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.
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 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 Many of the events are linked to digitized historical documents, allowing users to read and explore the history for themselves. The interactive timeline will be updated in real time as the Project Team continues its work and new information and historical documents are uncovered.
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.
