about the same but lead me to the state board of cemetery.either no one cares about our lost ones or they are to busy with more important issues.SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS. my friend died and was buried on 06-12-84 in what appeared to be a nice resting place at the time. Now, hes lost to me until i can find him again.
Tim, I’m sorry for you. This has got to be one of the saddest threads on this blog. I’m posting to give you my sympathy as well as to keep this thread going, and see if anyone has any ideas.
It sounds to me as if a couple of the larger civic associations in the area need to band together and perhaps even hire a landscape company to at least get a handle on it, thirty foot trees are too much for a Yahoo group to deal with. But then the owner would have to give permission, I suppose…goats would take care of a lot of kudzu but they cost to rent, although I do know someone who knows someone who rents goats for just this purpose. Again, permission from the owner I suppose would need to happen…
Hi Tim,
That is so sad. I couldn’t imagine not being able to find my father’s grave. He passed 10 years ago.
The cemetery where we laid him to rest had been used for 100+ years. It had fallen into disrepair for about 30 years. In the early 90’s a new owner took over and it all changed. Broken stones were mended, tall grass was cut and it was a beautiful place when we found it. It’s a nice place to visit with him.
You would think that if the city could cite a homeowner for a poorly maintained/abandoned property that they would be able to do the same for a person that owns a cemetery.
Hi Tim,
I took some time today to tour the cemetery. Even in my four wheel drive without a map I was hesitant to go down some of those paths, afraid I would hit a dead end. I drove a few hundred feet down one and backed out.
I did find Maggie Walker’s grave on one of the winding roads through the trees. I’m sure in the day it she rested in a grand setting and had a beautiful place to be laid to rest.
I’m talking to people about the property and seeing about pulling in resources from several places to do something about it. Hang in there. We’ll find your friend. What was his name?
my friends name is Richard James Taylor.hes buried by the tall tree closest to I64.back lot of the cemetery.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for Richard’s name.
I’ve been working on the situation at Evergreen Cemetery ever since I read your post.
Please email me at: deanna@314n36thst.net and I’ll let you know everything I’ve been able to accomplish. GREAT things!
When eveything is confirmed and I have solid dates I’ll post it all here.
Why does it take PERMISSION?
Who will stop you from cutting branches and pulling weeds?
One day of walking the roads with shears or ax would help open things up.
A few goats could mysterously get trapped inside the gates….
CLEANUP RIGHTS for a gravesite area could be auctioned at the next PBS auction or church social.
Richmond Tourism could invite the next Wood Chippers Convention to show their muscle and techniques.
Just a few thoughts….
Lee
RE: 19 – I like the way you think.
Did you all see the Michael Paul Williams column about Evergreen in the 8/1 issue of the Times Dispatch? I am the John Shuck he interviewed. I am one of a small group of dedicated folks who work almost every Saturday at Evergreen. Some of you have been out to the cemetery but I have not seen you out there helping us with a couple of exceptions. A couple of hours of work once a month would be a big help. Feel free to email at jshuck@rocketmail.com
Here is the most recent post about Evergreen, with a link to Michael Paul Williams’ article…
There are a few of us planning to work at the cemetery tomorrow morning, 10/24. If anyone is interested in helping, please contact me for details at jshuck@rocketmail.com.
John
We will be working at Evergreen this Saturday morning at the East Richmond Road entrance. The weather is supposed to be great. Come out and see what we have been doing.
What time will you be out there?
My husband and I were at Evergreen today and I have to say that I am appalled at the condition of this historic cemetery. The majority of the older graves sites are practically invisible due to ivy and kudzu overgrowth. There is evidence of some work being done there but the citizens of Richmond should be ashamed of the appearance of this place. Who knows what historical information may be lying under all those weeds and garbage. Several areas are obviously being used a dumping grounds not only for garbage but mounds of tires, old lawnmowers, etc. I am disabled but if I could, I’d be out there doing everything I could to make this final resting place of so many people more presentable and appealing. I find it so hard to believe that people actually still bury their loved ones in such a horrible place.
I recently moved to the north end of Church Hill and found the cemetery while Hiking and fell in love with the mini forest so close to the city however I’m very worried at the amount of Deer over populating the area and being pushed into the neighborhood yards because of the construction going on on the I64 side of the cemetery. The Deer have no Natural enemy there and are probably diseased due to the sever sewage problem at Gillies Creek. I have been unsuccessful at trying to get a hold of some one to help get Bow Hunters in there to thin out the Herd. Any one have any suggestions ? This is only going to get worse as the De-weeding and clean up continue, there is no forest for them to move into. Jerry- exartexart@yahoo.com
My Grand Parents are intered there. Someone please help me. I have been trying to find their graves for 25 years. Please help me to restore their plot. Their children are buried beneath them. My daddy cried every time he mentioned them. Please help me do what I can while I can for the rest of our family.
“An end of the year visit to this overwhelming physical manifestation of the passing of time and mortality is perhaps the most concrete opportunity of its type in the city. Consider yourself warned”
I recently had the opportunity to to there. It was transfixing and transforming. It’s hard to put the feeling into words. It is unlike any place I’ve ever been before. There is a certain magic and mystery to it. If you are interested in this sort of thing I recommend joining the Saturday group at least once. It’s an honorable place, weeds and all.
Evergreen Yahoo Group
I’m trying to locate my fathers grave