 Portland's Western Cemetery was established in 1830 and had fallen into disrepair by the end of the 1990s. The stewards of the Western Cemetery was formed in 2002 with the goal of repairing and restoring the historic resting place that had been neglected for years. Recently, a new sign was installed in the Davies Gate as part of their program. Brian Naubloch talked with Stuart President Linda Grafam and Trustee Ann Pringle about the improvements they've made and what is still to come. Hi, I'm Linda Grafam, President of the Stewards of the Western Cemetery. And we've been working long and hard for years to beautify this cemetery. And I've lived in the neighborhood for 37 years, so I kind of consider this all my private property. And Pringle is a trustee of the Stewards of the Western Cemetery. What we're here today for is to unveil a sign that the Stewards of the Western Cemetery commissioned. I've also lived in the neighborhood for decades, and I don't remember when there was last a sign on the Western Cemetery. People know it's a cemetery, but they may not know it's the historic Western Cemetery. So with that, I guess we can each take a corner here, Linda, and expose the sign, which says, obviously, Historic Western Cemetery established 1830. And it's a sign that was made by, I think, a boat builder. Marine plywood, it's beautifully done with special gold lettering. And it's an historic sign that was approved by the Historic Preservation Board with enthusiasm to see this important place finally recognized again. And tell us a little bit about the history of the Western Cemetery. Well, it was established in 1830. I think it's the second oldest cemetery in the city of Portland. It's an historic cemetery that unfortunately has been degraded over the years by neglect literally for decades. But there's some interesting people buried here. The Longfellow family crypt is here, as is the grave of Iqabad Nichols, who was the great-great-grandfather of Harry Nichols Cobb who designed the Portland Museum of Art and whose family homestead stood on the site of the new building. How long was it an active cemetery? How long was it in use? Well, over a hundred years, I would say, more than a hundred years. I'm not sure exactly when burial stopped, but... And right now it's sort of a park and cemetery for the Western Promenade? It's an open space. I wouldn't call it a park, but it's an open space that's an important place in the city because it's lovely, as you can see now, very quiet and peaceful as a cemetery should be. Let's talk about some of the notables. You mentioned a few before, but who are some of the notables who are here? Another notable family is the Levitt family. Chase Levitt provisioners for decades. I think generations they go back on the waterfront. And there are three graves of children that were born in a very short period. And all the gravestones are joined together. So that's one of my very favorite graves. When the cemetery first began, was it as built up around here as it is now in terms of houses, or was it sort of out in the open? No, it actually preceded the houses by many years, I think, because this neighborhood started being developed when the Bram Hall mansion was created by J.B. Brown. So the cemetery well predates the houses. An additional point of history is that the cemetery is the final resting place of many Irish-Americans who are commemorated now by the Hibernian Society, which has an annual commemoration here. It's very nice and they've erected a special monument down toward the beginning of the western prom. Linda, what are some of the improvements that the stewards have done over the past few years? Well, we've done quite a number actually. We have repaired and have all new granite curb stones. We have removed trees, cleaned up paths. The new pathways that have gone through are really nice because they had been totally decimated over the years and you didn't even know where they went. And the paths, of course, keep us off graves that we shouldn't be walking on. So I think that's one pretty big step we've made. We also have a new fence that's been put in and hopefully will be extended. We're very proud of this fence. It's needed replacing for years. As you can see as you drive down the down Vaughn Street, you can see how far the new fence has gone. We hope by spring to go all the way down to where the western cemetery, the western promenade and Vaughn Street meet. Does the city maintain the property in terms of mowing and that sort of thing? Yes, and they do a pretty good job of that. Of course, they're hampered by funds, but no, they do the mowing and they've cleaned up a lot this fall and I think they've really done a nice job. And what are some of the plants that you have in the future? Beyond fence? Well, we'd love to have enough money to restore some graves. There are so many stones that have been broken over the years. Some have actually been stolen and taken from the cemetery. There are still many that are lying on the ground. So if money allows, that would be our next step. And if people are interested in helping in terms of cash or volunteering time to the stewards, where can they go for information? Who can they contact? They can contact me at 772-6872 or they can contact Aaron Pringle, who is also on the committee.