At one time Portland's home for the "poor and indigent", the cemetery is named for its location in city's West End neighborhood and proximity to the Western Promenade.

Likewise, it is unknown how many burials have taken place in the cemetery, though author William Jordan estimated 6,600.

A number of tombs have been opened with no contents found inside; for example the Longfellow tomb, home to the parents of Portland resident Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was opened and nothing was found inside, with no record of what happened to those entombed there.

The Catholic section is also known for headstones containing references to the names of counties in Ireland, and is built on what used to be known as Brown's Hill.

In 1999, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division I, erected a stone marking the area as the Catholic Ground, and commemorating those who perished during, or fled from The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór).