
Evergreen Avenue cemetery headstones date to the 1700s 1800s. Sewer pipes for the new project have been there a while. But they’ll be gone a lot sooner than the bodies. (Photo/Mark Mathias)

Evergreen Avenue cemetery headstones date to the 1700s 1800s. Sewer pipes for the new project have been there a while. But they’ll be gone a lot sooner than the bodies. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
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The 1700 part doesn’t seem right. My recollection is that the Saugatuck Congregational Church purchased the land in question in 1836 in order to establish a cemetery upon same. In, I think, the 1950s Rosemarie Wriedt of North Compo arranged for her friends, the Von Schmidts (who lived on Evergreen), to donate additional abutting land in order to expand the cemetery to its current size.
Just checked my records. The 1836 founding date for this cemetery is solid. But I was off a little bit on the expansion date: it was 1963. Valentine’s day, to be exact.
Thank you, Morley. I thought I recalled some 1700s graves there. My bad!
Thank you Dan and Morley. My grandmother, mother and brother are all there. My grandmother died in December of 1964 so hers would be one of the early ones in the expansion. I did not know that part of the history of Evergreen.
Fun fact: when the church laid out the original 70 plots, the prices ranged from $2 at the rear to $10 for the privilege of, um, reclining in the front row.
But the rear may have had a nice view of the pond.
Nothing like a fun fact about a cemetery, Morley. Thanks for getting me to laugh!