By Marquise Drayton, Community Engagement Assistant for the Cemetery Project

This post is part of the December 2023 newsletter.

Woodland Cemetery at Clemson University will be approaching its centennial year in 2024. Catalyzed by the death of a university president in 1924, “Cemetery Hill” was its original name for the Andrew Pickens Calhoun Family plot.¹ So why is it called “Woodland?” By definition, a woodland cemetery is a burial ground built more by its natural aesthetic in woods, trees, and forests than mausoleums, tombstones, and other monuments. ² Long-leaf pine and oak trees dominate the landscape of the campus cemetery. If these trees could talk, they would tell a story of how the football stadium, parking lots, and burial ground came to be. It is still an active cemetery, with many notable names throughout Clemson history buried there.

Upon entering, visitors can see beautyberry bushes behind the granite wall entrance. The purple plant suits Clemson University colors³ and what the color represents as royalty in many cultures.⁴ Greenery grinds the ground of the granite signage as “WOODLAND CEMETERY” stands out as one around the cul de sac loop at the Williamson Road entrance. Within the cemetery are white flags with colorful ribbons that mark the sites of the unmarked burials of Black people from different generations, orange and purple flowers that adorn the graves of white Clemson employees, and a gated area that is the Andrew Pickens Calhoun Family Plot.

To the left of the campus cemetery entrance lies the remnants of the Camellia Test Garden. During the 1953 Clemson faculty senate meeting, there were attempts to rename the camellia garden after Judge Crawford, an African American who was the primary gardener for Clemson College in the early 1900s.⁵ The flower became an early basis for the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) in Clemson, South Carolina.⁶

As we invite guests back into the campus burial ground, we want to clarify that there are three cemeteries: the African American Burial Ground, Andrew Pickens Calhoun Family Plot, and Woodland Cemetery. With this in mind, I would like to review a few honorific traditions in other cultures similar to this intergenerational and interracial sacred space.

Around the holidays, visitors can see wreaths placed upon tombstones at many cemeteries, mainly where veterans lie. Every mid-December, Wreaths Across America (WAA) honors those who died in the armed forces.⁷ Their tradition began in December 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery.⁸ A wreath-making family-owned business donated leftover decorations to the notable cemetery.

Stones placed on markers at graveyards began from many Jewish communities for religious reasons.⁹ However, it also symbolizes a stone’s unchanging state instead of flowers when visited by a loved one.¹⁰ In addition, items associated with a person’s life may also be there in place of a stone.

Leaving coins on a headstone has ties to ancient times in Rome, metaphorically meaning payment to pass over into the afterlife properly.¹¹ It is more known now for military burials, with different coins to communicate its connotation.¹²

A grave blanket is typically a flower bed on a person’s tomb above ground.¹³ They usually are in cemeteries with colder climates, thus connotatively keeping the deceased warm.¹⁴ In my visits to various cemeteries, I have seen some decorated with colorful flora. But in some cases, I have witnessed elaborate mural illustrations of the deceased person’s casket.

We are delighted that the public will be able to see the different architectural improvements, accessibility upgrades, and interpretative programming coming to the campus cemetery in 2024.

Citations

1) Clemson Board of Trustees, Trustees Minutes, July 4-5, 1922, https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1389&context=trustees_minutes; Clemson Board of Trustees, Trustee Minutes, July 10, 1924, https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1388&context=trustees_minutes.
2) Morgan, Matt. “Everything You Need to Know about Woodland Burials.” Farewill. Farewill Ltd, n.d. https://farewill.com/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-woodland-burials.
3) Clemson University. “Web Style Guide: Colors.” https://www.clemson.edu/web-style-guide/colors.html.
4) Miranda, Carolina. “In the Wake of Prince’s Death, a Very Short History of the Color Purple.” Los Angeles Times. California Times, April 23, 2016. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-prince-death-very-short-history-of-the-color-purple-20160423-column.html.
5) Buildings and Grounds Report, February 3, 1953, Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, 1952-1953, https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=faculty_senate.
6) Brian Scott, “The Camellia Garden Historical Marker,” June 16, 2016, Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=19538.
7) Wreaths Across America. “Our Mission.” https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/About/OurMission.
8) Ibid.
9) Milano, Alicia. “Why Do People Put Stones On Graves? Here Are 5 Reasons.” Milano Monuments. Milano Monuments, LLC., June 21, 2022. https://www.milanomonuments.com/blog/why-do-people-put-stones-on-graves.
10) Ibid.
11) Wounded Warrior Project. “The Meaning Behind Coins on Military Graves.” https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/The-Meaning-Behind-Coins-on-Military-Graves.
12) Ibid.
13) Kirk, Julie. “All About Grave Blankets and Where to Find Them.” Love To Know. LoveToKnow Media, January 4, 2019. https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/grief-loss/grave-blankets#:~:text=Grave%20blankets%20are%20customary%20headstone,holiday%2Dthemed%20ribbons%20or%20flowers.
14) ibid.

