Skip to content

The Evergreen Cemetery Walk is a great educational program for students to participate in. Your students will develop an understanding and appreciation for cemeteries as a source for history. They will begin to understand our local history and its importance, and understand the natural connection between history and the arts.

In addition, the Cemetery Walk will help teachers meet a variety of History and English related ISBE Learning Goals and Common Core Standards.

The 2024 Virtual Evergreen Cemetery Walk will be viewable starting November 4, 2024.

Viewing Instructions for the Virtual Evergreen Cemetery Walk 2024 will be linked here.

How to Prepare For Your Tour

Below are links to PDFs on a variety of information that will be useful in preparing to bring your students to your scheduled tour of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk.

Character Packets

These packets include information on each character featured in this year's Evergreen Cemetery Walk. One character, J.J. Mayes, will only be seen by students using the virtual walk as he is a weekend-only performance. Each character's packet has a student biography, a vocabulary list, and a collection of relevant Pieces from our Past articles written by Museum staff and community collaborators.

Cemetery History, Symbolism, and Monument Information

This document includes a brief history on the evolution of cemeteries and a history of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Also included is information on monument materials, cemetery art and symbolism, monument types, and cemetery structures, of which many can be found in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. This information will be very useful in helping to prepare students for participation in the Evergreen Cemetery Walk.

Standards and Educational Goals

The Evergreen Cemetery Walk is a great educational program for students to participate in. It is our intention that students will develop an understanding and appreciation for cemeteries as a source for history, that students will begin to understand our local history and its importance, and that students will understand the natural connection between history and the arts. In addition, the Cemetery Walk will help teachers meet a variety of History and English related ISBE Learning Goals and Common Core Standards.

Maps

To see a map of burial locations for this year's characters, please click here.

To see the route map for this year's walk, please click here.

Suggested General Activities

Aside from general discussion, these are activities which teachers who have attended Walks in years past have done with their students that may prove beneficial for you and your students as well.

2025 Featured Characters

We have featured 211 people in the Cemetery Walk since 1995. To read biographies of individuals featured on past Cemetery Walks, visit our biographies page.

Huggins, Sophia
Sophia Huggins (1831-1903) or “Aunt Sophia” as she was known by her clientele, was a claimed clairvoyant who made a living in Bloomington, IL telling the fortunes of a wide cross section of Bloomingtonians. She is featured with the mysterious Madame Annette, a reporter for the Daily Bulletin newspaper who profiled early settlers and touring actresses, chatted about fashion and makeup, and interviewed eccentric individuals like the enigmatic Huggins.
Annette, Madame
Sophia Huggins (1831-1903) or “Aunt Sophia” as she was known by her clientele, was a claimed clairvoyant who made a living in Bloomington, IL telling the fortunes of a wide cross section of Bloomingtonians. She is featured with the mysterious Madame Annette, a reporter for the Daily Bulletin newspaper who profiled early settlers and touring actresses, chatted about fashion and makeup, and interviewed eccentric individuals like the enigmatic Huggins.
Crandall, June W.
June Crandall (1878-1910), a Kentucky native, came to Bloomington in 1898 and began working as a miner at the McLean County Coal Company on the west side of town. He was one of the earliest labor union organizers and Socialist party leaders in Bloomington. Crandall was deeply concerned about the exploitation of the American working class. He fought hard on various platforms, including in the political sphere, to improve the quality of life for his fellow workers and their families.
Jones, Eva
Eva Jones was a woman who never turned away from challenging situations or tough decisions. She was the first Black person elected to the Bloomington District 87 Board of Education in 1971 and the Bloomington City Council in 1979.
Eva Jones
Milner, Angeline Vernon
Angeline Vernon Milner, known to most as Ange, is one of Illinois' most famous librarians. Milner became Illinois State (Normal) University's first full-time librarian in 1890, serving nearly 40 years.
Angie Milner
Trotter, Georgina
Georgina Trotter (1836-1904) and Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam (1842 – 1918) were advocates and close friends who wanted better for Bloomington. Businesswoman Georgina Trotter was the first woman elected to the Bloomington Board of Education in 1874. She served alongside educator Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam, who became the first female superintendent of Bloomington Public Schools that same year. These women had an uphill battle to prove they were worthy of these positions. Together, they worked side-by-by-side to improve the quality of education students received in Bloomington Public Schools and to improve the lives of others in the community. 
Fitzwilliam, Sarah Raymond
Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam was an educator and an advocate who wanted better for Bloomington. She became the first female superintendent of Bloomington Public Schools. She had an uphill battle to improve the quality of education students received.
Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam
Belt, Augustus "Gus"
Augustus "Gus" Belt (1895-1954) and Edith Pressler Belt (1896 – 1973) successfully grew a single Bloomington restaurant into a nationwide chain. The Steak n' Shake proprietors had several failed business ventures before acquiring a Shell Oil station at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets, which they transformed into a successful drive-in serving hamburgers and milkshakes in 1934. The Belts are this year's visiting voices from East Lawn Memorial Cemetery in honor of Steak n' Shake's 90th anniversary.
Belt, Edith Pressler
Edith Pressler Belt (1896 – 1973) and Augustus "Gus" Belt (1895-1954) successfully grew a single Bloomington restaurant into a nationwide chain. The Steak n' Shake proprietors had several failed business ventures before acquiring a Shell Oil station at the corner of Main and Virginia Streets, which they transformed into a successful drive-in serving hamburgers and milkshakes in 1934. The Belts are this year's visiting voices from East Lawn Memorial Cemetery in honor of Steak n' Shake's 90th anniversary.