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Our series on the tales and
history of Portland's Evergreen cemetery continues with a look
at the story behind the construction of Wilde Memorial Chapel,
a stunning piece of architecture built over 100 years ago as a
gift to the city, memorializing a man who was barely known to
area residents. |
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Meet Samuel Wilde
Samuel Wilde was a successful
tea merchant from New York who met and married Miss Mary Ellen
Hunt of Falmouth, Maine. They lived in Montclair, New Jersey,
a rapidly growing community in the mid-to-late 1800's that offered
an idyllic setting with convenient access to the city for New
York businessmen.
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"Samuel
Wilde is a name still often heard in business circles in New
York and vicinity and always as a synonym for lofty character
and eminent business integrity." -- Rev. Armory H Bradford,
D.D. of Montclair, New Jersey, pastor to the Wilde family, speaking
at the Samuel Wilde Memorial Chapel dedication,
October 3rd, 1902.
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Samuel was described as a highly
cultured man, a collector of fine art, literature, and precious
stones. He was also a musician and amateur astronomer who owned
one of the largest telescopes of any private citizen in the country.
He was involved, personally and
politically, in his growing community of Montclair and served
on the city's governing board, later representing his district
in the State Legislature. Furthermore described as a "man
of public spirit," Wilde was involved in the local school
system and interested in temperance and anti-slavery reforms.
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"The brotherhood
of man was a fundamental article in his creed; and his faith
was proved by his works, for he was a constant servant of the
poor and outcast." -- Rev. Armory H Bradford, D.D. of Montclair,
New Jersey, pastor to the Wilde family, speaking at the Samuel
Wilde Memorial Chapel dedication, October 3rd, 1902.
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Evergreen, the "Holy City
of Portland"
The idea of reserving sprawling
acres of trees, ponds, and land for use as a cemetery in an urban
setting was, and remains, a fairly progressive concept. The trend
began in the early nineteenth century and came to be known as
the "rural (or garden) cemetery movement", of which
Evergreen remains a stunning example.
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"It has
been the work of faithful, caring men to make this place a place
of beauty, so that what meets the mortal sight might make suggestions
to the mind of peace and comeliness and hope. So have they given
us this retreat with green grass and flowers and trees---a fitting
monument of our affection for them who have gone one step more
than we into life eternal." -- Rev. John Carroll Perkins,
speaking during the corner stone placement ceremony,
June 10th, 1902.
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Mrs. Wilde's family had long
held a family lot at Evergreen. During Samuel's visits to the
Portland area, he developed a great affection for Evergreen and
was buried there upon his death in March of 1890.
Mary Wilde met with Evergreen
trustees in the fall of 1901 to discuss the construction of a
memorial chapel to honor her husband. The Samuel Wilde Memorial
Chapel would provide an alternative for families who might otherwise
hold funerals in their homes, as was customary, or exposed to
the elements in the open air of the cemetery grounds.
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"The donor
actuated by the broadest principles of philanthropy has requested
that in this chapel, all are free to participate in rites to
the honored dead and that request the city will faithfully respect.
Here no sect, creed or denomination will be recognized. It becomes
a shrine at which all may kneel and where the rich and poor,
the high and the low will have the same rights and privileges."
-- Llewellyn Barton, Esq., Evergreen trustee, speaking after
receiving the keys to the chapel during the dedication ceremony,
October 3rd, 1902.
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Construction on
the English-Gothic chapel began in June of 1902, led by local
architect Frederick A. Tompson, at a cost of $25,000 (the equivalent
of roughly a half million dollars in 2004).
On October 3rd, 1901, the chapel
was dedicated during a well-attended ceremony, presided over by
Portland Mayor Frederic Boothby. Mrs. Wilde placed a copper box
in the corner stone containing cherished family mementoes and
handed the chapel keys to Evergreen trustee, Llewellyn Barton. |
"But as
long as granite shall endure, as long as bereavements shall
come and tears of sorrow flow, in the hearts and affections
of the people of this city, will be held in lasting remembrance,
the name of Mary E. Wilde." -- Llewellyn Barton, Esq.,
Evergreen trustee, speaking after receiving the keys to the
chapel during the dedication ceremony, October 3rd, 1902.
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Over a century since its dedication, the Samuel Wilde
Memorial Chapel still serves the community as Mary Wilde intended. The
structure has gone through various restoration projects over the years
after taking its toll from weather and vandals, but it remains as stunning
as ever, thanks to the efforts of cemetery staff and Friends of Evergreen,
a nonprofit group dedicated to the cemetery's ongoing restoration and
preservation.
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