Evergreen Cemetery
Santa Fe, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1890 Henry J. Runge laid out the town of Arcadia at the site of a railroad depot on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad near here known as Hall's Station. Sometime between 1890 and 1897, Evergreen Cemetery was established to serve the growing community of Arcadia. The first person known to be buried here was Susan Carswell Sims (d. 1897). The Evergreen Cemetery Association was formed in 1906; J. L. Polinard, R. H. Romine, and S. A. Franks were the original trustees. That same year the cemetery was granted a state charter and in 1907 Henry Runge deeded the 2-acre Evergreen Cemetery plot to the association. At that time the cemetery contained 13 known gravesites. Between 1906 and 1949 at least 47 people are known to have been buried here. When the charter was not renewed in 1956 the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce stepped in and led a successful effort for its renewal in 1958. The purpose of the cemetery under the new charter was to provide a burial place for indigent residents of Arcadia. The last person buried in Evergreen Cemetery was Josephine Short in 1958. Grounds restoration by Arcadia volunteers and construction of a road to the cemetery by Galveston County were completed in 1972.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad set a depot near here, Henry J. Runge laid out the town of Arcadia in 1890, and a burial ground soon followed to serve the growing settlement. Evergreen Cemetery took in its first known burial in 1897, gained a formal association and state charter by 1907, and later became a resting place for the community's indigent residents. Volunteers restored its grounds in 1972.
Why it matters
A modest railroad-town cemetery, it records the rise, struggles, and care of a small Texas community born of the rails.
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Related people
- · Henry J. Runge
- · Susan Carswell Sims
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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