2019 Lecture Series

Tim Gillis: The 1849 Augustus King Riots on Munjoy Hill

1:30pm
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Glickman Library in the Osher Map Library Building

On July 4, 1849, sailors out of Cape Ann attacked a Portland, Maine, brothel and dance hall owned by Augustus King on Munjoy Hill. Within 3 months, the fight had escalated to cannon fire, murder, and a full-scale riot. This talk reveals previously unknown details of the street war—including King’s origins, an unreported pregnancy, and genealogical clues to other family members living in Portland at the time.

All lectures are free, but donations to Spirits Alive are gratefully accepted!

More information about our lecture series and past lectures is available on our website.

Eastern Cemetery & Spirits Alive Photo Collection

Over 12,000 images available for download

Since 2007, we have collected images on our workdays, visits to other cemeteries, conservation activities, and our project to catalogue images of every stone in the cemetery. We have made these images publicly available on our Flickr site and encourage you to visit. Some photos are organized in albums, but we also have a page on our website that details what can be found there a bit more. We will continue adding photos always, and thank you for your visits and comments!

Eastern Cemetery Book!

Ron Romano has published a follow-up to his first book, Early Gravestones in Southern Maine — The Genius of Bartlett Adams and it focuses on the Eastern Cemetery itself: Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery—A Field of Ancient Graves. This book:

• Describes the history of the cemetery's evolution
• Includes information on special cemetery sections: African American, Quaker, Catholic, and "Strangers"
• Discusses the history of Portland, Maine, in relation to this historic landscape
• Provides vignettes of the men and women memorialized in this special place

A must-read for any cemetery aficionado, the book is filled with photographs and sketches to illustrate the text. Our website has more about how to purchase this publication.

Ask Amazon to Donate to Spirits Alive

This is an easy way to give! If you're an Amazon shopper, here's an easy way to support our favorite and the oldest historic Portland, Maine, cemetery:

• Go to smile.amazon.com
• Enter "Spirits Alive" in the box
• Choose the non-profit in Portland, Maine from the list

Voila! A portion of all of your purchases through smile.amazon.com will go to our efforts to support, conserve and promote this historic outdoor museum. Thank you!

Help the Eastern Cemetery

Support the work of Spirits Alive with your giving

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