Portland's Eastern Cemetery is unique among the "Present at Statehood" series because it offers a different context in which to consider the social history, architecture, and design found across Maine. The Eastern Cemetery was chartered in 1668 on a plot of land at the base of Munjoy Hill, sloping about 30 feet downward toward the harbor. It is filled with over 4,000 gravestones of varying shapes, sizes, and carvings. Stones carved from slate, sandstone, marble, and granite are all present, and while many are simply lettered, a fair number are carved with designs such as willow trees and angel heads.The Eastern Cemetery is significant not only for the quality of its landscape design and the carving of its headstones, but also for the number of prominent figures in Portlands history who are interred there. Among them are Jonathan Bryant (architect of the Portland Head Light), Capt. Lemuel Moody (builder of the Portland Observatory), Joseph Holt Ingraham (silversmith and statesman), and Asa Clapp (merchant and landowner who influenced much of the citys growth). Spirits Alive, a nonprofit organization, today oversees the maintenance of the cemetery and offers programming including walking tours.
Year listed: 1973
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=4cc14c4c-d382-4dbe-bd62-c2cbf6286c4c