The Role of Archaeology in Uncovering Clemson’s History

May 1, 2023

This is a special post re-published from the May 2023 newsletter. Read the full May 2023 newsletter.

By Dr. David Markus, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice

One of the most significant points the ongoing research and community engagement of the Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground Historic Preservation Project has brought to the fore is the deep and often overlooked history of the landscape Clemson University now occupies and the connection this history has to different eras and the University’s rise and development. Archaeology has an important role to play in this effort to document and honor the legacy of the communities that once lived on this landscape through the identification, preservation and long-term stewardship of cultural resources.

As a land grant institution, Clemson University is responsible for over 42,000 acres of property throughout the state of South Carolina provided by the Morrill and Hatch Acts that consists, in part, of the ancestral landscape of the Cherokee people, a revolutionary war fort, several former plantations where enslaved African Americans were forced to reside and work, Civilian Conservation Corps work sites, university buildings that were built by African American convict laborers, and World War II military training grounds. Collectively, these time periods constitute what is believed to be well in the hundreds of archaeological sites, though most of our knowledge of their locations come from the broader Clemson and South Carolinian community who have a deep passion for the history of the school and the state.

The site of Fort Rutledge highlights the way in which archaeology can serve to illustrate the interconnectedness of the university’s cultural landscape. Indigenous occupation on the land that is now Clemson started at least 10,000 years ago, and radiocarbon dating from pottery recovered from the site point to a considerable presence of peoples approximately 1,400 years ago. These peoples were the ancestors to the Lower Town Cherokee who established the town of Esseneca prior to the arrival of Europeans. Colonial era naturalists and botanical explorers, such as William Bartram, were guided to Cherokee lands by enslaved persons who represent the first people of African descent to pass through Clemson’s eventual landscape. These explorer accounts give an indication of the size of Esseneca when, during a nighttime raid on July 31, 1776, South Carolina militia attacked the British-allied Cherokee town. The battle, while small, resulted in the death of the first Jewish American soldier in the Revolution, Francis Salvador, who died in the care of a servant who was likely African American. The battle is notable not only for the casualties it caused on both sides but the transformation that occurred to the landscape in its aftermath. Following their defeat to the Cherokee, the South Carolina militia returned several months later and completely razed the town and all of its crops along the Seneca River, now beneath the waters of Lake Hartwell. In an effort to exert control of the region, Fort Rutledge was erected on the ridgetop overlooking the river basin. In operation until it was dismantled by the British in 1780, the fort served as the location for prisoner exchanges during the treaty of Dewitt’s Corner and as the holding location for at least one runaway slave.

After its dismantling, memory of the fort’s location and its history began to fade, and during the 19^th century, references to its deteriorating state were common. In an effort to preserve its memory, members of the Pickens Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, comprised mostly of the wives of Clemson faculty, commissioned an excavation to locate the corner bastion of the fort using African American convict laborers provided by the university, some of whom may be buried in Woodland Cemetery. In 1908, the Board of Trustees authorizes the use of funds and labor to erect a monument at the fort’s location at the request of DAR using that same labor. Throughout the early 20^th Century this landscape is incorporated into the university infrastructure; as cattle and alfalfa fields, as the location for pumping stations and farm storage and eventually as water treatment and hazardous water disposal facilities. During this time articles in The Tiger reference Clemson cadets looting the site as a recreational activity, underscoring the community’s interests in campus history.

As South Carolina begins to commemorate the Semiquincentennial of its role in the American Revolution, so does Clemson University. Through a grant from the National Park Service and with various stakeholder partnerships including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the sites of Fort Rutledge and Esseneca are being relocated and their histories interpreted for the public, histories that are holistic and inclusive of the many peoples that lived and worked on what is now Clemson’s campus. Archaeology aides in the Woodland Cemetery Project in serving as a reminder that the history that must be honored and memorialized may not always be visible and the narratives that make up this landscape’s past often extend beyond the boundaries of time and space that are placed on them. The history of the Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground is the history of this place.