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.

Architect Visits to Clemson University in January 2023

In January 2023, Clemson University’s office of Campus Planning will continue to host architects who will share their vision for memorial development as we prepare to enter into the memorial design phase for the cemetery project later this year.

Mario Gooden will be at Clemson University on January 5, 2023, to discuss his architectural work related to the Woodland Cemetery memorialization efforts. A Clemson Design graduate from the class of 1987, Gooden is the Interim Director of the MArch Program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), which researches and explores the geospatial aspect of continental Africa and its associated diaspora. Gooden’s previous works include Battiste Residence Hall at South Carolina State University, the Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg, FL, the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building and US Courthouse in Grand Rapids, MI, and Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco, CA.

Also, Michael Murphy, Int FRIBA, will visit Clemson University on January 26, 2023, to discuss his architectural work on public memory and memorials. Murphy is a Founding Principal of MASS Design Group, which uses architecture and design to spark social change and justice. Their past works include the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, the Gun Violence Memorial Project at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, and “The Embrace” with Hank Willis Thomas in Boston, MA. Murphy has taught at the University of Michigan, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Columbia’s GSAPP.

Both of their campus visits will include tours of Historic Properties tours, Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground, a Call My Name campus tour, a visit to the Clemson Area African American Museum, and a presentation of their work for the cemetery team and Campus Planning staff.

PBS’s “Carolina Stories: The Education of Harvey Gantt:” Commemorative Documentary Screening & Historical Documents Analysis

January 31, 2023, 6PM, McKissick Theatre, Hendrix Student Center, Clemson University

Please join the Woodland Cemetery and Historic African American Burial Ground Preservation Project team on January 31, 2023, at 6PM as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of Harvey Gantt winning a class-action lawsuit to desegregate Clemson University as its first Black student in 1963. The cemetery team will be hosting a viewing of PBS’s “Carolina Stories: The Education of Harvey Gantt” documentary made for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of “Integration with Dignity.” Narrated by actress Phylicia Rashad with featured photographs by Cecil Williams, it tells the story of Gantt’s journey into Clemson from repeated applications for admission to his college graduation in 1965. Following the film, guests are welcome to examine the historical documents from Harvey Gantt’s papers from Clemson Libraries’ Special Collection and Archives. In doing so, they can compare the tangible facts within Clemson’s archives with the celebratory film made almost a decade ago. The event is free and open to the public and will be held within McKissick Theater inside the Hendrix Student Center on the campus of Clemson University.

Schedule a Free Virtual Tour of Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground for Spring 2023

Because the Pathways Project will temporarily close down Woodland Cemetery at Clemson University in January 2023, the cemetery team would like to bring our free cemetery walking tour to you all virtually during the Spring 2023 semester. The Woodland Cemetery Preservation Project and Historic African American Burial Ground team will present one-hour virtual tours to classes, local organizations, and campus and community groups. With the help of our Creative Inquiry team, we have developed this experiential storytelling tool to share the history of the cemetery, including the recently recovered unmarked burials of hundreds of marginalized people. If you would like us to present, please contact us via our main email address afamburials@clemson.edu or email the Community Engagement Assistant mdrayto@clemson.edu.

Download the full January 2023 Newsletter | January 2023 Newsletter

In this issue we provide information about the research symposium keynote speaker Kamau Sadiki of Diving with a Purpose, update the public on Woodland Cemetery, explain the contributions that Carrel Cowan-Ricks put toward the African American Burial Ground, provide research and community engagement updates, and highlight some upcoming local events.

The Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground Historic Preservation Project seeks to tell the stories of the known and previously 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.

Download the full October 2022 newsletter..

On August 18th, 2022, Velma Fann, historian for New South Associates, met with descendant communities within Sirrine Hall at Clemson University to discuss ideas for memorialization at Woodland Cemetery. Based in Columbia, South Carolina, with additional offices in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, New South Associates is a women-owned small business that provides cultural resource consulting services. Their work with history and archeology includes contextualizing cemeteries, highways, and plantations throughout the southeast. Working within federal and state laws parameters, New South Associates makes a concerted effort to involve local community members in their historic preservation process.

