[2]: 15  Bangor was at that time a frontier boom-town, and much of its architecture and landscaping was modeled after that of Boston.

[citation needed] The site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The land was approximately 660 by 3,300 feet (200 by 1,010 m) with the longer side extending north–south along State Street.

Approximately 12-acre (4.9 ha) was to be set aside for horticultural activities, and the rest of the land was to be used as a cemetery.

The cemetery includes the gravesites of Hannibal Hamlin, a U.S. Vice President who had also held office as Congressman, US Senator and Governor of Maine, a U.S.