Evergreen Cemetery began in 1890 when Laura and William Brawner donated 16 acres of land to establish a cemetery for black slaves at a time when blacks and whites were not allowed to be buried together. Its first pioneer trustees were George W. Cook, L.W. Fountain, S.E. Jones, Willie E. Merritt, William M. Jones, John W. Ford, K.G. Gray, and John Daniel Merritt. These early pioneers later worked as laborers in the fern industry, first for Gordon Barnett and later for Hubbard Casselberry, and while in that industry many went on to operate their own businesses, including grocery stores and home building. Within the cemetery grounds were nine shotgun houses, narrow hall-less houses traditionally associated with the Southern Black community, offered rent free and known locally as the Barnett and Casselberry quarters. In its early years, five churches helped maintain the cemetery grounds: Freewill Baptist Church, New Bethel AME Church, St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church, William Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, and Sanctified Church, now known as Church of God in Christ Love Tabernacle Church. One common maintenance practice was cutting sand pines for Christmas trees. Over the years, the name Evergreen was forgotten, and the cemetery was also known as Altamonte Colored Cemetery, Fern Park Cemetery, and the Altamonte and Fern Park Community Cemetery, until research by Alton Williams restored its original name in 2007.