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Evergreen Cemetery Association 1105 3rd Ave NE Brainerd, MN 56401 [ MapQuest Map | Google Map ] Hours Of Operation Introduction | Records | Donations Evergreen Cemetery Memorial Gardens Cemetery Brochures and Guides 
Directory of the Dead Contact Us |
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| Office Hours : | Mon - Fri : 9:00 - 11:30 and 2:00 - 5:00 Saturdays : 9:00 - Noon (April 15 - October 15 only) |
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| Office Phone : | (218) 829-5898 | ||||||||
| Vehicle Gates : | Mon - Fri : 8:00 - 5:00 (Weather permitting - closed if heavy snowfall) Saturdays : 9:00 - Noon (April 15 - October 15 only)
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| Pedestrian Gates : | Open 24/7 (Please close them behind you when entering and exiting) |
The Evergreen Cemetery Association owns and manages Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd and the Memorial Gardens Cemetery just north of Brainerd. The Association has been in operation for over a century.
In 1870, the Northern Pacific Railway was building out its railroad system westward from Duluth. A settlement called "The Crossing" sprung up where the railroad crossed the Mississippi River and was incorporated as the City of Brainerd in 1871.
Early burials in the area were informal but within a few years a location northeast of Brainerd (now within the city limits) became the accepted public burial ground.
In 1879, a group of citizens decided that a formal organization was needed to sell lots, record burials and properly maintain the grounds, and thus was born the Evergreen Cemetery Association.
The cemetery has been expanded several times and now occupies over 40 acres with over 17,000 interments.
Memorial Gardens Cemetery is just north of Brainerd on County Road 3 and is also owned and managed by the Evergreen Cemetery Association. The cemetery occupies 15 acres (out of 25 acres total) with over 2,000 interments.
The Association Office is adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery at 3rd Avenue NE and K Street in northeast Brainerd. The 3rd Avenue entrance for Evergreen Cemetery is located there.
Burial records are grouped by lot owner along with many single grave burials. There is a Directory of the Dead data sheet for each person buried in Evergreen and Memorial Gardens cemeteries.
The file for each lot contains a Directory of the Dead data sheet for each person buried in that lot, along with an obituary, if available. Anyone is allowed to provide sheets of additional information for the file, which can then be made available to others who request it in the course of their genealogy research.
Basic information is provided for free. This includes the deceased's name, dates of death and/or burial, and grave site location. Other information that has been gathered and included in the Directory of the Dead data sheet is available for $1 per name. Obituaries (if available) and any other pages of additional information will be provided for $1 per page. There is a $5 minimum per request, which can include multiple names.
A WPA project in the 1930s involved Evergreen Cemetery. This is when many Directory of the Dead data sheets for earlier burials were created using information from county death records and obituaries (where available). Subsequent burials have had data sheets created at the time of burial.
A database created in 1987 contained selected data from many of the records. The end result was a printout sorted by last name of the deceased and included the date of death and the burial location. Unfortunately, due to a computer failure, this database no longer exists. But a copy of the most recent printout is available at the Minnesota Historical Society and the Crow Wing County Historical Society.
The Association Secretary, Barbara Gavin, has undertaken the grueling task of creating another computerized index of burials in Evergreen Cemetery and Memorial Gardens. A preliminary version of this index is now available in the new online Directory of the Dead (a link to which is in the footer of every page).
The Evergreen Cemetery Association is a 501(c) non-profit organization and receives no funding from city, state or federal governmental units. The size and age of the cemetery means that the Association relies on donations from generous individuals and businesses to cover the cost of improvements and projects that are beyond normal operating expenses.
If you have loved ones buried at Evergreen Cemetery or Memorial Gardens Cemetery and would like to make a contribution to help keep their resting place looking as nice as it does today, please visit the Contact Us page for the phone number to call if you have any questions and for the mailing address to which you may send your donation. You will receive an acknowledgement letter in return for any contribution that you send.
The Evergreen Cemetery Association is listed by the IRS as a charitable organization and as such is "eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions". Check with your accountant to see if you may benefit from a charitable contribution deduction on your tax return.
Thank you for your support.
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