Fifteen members of the local descendant community brainstormed ideas for what Woodland Cemetery’s memorial to African Americans buried there could encompass. The responses varied between the two sessions with New South as one group discussed different ideas from 3-5 PM and another from 5-7 PM. The first group was composed of mainly Black residents from Clemson and Seneca. They discussed how to incorporate visual and auditory elements, such as light and the sound of the wind, to commemorate people of African descent who are buried in the cemetery. The second group was primarily composed of Clemson, Anderson, and Pendleton Black descendants. Their approach to a memorial was more steeped in spirituality and tranquility through the creation of a peaceful place on campus to reflect. This initial meeting was the first of a few planned with New South as the Pathways Project for the cemetery is set to begin in January 2023.

Read more project updates in our September 2022 Newsletter.

Download the full August 2022 Newsletter

Research Update

Dr. Mandi Barnard has continued to coordinate research for the team for the preservation phase of our project. She is currently examining the papers of Clinton Calhoun Lemon and Dr. Rupert Fike to gain an understanding of how college athletics shaped development around Cemetery Hill.

Dr. Sara Collini has continued to research the full impact of Clemson Athletics on Cemetery Hill and the surrounding landscape, including the construction and expansion of parking lots and paving of roads surrounding Memorial Stadium. She has also been working with the team on reading the meeting minutes and annual reports of the Board of Trustees from 1888 to the present. The team is noting all mentions of the cemetery and surrounding landscape from these records, along with all relevant collections in the campus archives, and putting together a comprehensive historical timeline.

Dr. Rhondda R. Thomas has been assisting with research in the archives regarding the documentation of the history of the cemetery. She has also continued to learn more about the Tom Littlejohn housing project that Clemson originally designed for Black wage workers. Additionally, she is coordinating an effort to develop a database of memorials universities have established to honor enslaved laborers and Black employees.

On Monday, July 18, 2022, Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, Principal for Baskervill Architects, visited Clemson University to provide a consultation regarding the process for developing a memorial for Woodland Cemetery and the African American Burial Ground. Mainly based in Virginia, Baskervill’s architectural work is community-driven in its commemoration of people and places. These projects include “Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved” at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, “Reconciliation Plaza and the Richmond Slave Trail” in downtown Richmond, Virginia, and “the Twin Memorials” at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Within his presentation, Mr. Pinnock emphasized including descendant communities in the room for decision-making, determing what an undisputed truth is among people with differing perspectives, and surveying what communities want in memorialization. The remainder of his visit included a “Call My Name” tour facilitated by Dr. Thomas, a Woodland Cemetery tour from the cemetery team, a visit to the Clemson Area African American Museum, and a tour of the Hopewell Plantation House with Clemson University Historian Dr. Otis Pickett, Sr.

Community Engagement Update

Marquise Drayton has been steady in his outreach efforts as the new Community Engagement Assistant. On July 21 and 28, 2022, he volunteered with the Blue Ridge Community Center in Seneca, SC, for their summer reading program. Geared towards rising third- and seventh- graders, this initiative is designed to curb the learning loss for students during the summer break.

On July 22, Drayton met with Seneca City Museum leaders Nick McKinney, Director of the Lunney Museum, and Shelby Henderson, Founding Director of the Bertha Lee Strickland Museum and executive director of the City of Seneca’s Department of Arts, History, and Culture. They informed him about the local history of Oconee County, the demographic makeup of the city in comparison to the county, and influential people to contact concerning oral history. After speaking with Drayton in City Hall, they led him on a tour of Mountain View Cemetery and then to Oak Grove Cemetery, a historically Black cemetery. Both are owned by the City of Seneca. Within each, he could see how challenges with historic preservation and remembrance have persisted not only at Clemson University’s cemetery but in neighboring towns.

On July 10, 2022, the cemetery team led free drop-in tours at Woodland Cemetery from 12pm to 4pm. It was a decent turnout of 17 people, including a community group known as “Outdoor Afro” who have an interest in education, conservation, and nature.

We want to thank Marissa Davis for contributing to the Woodland Cemetery Project during the past two years. She will leave the project in early August as her time in the Clemson History M.A. program is ending. Her next step is to obtain a master’s degree in library and information science and work towards becoming an archivist.

Dr. Rhondda R. Thomas has reached out to her counterparts at other universities to learn more about community engagement practices, particularly in the development of preservation plans and memorials. She is also working closely with community partners in the cities of Seneca and Clemson on the development of a proposal for a Black Heritage Trail that shares the history of people of African descent on campus and in local communities.

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Download the full July 2022 Newsletter

Research Update

Dr. Mandi Barnard has been coordinating the Cemetery Team’s archival research objectives at Clemson Special Collections Library as we enter the preservation phase of our project. Dr. Barnard has identified collections and topics of interest to guide the Team’s summer research agenda. She has also been in the archives working through these materials to aid in the creation of a preservation plan for the cemetery.

