Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery

Mission:

Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the portion of Riverside’s first cemetery that is the last resting place of many of the city’s founders.

Give Big Campaign:

Evergreen Cemetery lies at the foot of Mount Rubidoux. The cemetery was founded in 1872. There are more than 27,000 beings interred on this site, many of regional and national significance. More than 1,500 lie in the historic portion of Evergreen. Among them are Riverside’s most notable founders:

• John Wesley North, Riverside’s founder and president of the 1870, Southern California Colony Association
• Luther and Eliza Tibbets, founders of the citrus industry
• Frank Augustus Miller, creator of the Mission Inn
• G. Stanley Wilson, Mission Inn architect and father of the Mission Revival style
• Lyman Waite, water, citrus, and banking pioneer
• Raymond Best, founder of one of California’s largest law firms

In the year 2000, Evergreen’s fate took a turn when the State Department of Consumer Affairs revised operational policies for cemeteries. The Cemetery Association was prohibited from using funds from plots purchased after 1932 to maintain plots purchased prior to that date.

No longer supported, the historic section of Evergreen fell into ruin and the esteemed individuals, including many of Riverside’s founders, were threatened with oblivion.

Several members of Riverside’s community leadership rallied to revive this place of repose. This group, incorporated now as Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery, has redressed a large part of Evergreen’s neglect. A new energetic hope has infused the community. And now we need your help to complete this endeavor, so that Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery will remain “Evergreen Forever.”

Notable Acheivements: 

• Raised $1.2 million
  • $700,000 has been spent on restoring the site
  • $500,000 has been designated for the future fund for perpetual care of the historic portion of the cemetery
• Attractive wrought iron fence installed
• Headstones repaired
• Curbs and gutters installed
• State of the art irrigation system installed
• Streetlights installed
• Monumental gates constructed
• Plaza built
• Planting design completed
• Scattering garden envisioned and plans created
• Future fund established
• Benches designed and created