Charles Evans Cemetery Co

The Cemetery was founded in 1846 by Charles Evans, a prominent local lawyer and philanthropist who desired to establish a nonsectarian cemetery where the friends and relatives of those departed might linger and meditate. Employing unusual vision, Charles Evans selected and purchased 25 acres of land on a prominent hilltop situated, at that time, a mile outside the City limits. It was to be for all people of Reading, a dignified place of interment where natural beauty would be preserved and enhanced with the years. He provided money for a Trust Fund to be used solely for the purpose of making the Cemetery even more beautiful with the passing years - to provide perpetual maintenance of its buildings, trees, shrubbery and spacious lawns.