Six Feet Under (Tucson's Buried Past)

There are many downsides to having your car break down. One, waiting under the hot sun for hours until a towntruck arrives. Two, the ridiculous fees that said tow truck will charge. In fact, just about the only upside to a breakdown is that it gives you a chance to explore surrounding areas that you never would have set foot in before.

I'd driven past Tuscon's Evergreen Cemetery many times in the past, but never went inside. No one I knew was buried there and graveyards tend to, in general, creep me out. If it weren't for my auto troubles and my subsequent free time, I may never have gotten the chance to explore what might be one of Tucson's most underrated historical sites.

Evergreen Cemetery was opened in 1906 as a general burial site outside of city limits. Many earlier burials from Ft. Lowell Cemetery and the surrounding areas were relocated here, explaining the existence of the many pre-1906 graves.
The site has been owned by the Addison Family since 1960.

One of the first things that strikes you is the wide diversity of people buried there. Judging by the headstones, no one could say that the southwest isn't a true melting pot of culture. Immigrants from all nations and cultures seems to be well represented.

One of the most interesting aspects is the high number of graves identified only by Chinese lettering.


Most of these dates occur on either side of the 1882-1943 legislation called the "Chinese Exclusion Laws." This ban on Chinese immigrants, according to the PBS website substantially reduced the Asian populations in the west by nearly half. The evidence of the act's effect can be clearly seen in the dispersion of Chinese burials during that time period.

Other historical aspects of the site include the graves and rumored graves for many of old Tucson's movers and shakers,according to the site findagrave.com

Among those rumored to be buried at the site is the famous John Harris Behan. Behan was the Cochise county sheriff, an enemy of Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp, and a supporter of the cowboys during the famous shootout at the O.K. corral. Also buried there is Dan Gravey, Arizona Governor from 1948 to 1951, acclaimed Banjo player Eddie Peabody, and Morgan Earp's assassin Frank Stilwell.

The cemeteries military burial ground is also very impressive and moving, with rows and rows of white marble tombstones. There are fallen soldiers buried here from every major American battle, from the Spanish American wars all the way through to the ongoing Iraq conflict.

Even if you share my aversion for all things dead and creepy, the history of the site is alive and well and merits a little exploration.
If your interested in learning about these historical figures and the many more buried at the site, a free centennial re-dedication ceremony with historic tours is set to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7.