We Come Alive in May!

Start-of-Season Cleanup

THIS Sunday, May 3
9am to 12pm

Please help us tidy up after the snow melt. We will do light gardening work and pick up trash. We provide the instruction and tools if you’ll provide the energy.

Flagging for Memorial Day

Wednesday, May 20
11am to 12pm

Please join us to decorate veteran graves with flags preceding the holiday and remembrance. Just show up! We will provide flags and maps. Bring a buddy, or we'll set you up with one.

Walking Tours

Start: Saturday May 23
Daily at 4pm

We are the only cemetery in Maine that has daily walking tours. Join us for an informative jaunt through the stones with a knowledgeable and trained volunteer guide. Tour groups are small and allow time for questions.

Subterranean Celebrity: Sarah Greenwood

Mrs. Sarah (Clark) Greenwood died on May 23, 1776—just six weeks before the Declaration of Independence was signed. She was 68, and had spent the last 30 years of her life as a widow. Her gravestone, imported from Boston and carved with a traditional Massachusetts winged skull, stands in Section C, plot 196. What makes it especially striking is its inscription, which defines her not by her own life, but by her husband’s troubled legacy:

In memory of

Mrs SARAH GREENWOOD

Widow of ISAAC GREENWOOD

late Hollisian Professor

of Mathematicks at Cambridge

Died May 23rd 1776. Aged 68

That description points to Isaac Greenwood, once a promising figure—a Harvard graduate and the first Hollisian Professor of Mathematics, a chair established by Thomas Hollis. He even authored one of the earliest mathematics books published in the American colonies. But his career unraveled. He was censured for drunkenness, dismissed from Harvard, and spent his final years in financial difficulty before dying in 1745.

Sarah lived on for three decades after his fall, yet her gravestone still ties her identity to his rise and failure. It’s a quiet but powerful reminder of how women were often remembered through the men in their lives—no matter how those stories ended.

Had she lived just a few weeks longer, Sarah would have witnessed the birth of a new nation. Instead, her death came on the eve of independence. Now, 250 years later, as the United States marks that same anniversary, her story offers a more personal glimpse into the lives that unfolded alongside the nation’s founding—lives shaped not just by great events, but by complicated, very human histories.

Thank you to our cemetery historian Ron Romano for the the write-up. Suggest your own subterranean celebrity! Just send an email—it doesn't take much (basic vitals, plot location, and or photo) to make a nice little story. An index of all of our Subterranean Celebrities is available.

Christina White speaks to a group of volunteers in 2007, photo by V. Turcott

20 Years of Spirits Alive

20 years ago, a small group of cemetery, gardening, and history enthusiasts gathered under the direction of Christina White to form Spirits Alive. We’ve come a long way, baby! Thank you to all of our volunteers over the years who have helped us protect, preserve, promote, and provide education about this sacred and historic outdoor museum, the Eastern Cemetery.

SA Swag

Guess what cemetery fan group has its own shirts, caps, playing cards, and tote bags? Spirits Alive does, that’s who! Visit us on Zazzle to view all of our products. Please know that proceeds go directly back to Spirits Alive to help us fund our work to keep the Eastern Cemetery cared for and to teach others about its wonders.

Support Eastern Cemetery

You can help Spirits Alive keep the Eastern Cemetery alive for generations to come. Through your support, you can help us, an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization, to continue to:

• Keep the gates open – encouraging the community to explore its open and safe green space

• Offer education about the cemetery and its residents to the public – through tours, lectures, and events

• Encourage and support the city in keeping the site clean and safe for visitors of all ages

• Preserve this incredible outdoor museum and sacred historic landscape

For 20 years, Spirits Alive, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, has been dedicated to the protection and preservation of Portland, Maine’s historic Eastern Cemetery through a range of activities including promotion and education.