Thursday

Evergreen Heritage 2021 Calendar!

On July 31st  1871, Fountain Colony was established as the founding fathers drove the stake at what is today the intersection of Pikes Peak and Cascade Avenues. 

Evergreen Heritage joins the city of Colorado Springs in a yearlong celebration of our city’s sesquicentennial in 2021.

To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Evergreen Heritage presents the 2021 Sesquicentennial Calendar.

 Due to covid restrictions, our  2020  fund-raising events were cancelled.  The money needed for restoration projects comes through fund-raising events or from supporting members. We are not funded by the city of Colorado Springs. We are a separate 501c3 nonprofit entity.

We celebrate the pioneers who arrived 150 years ago to create a new home and the amazing community we live in today.

Help us keep history alive by purchasing our 2021 Evergreen Heritage Sesquicentennial Calendar.




ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY DECEMBER 7TH TO ENSURE ARRIVAL BY JANUARY 2021


To order your calendar please click the yellow button below

Now You Can Ask Queen Palmer

 As we enter the yearlong celebration of the founding of our beautiful city, what questions would you like to ask of General Palmer or myself?



Monday

Help Us Preserve History at Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries

Our main fundraising events are cancelled this year. Although this puts a strain in our repair budget, we now have time to make repairs at Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries. Below is a video of our first repair for the summer. To make a donation, please visit our Membership Page. Thank you for all of your support!

Tuesday

Welcome To Evergreen Heritage's New Decade!

We are living in very trying and uncertain times. Not since WWII have Americans had to go without basic necessities. When this trying period ends, and it will, we have the option to decide how we come out of it.

 To learn from those who came before us, to learn of their struggles and sacrifices, teaches us to be prepared and to put our own priorities in place.

We entered a new decade on January 1. 2020. This is also a new chapter for Evergreen Heritage, formerly known as Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society.
Evergreen Heritage historic events, headstone restoration and repair Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries


Twenty years ago, because of deep concerns at Fairview Cemetery, I contacted Will deBoer, the Manager at the time, to discuss why the city was not caring for its cemetery and for the gravesites of those who created the city we love today.

He explained the policies of the city and the position Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries are in, because they are City "Enterprises". As an Enterprise, Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries do not receive any money from the city's general fund. The only money the cemetery receives is through the purchase of gravesites. All funding for repairs and restoration is through fundraising events and individual donations. The city has never been responsible for the gravestones. When a person purchases a gravesite, the families have purchased the right to burial, and it is their responsibility to care for their family's headstones, following city ordinances put in place to maintain the cemetery for everyone.

As family members die or move away, there is often no one left to care for these older, historic
gravestones.
Evergreen Heritage supports restoration projects at Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries in Colorado Springs, CO




With Mr. deBoer's suggestion, I took it upon myself to create the Annual Evergreen Cemetery Walking Tour, in 2000, to raise funds for the historic chapel.

Richard Marold portraying Winfield Scott Stratton Evergreen Heritage Annual Walking Tour


 The Annual Memorial Day Event was added in 2010.
Wreaths Across America was added three years ago.
Evergreen Heritage annual Memorial Day Commemoration-Buffalo Soldiers



Each of these events is important in not only raising needed funds for cemetery repair and restoration but to introduce the public to the beauty and history at Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries.




In 2019 Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society evolved into Evergreen Heritage, which more accurately reflects our mission.

Fairview Cemetery is now included as one of our project sites.

heastone repaired at Fairview Cemetery by members of Evergreen Heritage




Last summer, Evergreen Heritage opened a visitor center in the old business office at Evergreen Cemetery. Unfortunately, we experienced a few setbacks on two occasions because of vandalism to the building.
Evergreen Heritage nonprofit supports Evergreen and Fairview Cemeteries in Colorado Springs, CO

However, those setbacks are minor compared to the setbacks many of our early pioneers faced. As we learn from their stories, we learn how they overcame setbacks to come out on top and that is exactly what we will do.

We will open again this summer, on a limited basis, and are looking for volunteers to provide basic information to visitors to the cemetery.

Evergreen Heritage volunteers restoring gravestones at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs
Without funding, we can not fulfill our mission in carrying for these older stones and developing historic programs for the public.

We need everyone who believes in our mission and the importance of both Evergreen and Fairview Cemetery to become a member and support us in keeping this valuable history alive.



MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION