Evergreen Cemetery

By Jacobo Villegas

Evergreen Cemetery is located in El Paso's South-Central neighborhood at 4301 Alameda Avenue. It spans an area of forty-seven acres and dates back to 1894. Throughout the years, the cemetery has changed ownership and has even witnessed expansions with the inclusion of a secondary location in what is today known as the east side of El Paso.1

Evergreen Cemetery was originally owned by R.H. Thorn, who passed away in 1919. Following his death, A. B. Poe, the owner of Poe Motor Company, bought the cemetery. After his death in 1951, his son A. B. Poe III, also known as Tito, constructed an office building and a mausoleum for the cemetery.2 Following these owners came Richard Poe who was the majority owner alongside the general manager and minority owner Bob Kilby. After the passing of Poe III and the retirement of Kilby, there were difficulties in the transition of ownership due to there not being any direct inheritors, but the cemetery was ultimately acquired by Service Corporation International.3

One significant detail to mention is that during A. B. Poe's period of ownership, the Mexican Revolution was ongoing. Because of this, a variety of figures who lived during this period were buried at Evergreen Cemetery. Some of these figures include Victoriano Huerta, Tom Lea Sr., Joseph Wiley Magoffin, Lydia Patterson, and Henry C. Trost.4

Although these major figures are deeply ingrained in the history of this burial site, it is equally as important to acknowledge those who are not in the mainstream -- and what better way to examine the personal significance of this space than to look at the accounts of those who lived in South Central El Paso and experienced Evergreen Cemetery personally. One resident of El Paso, Gloria Martinez, was interviewed by the University of Texas at El Paso's Institute of Oral History in 1976 based on her experience living in South-Central El Paso on Durazno Avenue during the 1940s and 1950s with her husband, Nemesio Martinez. Her husband worked at Evergreen Cemetery once they crossed into the United States from Mexico. While working at the cemetery, Nemesio was paid $32 for digging graves but got bumped up to $35 after his first week. Eventually, Nemesio became a truck driver for the cemetery and would have his wage increased by $5 more than the other employees. His salary nearly doubled during the twelve years he worked at Evergreen Cemetery.5

During the one year and eight months the Martinez family lived in South-Central, they had the nearby proximity to Evergreen cemetery, but other aspects of their lives were affected due to the cultural differences and explicit racial hierarchies of the era. During the time when this interview was conducted, it was noted that the political and racial philosophies of the Chicano movement impacted their lives. The Anglicization of their children's lives as well as Nemesio's took place due to their assimilation into predominately English-speaking spaces such as school and work.6

Evergreen Cemetery, like many other prominent landmarks in any city which may have people that are on the peripheries, hold deep history. Aside from the aspects of mainstream society, the personal stories of those who experienced these places firsthand can provide an abundance of knowledge and bring history to the surface through their voices and memories.

First image from left: Gravestone in Evergreen Cemetery, El Paso, Texas for Virginia Velles (Wright) Brady; woman is believed to be Virginia's mother, Mary (Van Wyck) Wright

Second image: Banes aerial photograph of the Lincoln Park community in 1953. Banes Aerial Photography. Courtesy Texas Department of Transportation Photographic Archives

Third image: Evergreen Cemetery, November 23, 2011. Dobbs. Courtesy of On Walkabout.

Footnotes:

1 “Evergreen Cemetery,” Partner with SCI, accessed May 2, 2023, https://www.partnerwithsci.com/evergreen-cemetery.html#:~:text=Evergreen%20Alameda%20Cemetery%20in%20El,sale%20of%20Evergreen%20were%20twofold.

2 “Evergreen Cemetery,” Historic El Paso, accessed May 2, 2023, https://historicelpaso.com/historic_entry/evergreeen-cemetery/.

3 “Evergreen Cemetery,” Partner with SCI, accessed May 2, 2023, https://www.partnerwithsci.com/evergreen-cemetery.html#:~:text=Evergreen%20Alameda%20Cemetery%20in%20El,sale%20of%20Evergreen%20were%20twofold.

4 “Evergreen Cemetery,” Historic El Paso, accessed May 2, 2023, https://historicelpaso.com/historic_entry/evergreeen-cemetery/.

5 Interview with Gloria Martinez by Juan D. Martinez, 1976, "Interview no. 273," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso., 6.

6 Ibid.