Dr. Sara Collini, with the help of our Spring 2022 undergraduate research assistants Nolly Swan and Lucas DeBenedetti, has completed the visual history of the cemetery in ArcGIS. It will be publicly available soon. She has also been researching mentions of the cemetery in the collections of Student Affairs and the Athletic Department in the campus archives. She is investigating the full impact of Memorial Stadium construction projects on Cemetery Hill. Ground work, including grading and sloping of the land, occurred near the northern edge of the cemetery in the late 1950s, during a seating expansion project, and in the late 1970s for the construction of the south upper deck and new Press Road. In 1980, part of the eastern area of Cemetery Hill near the entrance on Williamson Road was leveled for a new IPTAY parking lot.

Dr. Rhondda Thomas has been investigating changes in the geographical landscape within Woodland Cemetery from the establishment of the college until the 1960s. She has also been researching the forced movement of Black wage workers into segregated neighborhoods on and off campus during this time. Dr. Thomas, Marjorie Campbell, project manager, and Shelby Henderson, member of the community engagement council, have also been interviewing candidates for a new genealogist position with the cemetery team who will help document family histories of people buried in modern graves in the cemetery and learn more about Black people who could be buried in unmarked graves in the African American Burial Ground.

In June, the cemetery team visited sites of historic plantations and cemeteries in the Experimental Forest on the Clemson University campus to learn more about the interconnected history of plantations in the area.

Community Engagement Update

Marquise Drayton will be joining the project team on July 11, 2022 as our new Community Engagement Assistant. Born and raised in Georgetown, SC, he’s coming here from Charlotte, NC. His research interests include slave narratives, the Civil Rights Movement, the post- 1865 South, and Black students’ integration efforts at primarily white higher education institutions, like Clemson. Drayton earned his BA in African American Studies from UNC- Chapel Hill and his MA in History from Clemson University. He enjoys traveling, going to the movies, and watching sports. The project team is excited about the experience and enthusiasm that Drayton will bring to the project. Dr. Brian Stack has stepped off the project to begin a new job as a community college history instructor in Washington State.

Representatives from the cemetery project’s research and community engagement teams, as well as from the Legacy Council, attended Juneteenth celebrations in Clemson, Seneca, and Anderson on Saturday, June 18, 2022. This was the first time that the cemetery project was represented in all three cities at the same time. We shared information about the cemetery project and joined our local communities in celebrating this important day. The team also donated cemetery brochures and copies of Dr. Rhondda Thomas’s book Call My Name, Clemson to the Juneteenth MegaFest in Greenville, South Carolina. We will be working with local communities to plan a program for Juneteenth on the Clemson University campus next year.

Dr. Rhondda Thomas and Sally Mauldin continue to give cemetery tours to small groups. Dr. Thomas also met with the Clemson University’s Statewide Gravesite Committee to discuss community engagement initiatives for all burial grounds located on land owned by Clemson. Additionally, the group will be exploring opportunities for collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to develop cemetery preservation and memorialization resources for the public.

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Research Updates

Dr. Mandi Barnard has conducted ongoing research for Andrew Pickens “A.P.” Calhoun and Business Manager James C. Littlejohn. She has sought manuscript records for A.P. and his family, and is currently working with a genealogist in Alabama to obtain deeds of sale for A.P.’s properties there, and to see if any inventories of enslaved persons exist associated with those sales. This research will help the team determine which enslaved individuals were moved between A.P.’s Marengo properties and Fort Hill, when, and what impact enslavement had on health and mental wellbeing by reconstructing epidemiological data documented by A.P.’s overseer, A. Walker, in Alabama. His manuscripts shed light on antebellum cotton markets, finance, banking, and lines of credit, as well as highlighting political shifts in the South in the decade prior to secession and civil war. Dr. Barnard’s continuing research on James C. Littlejohn is aimed at producing a biography of Littlejohn’s contributions to Clemson and his role in decision making at Woodland Cemetery during his lifetime. Further, his collection contains a broad base of primary documents that lay out the history of Clemson and the people who operated it, and major events in its first 60 years of operation. This information can help reconstruct a timeline of events at Woodland Cemetery and changes to the landscape as the campus expanded.

Dr. Sara Collini is finishing up the visual history of the cemetery for the project website. Historical maps of the cemetery and Clemson campus will be available to view, including the earliest known map depicting Cemetery Hill from ca. 1903. Aerial photographs taken of campus will also be available to explore, from the earliest one taken in 1938 before Memorial Stadium was built to the present day. Viewers will be able to compare and contrast the maps and photos of the cemetery over time, including the impact of stadium construction and the impact of the Hartwell Dam project in the 1960s.

