We are publishing a monthly newsletter to share updates on research, community engagement, and upcoming events. Sign up to receive the newsletter through email: https://forms.gle/rWXqxTcXvcsJ5g928
The Woodland Cemetery Preservation Project seeks to tell the stories of the known and unknown burials located in Woodland Cemetery on the Clemson University campus. Through research and community engagement we intend to uncover as much as we can about this historic space and to properly commemorate all who are buried here.
The research and community engagement team for the Woodland Cemetery Historic Preservation Project, including the African American Burial Ground, is excited to announce the launch of two new social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter. These platforms will be used to engage with the public and increase outreach about the research project. We invite you to follow along and share as we post about historical documents and research, upcoming events, and community engagement initiatives. Please use the hashtag #ClemsonUCemetery.
Visitors walk toward the western part of the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery.
On Sunday, February 28, 2021, tours of the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery were conducted as part of Clemson’s calendar of events for Black History Month sponsored by the Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center. The tours were organized by Dr. Rhondda Thomas, the Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature, Faculty Director for Call My Name, and Research and Community Engagement Coordinator for the African American Burial Ground project. Over one hundred students, faculty, university employees, and community members participated in the hour-long walking tours throughout the day.
The South Carolina Historical Marker for The Fort Hill Slave and Convict Burial Ground and Woodland Cemetery.
The tour, written by Dr. La’Neice Littleton, included four main stops throughout the cemetery. The guides were members of the project team, Clemson Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), and Call My Name Student Advisory Board (CMNSAB), and hosts who led groups around the site were Clemson students, particularly members of the BGSA and CMNSAB. The first stop brought visitors to the entrance of Woodland Cemetery, near the South Carolina Historical Marker for The Fort Hill Slave and Convict Burial Ground and Woodland Cemetery that was recently installed due to the efforts of Dr. Thomas and Dr. James Bostic Jr., in addition to other Clemson faculty and staff. At this stop, visitors also learned about the history of the Native American and African American presence on the land.
Marissa Davis tells visitors about the Native American and African American history of the space.
The second stop on the tour was the fenced-in area of the burial ground in the southern part of the cemetery, previously thought to be the extent of the African American Burial Ground. In February 2020, after taking a Call My Name tour, two Clemson students reached out to Dr. Thomas about their concern for this site, which was neglected and uncared for at the time.
Dr. Sara Collini tells visitors about the fenced-in area of the African American Burial Ground.
Visitors then walked toward the western part of the cemetery, where they learned more about the history of the project, including the pivotal work of African American archaeologist Carrel Cowan-Ricks in the early 1990s, the history of the Bottoms neighborhood, and the recovery of 667 unmarked graves by ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) in 2020 and 2021.
Dr. La’Neice Littleton tells visitors about the recently recovered burials and the Bottoms area near the stadium.
The last stop on the tour brought guests to the crest of the hill where the Calhoun family is buried, the first known white people to be buried at the site. Twelve unmarked burials were recently recovered in the Calhoun plot.
Dr. James Bostic Jr. tells visitors about the Calhoun plot and recently recovered burials.Dr. James Bostic Jr. tells visitors about the Calhoun family plot.
There will be more tours of the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery scheduled in the future. Check the cemetery website for more information on tours in the coming months and for updates on ongoing research and community initiatives.
Dr. Rhondda Thomas stands with a student volunteer, Jake Faulkner.Tour visitors walk up to the Calhoun family plot.
Visitors and student hosts walk along a path in the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery.Visitors and student hosts walk along a path in the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery.
If you or others know of someone who might be buried in the African American Burial Ground, please contact us at afamburials@clemson.edu or call (864) 656-8855.
We are pleased to announce that the updated website for the African American Burial Ground and Woodland Cemetery at Clemson has launched. The website strives to document an accurate history of the burial ground and to engage campus and local communities with ongoing research on individuals and families who may be buried there. The updates include a new Project Team page, an Interactive Timeline, and the Project Blog.
Homepage of the Woodland Cemetery website.
Project Team
This project would not be possible without the collective efforts of several people and organizations across campus, local communities in South Carolina, and the nation. The new Project Team page lists those who are working on and supporting the burial ground project, including the Historical Research Team, the Legacy Council, and other project affiliates. The Community Engagement Council, organized by Dr. Rhondda Thomas and Dr. La’Neice Littleton, is made up of several community leaders from Clemson/Central, Anderson, Pendleton, and Oconee County. The Community Engagement Council advises on local research, community outreach, and preservation and memorialization plans for the African American burial ground.
Interactive Timeline
Interactive Timeline of the African American Burial Ground
The updated website also features an interactive timeline. The timeline details important moments in the burial ground’s history, including the era of enslavement at Fort Hill, the establishment of Woodland Cemetery for white Clemson employees on the site in 1924, and the recovery of 667 unmarked graves from GPR work conducted in 2020 and early 2021. Many of the events are linked to digitized historical documents, allowing users to read and explore the history for themselves. The interactive timeline will be updated in real time as the Project Team continues its work and new information and historical documents are uncovered.
Project Blogand Outreach
In the coming months, this blog will serve as a space where project updates, community stories, and other news about the African American burial ground are shared with the public. We encourage community members, students, faculty, and others to follow along with our ongoing research.
For further questions about the African American burial ground, please email afamburials@clemson.edu or call (864) 656-8719. A special phone number dedicated to those who wish to share information with the Project Team has also been added to the Contact Us page. If you or others know of someone who might be buried in the African American burial ground, please contact us at (864) 656-8855.
We are publishing a monthly newsletter to share updates on research, community engagement, and upcoming events. Sign up to receive the newsletter through email: https://forms.gle/rWXqxTcXvcsJ5g928
