Off-Campus Statewide Gravesites that belong to Clemson University

October 4, 2023

By Dr. Rhondda Thomas, Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature, Call My Name Faculty Director, and Coordinator of Research and Community Engagement for the African American Burial Ground and Woodland Cemetery Historic Preservation Project

This piece is re-posted from the October 2023 newsletter.

Although Clemson University is devoting major attention to documenting the history of Woodland Cemetery and the African American Burial Ground Project on its main campus and honoring all who are buried there, the higher education institution is also seeking to preserve 15 grave sites on 33,000 acres it owns throughout South Carolina.

There are a variety of cemeteries on these off-campus sites, including those affiliated with families and churches, as well as some located in heavily wooded areas with graves that are both unmarked and marked by headstones.

Clemson is committed to working with researchers and local communities to document the history of all of these sacred sites and to ensure that they are protected. More information about this initiative can be found on Clemson University’s Statewide Grave Sites website.

1) The Clemson Experimental Forest (CEF) in Oconee/Anderson/Pickens Counties contains four sites identified and confirmed as known gravesite locations. These include the John Ewing Colhoun Family Cemetery, Lawrence Family Cemetery, Lieutenant William F. Grant Site, and Lieutenant Benjamin Lawrence Site. Acquired by Clemson University in 1954, the Clemson Experimental Forest encompasses approximately 17,500 acreage. The estimated number of graves in the CEF is approximately 255+, with 240 unmarked burials.

2) The cemetery for enslaved people who worked at Andrew Pickens’ Hopewell Plantation and the Simpson Cemetery site of Mt. Jolly Plantation are at the Piedmont Research and Education Center in Anderson/Pickens Counties. Hopewell contains three headstones, with most of the depressions marked by field stones. There are twelve headstones at the multigenerational Simpson and Taliaferro Family Cemetery. Like Hopewell, field stones lie within the space, denoting how old the graveyard is. Clemson University took ownership of the properties from 1932-1960, totaling approximately 4,400 acres.

3) The identified gravesites of the Edisto Research and Education Center (Edisto REC) in Barnwell County include three locations: one near the ruins of a church, another adjacent to a hay barn, and the third at the edge of an once alfalfa field. Clearing work was completed on these sites in February 2022. Old Church has identified five headstones, with 60+ estimated graves primarily unmarked. The Christmas Tree Field Hay Barn has an estimated 15-20 graves but no identifiable headstones. The V.L. Cave/Alfalfa Field has one Veterans Administration headstone, with an estimated two graves via the oral history of husband and wife. Clemson acquired the Edisto REC between 1936-1952, spanning approximately 2,360 acreage.

4) 1971 was when the university acquired the Pee Dee Research and Education Center (Pee Dee REC) from the Dargan and Pierce Families, covering approximately 2,300 acres of 20+ estimated graves. The Pee Dee REC in Darlington/Florence Counties includes one confirmed cemetery and two other possible sites. The Old Dargan/Pleasant Grove Cemetery has two headstones, with 20+ unmarked metal funeral home markers where some are legible to read. The estimated number of graves at the African American burial ground in the forest is unknown. The W. Standard site and Pitner Center Grassed area have no headstones nor estimated grave count. The former is potentially a family cemetery for a Revolutionary War officer where historical descriptions match the possible location, while the latter GPR survey found no evidence of graves despite oral history accounting for there being once.

5) The Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston County identified the Old Mill gravesite as a confirmed burial ground. There is an estimated 50+ graves among its 325 acres. Clemson University acquired the land from 1932 to 1944. Though to be called “Old Mill” from oral history, the cemetery has three headstones.

For more information on how Clemson University works to preserve grave sites in South Carolina, please click here.