Statewide Gravesites

In August 2021, Clemson University civil engineering students under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Ogle, (ogle@clemson.edu) Professor and Associate Chair of Civil Engineering, participated in ground-penetrating radar (GPR) at work at the Lt. Benjamin Lawrence gravesite in the Clemson Experimental Forest (CEF).

This particular gravesite is off-the-beaten path in the CEF—on a hilltop graced with mature hardwoods, overlooking the picturesque Keowee River area of Lake Hartwell.

Clemson University hired Preservation South to conduct GPR work at several of its off-campus locations to locate potential burials. As potential burials are recognized, the team places a single white flag to show its location on the ground (see photo of Lt. Benjamin Lawrence site, with flag markers after GPR, below).

During the work on Aug. 25, 2021, Preservation South identified approximately 107 potential burials at the Lt. Benjamin Lawrence site.

Prior to the GPR work, Garland Veasey, Clemson University’s Director of Research Farm Services (Piedmont Research and Education Center) said CEF staff prepared the area by removing dead and felled trees, trimming underbrush, removing leaves and applying forestry herbicides to prevent regrowth.

For inquiries on this particular gravesite, or for any of the other statewide gravesite locations, please contact Clemson at cugravesites@clemson.edu .

Born in Virginia in 1747, Benjamin Lawrence married Rachel Weems on March 5, 1783, after a move to South Carolina. There he served as a Lieutenant of the Anderson (South Carolina) Mounted Militia in the Revolutionary War. He was noted for his expertise as a scout for Gen. Andrew Pickens.

Lawrence is purportedly buried on the land that was granted him by the U.S. government for his Revolutionary War service—this is the same land found within the Clemson Experimental Forest, approximately 2 ½ miles north of Clemson.

In 1962, a veteran’s memorial stone was placed at his grave at a ceremony that marked Lt. Benjamin Lawrence’s burial place. However, a marker at the Lawrence Family Cemetery site approximately three miles away states that Lawrence and his wife Rachel rest in unmarked graves at that site.

A visual survey conducted by Preservation South of the Lt. Benjamin Lawrence gravesite location shows multiple field stones present. These are most likely representations of graves.

GPR work conducted on Aug. 25, 2021, indicated 107 potential burials at this location—though exactly who these persons are is a mystery yet to be revealed.

(Anyone who has information about graves on Clemson property or questions about the sites is asked to contact Clemson at: cugravesites@clemson.edu ).

Sources for Lt. Benjamin Lawrence facts: Lynne R. Beeson, In the Face Of Change: An Interpretive Prospectus For The Clemson Experimental Forest, 1977. Prepared by the Dept of Recreation and Park Administration College of Forest and Recreation Resources, Clemson Univ. 88pp; cef_cultural_inv.pdf (clemson.edu) ; Robert T. Sorrells, The Clemson Experimental Forest: Its First 50 Years.