South Carolina – African-American Cemeteries, Graveyards

South Carolina SC African-American History SC African-American Cemeteries Also see: SC Cemeteries, Graveyards

SC African-American Cemeteries and Graveyards

Here are two historic black cemeteries in South Carolina. We will add more cemeteries as information and pictures of them are contributed. Learn how you can help.

• Douglas Cemetery
  Richland County – This Columbia cemetery was established in 1908 as a nine-acre African-American graveyard by the Metropolitan Development Company, and records show that plots were drawn to maximize usable space with little regard to visitors. It was developed on the original site of the South Carolina State Fair. In 1914 Metropolitan Development defaulted on its mortgage, and the land – less the 131 cemetery lots it sold from 1908 though 1914 – was sold to the treasurer of Metropolitan Development who in turn sold it to the Douglas Realty Company in 1915.
  
  
• Silver Bluff Slave Cemetery
  Aiken County – Located in the community of Jackson and often called Cohlvin (or Colvin) Cemetery, this is the burial site of around 250 slaves and former slaves from Silver Bluff and surrounding plantations. Today most of the cemetery appears wooded, though the remains of generations of enslaved workers rest in shallow graves beneath the forest floor.
  
  

History of SC African-American Cemeteries

These resources will help you learn about the history of black graveyards in South Carolina. Burial traditions offer an unusual glimpse into a part of history which is rapidly disappearing.

• Slave Burials in South Carolina
  Many of the traditions surrounding black burials in South Carolina originated in Africa. Learn about these traditions, and also learn about the challenges South Carolina slave families faced when trying to bury their dead. These obstacles included finding land to create cemeteries, finding time to dig graves and hold services, and finding methods to mark the grave sites of those they loved.
  
  
• History of African-American Cemeteries and and the differences between Euro-American Cemeteries
  
  

Preservation of SC African-American Cemeteries

African-American cemeteries are unique resources in our state. They not only represent the last resting places of black South Carolinians, but they are also storehouses of African-American history. Despite this, the vast majority of these sites are in danger of being lot, be if from development, neglect, or simply the loss of community knowledge regarding their locations. Below we look at the importance of preserving these cemeteries as well as steps we can take to save them.

• Preservation of African-American Cemeteries in South Carolina
  
  

More on SC African-American Cemeteries

• Brown Fellowship Society
  This is the oldest all-male funeral society in Charleston; it was established in 1790 and renamed Century Fellowship Society in 1890 or 1892.
  
  
• Looks Can Deceive in Slave Cemeteries
  Learn more about the differences between white and black graveyards.
  
  
• Razing the Dead
  This article explains how property owners, developers, and governments are prohibiting black people from visiting the grave sites of their loved ones and ancestors ... specifically addresses Charleston County's King Cemetery and Old Alston Cemetery in Jacksonboro.