I stumbled onto a real gem last weekend, when I walked thru Evergreen
Cemetery in Rutland Town. Evergreen straddles the line between my hometown -
Rutland City - and the surrounding Rutland Town; the trees visible from the road
had always intrigued me, but I had never ventured in to explore. So I decided
to make it my 251 Town Birder site for Rutland Town, and see what lay within. I
was not disappointed.
Most cemeteries - both early and modern - are
designed to maximize the number of burials within a given parcel of land.
Evergreen is one of those cemeteries which opened in the 1870s and was designed
as a parkland, offering both the living and the deceased a peaceful and
beautiful place to spend an eternity. The cemetery hosts many of Rutland's
prominent families, expansive plots that were planted with cedars, pines and
ornamentals, and boasting monuments that seek to outdo the others. After 100+
years, the cedar hedges have become living colonnades, the pines offer high
canopies, and the oaks would be envied by shipbuilders.
In addition to
the impressive monuments and plantings, Evergreen Cemetery offers innumerable
quiet plots, sequestered in woodland glades and little hollows. I swear, this
cemetery has more nooks and crannies than a Thomas's English Muffin! Rarely
used paths go off up and around every hill, and explore every glade; I was there
an hour, and surely saw only half of the cemetery. I'll add photos
shortly.
Evergreen Cemetery is located on US-4 Business in Center
Rutland, at the City/Town line. It is worth the visit.
A typical woodland checklist:
American Crow
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
American Robin
Mourning Dove 2 (how appropriate)
Gray Catbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
Winter Wren
Eastern Phoebe
American Goldfinch
There is a photograph in my Vermont Scenes gallery
Cemetery in Rutland Town. Evergreen straddles the line between my hometown -
Rutland City - and the surrounding Rutland Town; the trees visible from the road
had always intrigued me, but I had never ventured in to explore. So I decided
to make it my 251 Town Birder site for Rutland Town, and see what lay within. I
was not disappointed.
Most cemeteries - both early and modern - are
designed to maximize the number of burials within a given parcel of land.
Evergreen is one of those cemeteries which opened in the 1870s and was designed
as a parkland, offering both the living and the deceased a peaceful and
beautiful place to spend an eternity. The cemetery hosts many of Rutland's
prominent families, expansive plots that were planted with cedars, pines and
ornamentals, and boasting monuments that seek to outdo the others. After 100+
years, the cedar hedges have become living colonnades, the pines offer high
canopies, and the oaks would be envied by shipbuilders.
In addition to
the impressive monuments and plantings, Evergreen Cemetery offers innumerable
quiet plots, sequestered in woodland glades and little hollows. I swear, this
cemetery has more nooks and crannies than a Thomas's English Muffin! Rarely
used paths go off up and around every hill, and explore every glade; I was there
an hour, and surely saw only half of the cemetery. I'll add photos
shortly.
Evergreen Cemetery is located on US-4 Business in Center
Rutland, at the City/Town line. It is worth the visit.
A typical woodland checklist:
American Crow
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
American Robin
Mourning Dove 2 (how appropriate)
Gray Catbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
Winter Wren
Eastern Phoebe
American Goldfinch
There is a photograph in my Vermont Scenes gallery
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