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Created in 1858, the Evergreen Cemetery is designated as a place of historical interest in California. The land was a gift from the Imus family, the author’s ancestors, and open to everyone regardless of race or religion. Among the adventurers and entrepreneurs buried at Evergreen is London Nelson, an emancipated slave turned farmer who bequeathed his land to the local schools, women who defied Victorian-era stereotypes, Chinese residents who held fast to their cherished traditions and Mattias Lorenzana from one of Santa Cruz’s oldest families. Professor Emerita Traci Bliss, with historian Randall Brown, brings to life these and many other individuals interred at Evergreen. She also chronicles the cemetery’s continuing restoration by unrelenting volunteers.