EVERGREEN CEMETERY

In 1913, a group of seven men (M.J. Gildersleeve, Reverend R.W. Washington, Fred Austin, Robert Holland, Henry Meador, Sam Sharp, and Henry Rhodes) identified as trustees and owners, had the Evergreen Cemetery laid out. The site has originally been part of Gales Lake Worth Plat # 1. These men, joined by four others, formed the Evergreen Cemetery Association in 1916, with M.J. Gildersleeve serving as president. Prior to the creation of this cemetery blacks had been buried in what was identified only as the “colored cemetery” on South Dixie Highway. For over 85 years, Evergreen Cemetery has been the final resting place of some of the city’s most influential black citizens, as well as a cross section of many unnoted black citizens who contributed to the development of West Palm Beach. Among those buried in Evergreen Cemetery are Dr. T. Leroy Jefferson, the city’s first black physician; J.W. Mickens, an early educator; Henry Speed, a real estate investor; and Dr. J.R. Vickers, a physician. In 1981, the City Commission declared Evergreen Cemetery a site of local historical significance. The City acquired and assumed responsibility for Evergreen Cemetery in 1987.