The Hauntingly Beautiful Eastern Cemetery In Maine Has A Fascinating History
By Rachel Raimondi|Published April 12, 2022
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Rachel Raimondi
Author
Writer some days, editor other days, nerd all days. Love to travel to lesser-known spots and give them the love they deserve. Independently owned motor inns, Mom and Pop restaurants, uncrowded National Parks and trails.
In between these, spend my free time virtually adventuring through point-and-click games. Native New Yorker but can frequently be found roaming other parts of the United States.
Founded in 1786, the city of Portland can be considered old. And since the 1863 Battle of Portland Harbor took place during the American Civil War, it’s also historical. Adding in the city’s coastal location and landscape, it’s also quite picturesque. But if you’re looking for one place in the city that hits all those marks, it’s the oldest historic site at Eastern Cemetery.
Eastern Cemetery was established way back in 1668 as a public burial ground for the townspeople. Although no one has been buried here since 1858 when it hit capacity, it has upwards of 4000 marked graves within its 5.3 acres.
Not only is it the oldest public space in Portland, it's also Maine’s oldest cemetery. There are twelve separate sections of graves, including those for white Europeans, Quakers, African Americans, Catholics, etc. Due to its historical significance, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The cemetery’s perimeter consists of gates and retaining walls. Its rolling topography and uneven ground is mainly grass with a few trees for shade sprinkled throughout.
Aside from exploring the monuments and stones within, you can also get a spectacular view of Casco Bay, Bug Light lighthouse, and the downtown business and waterfront districts.
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You can take a quiet walk through the cemetery and examine a variety of different stones, some decorated with funerary art such as winged angels and death’s heads, and others very simple. Many of the stones are not marked or legible.
Other interesting features of Eastern Cemetery include an 1871 Victorian tool shed, known as the "Dead House." This was used as winter storage for bodies until the spring thaw.
The cemetery provides vital information on some of the most important figures within Portland’s history and links to not only its early settlement by the English but also its involvement in US history as a whole.
You’ll find an assortment of military markers and monuments, with soldiers from the War of 1812 and the Civil War making it their final resting place. Most famously, it contains the remains of both captains who perished when the HMS Boxer and the USS Enterprise ships battled near Monhegan Island in 1813.
The oldest found carved stone belongs to Mary Green with a date of May 23, 1717.
In addition to Portland residents from centuries gone by, there are also graves for some well-known people. World-famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s great-grandparents rest here as well as his uncle. You’ll also find the grave of stonecutter Barlett Adams and Captain Lemuel Moody, who built the nearby Portland Observatory.
Since 2006, the nonprofit group Spirits Alive has worked to maintain, preserve, and protect the cemetery.
Aside from preservation work, the organization also offers educational and fun activities, such as guided tours, which provide interesting historical facts about the cemetery, its inhabitants, and the graves themselves. Walking tours run from June to October, four days a week, and last about 50 minutes. Special "Walk Among the Shadows" tours complete with live actors are available exclusively in October.
The gates are usually open for self-guided tours between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For information on guided tours, check out the Spirits Alive website. In addition to this cemetery, Portland is also home to a variety of other historical sites such as museums, lighthouses, open spaces, mansions, and other notable structures within its nearly 70 square miles. Have you visited this cemetery or any of the others in Maine?
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