Dr. Rhondda Thomas traveled to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia to research and document the deaths of convicted laborers at the Clemson College worksite between 1890 and 1915. She learned that thirteen convicted laborers died on campus and are believed to have been buried on the west side of Cemetery Hill. Dr. Thomas is also investigating ideas for memorial designs and preparing for the launch of the cemetery project’s oral history initiative this summer.

Community Engagement Updates

On Saturday May 21, 2022 we held a Black Business Expo at the Littlejohn Community Center in Clemson, SC. More than 20 local Black-owned businesses were on site selling goods and promoting their businesses. Special thanks to the Clemson division of the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers for organizing an entrepreneurship panel and to for the love of community for their help planning the event and helping at the Expo. We plan to hold another expo in Spring 2023!

Weekly cemetery tours ended in May. Since the beginning of 2022, over 500 people have taken a tour. In May, we gave tours to a variety of groups, including faculty from the Department of Bioengineering and students and faculty from Furman University who are in a class on the legacies of slavery at universities. Dr. Rhondda Thomas and Sally Mauldin have also continued to provide cemetery tours for families associated with modern burials of Clemson employees and their families.

We will have limited cemetery tours available over the summer. The only scheduled tours for the summer are on Sunday, July 10, 2022 between 12:00pm and 4:00pm on the hour. Register here. These tours will be open to both individuals and groups. If you would like to request a cemetery tour at another date and time please email bestack@clemson.edu.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with cemetery events. Download the June 2022 Newsletter to learn more in the Cemetery History Series, get up to date on the 2022 Research Symposium, and the work of students. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox every month!

The Woodland Cemetery and African American Burial Ground Historic Preservation Project seeks to tell the stories of the known and previously 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. Monthly updates on research and community engagement, as well as the Cemetery History Series, are featured in our Project Newsletter.

Research Update for May 2022

Dr. Mandi Barnard is researching Andrew Pickens “A.P.” Calhoun using his manuscript collections from the South Caroliniana Archive and speeches he gave at commercial and agricultural society meetings in the 1850s. She is also working with an Alabama genealogist to track down deeds of sale for A.P.’s plantations there.

Dr. Sara Collini is working on the visual history of the cemetery with our undergraduate research assistants, Nolly Swan and Lucas DeBenedetti. We are using maps and photographs of the cemetery and surrounding landscape to show the history of the area and how it has changed from the 1700s to the present day. The visual history features several “Before and After” photographs at pivotal moments in the cemetery’s history, as well as interactive maps and image galleries. The visual history will be made available to the public along with our website re-design later in 2022.

Marissa Davis, the Graduate Research Assistant for the project, is continuing her search for how those enslaved at Fort Hill gained access to the house. She wants to find out the original layout of the property. To do so, she will visit the Deeds Offices in Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties to search for the bill of sale between the Calhouns and the McElhennys. This document details the ownership changes for Clergy Hall, which was what the house was known as before it became Fort Hill. Other members of the team plan to go with her to the offices as their projects also are impacted by what might be found in the bill of sale.

Dr. Rhondda Thomas has been finalizing the application for the team’s oral history project with Clemson’s Institutional Review Board, meeting with the project’s preservation plan subcommitee as we move into the next phase of the cemetery project, and encouraging research collaborations between Clemson professors and community partners, including research for the African American local historical site database project that will include the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery. She also coordinated the development of the theme and format for the second annual research symposium to be held October 24-25 in the Hendrix Center at Clemson.

Community Engagement Update for May 2022

Dr. Brian Stack been volunteering with several organizations in the Upstate to promote Black history and the cemetery project. He volunteered at the 2022 Men of Color Summit in Greenville, South Carolina, is helping the city of Clemson plan its Juneteenth celebration, and has been attending events for “Save the Alley,” a grassroots effort to prevent the displacement of an African American community in Central, South Carolina.

The project team has also been continuing to give cemetery tours, which will run until mid-May. This semester we have had over 500 people attend tours and learn about the space. The tour was recently revamped to include new information discovered in the last year of research for this project. If you have not yet taken a cemetery tour, or if it has been a long time since you took one, please consider joining us.

We have also been training additional cemetery tour guides. We would welcome more members of the community to help us give tours. You can sign up to become a tour guide using this application.

Our undergraduate community engagement assistant, Aundrea Gibbons, has been expanding the reach of our Instagram account. She also created a story about Dr. Ayana Flewellen that will soon be featured on our Instagram. Dr. Flewellen gave the keynote lecture on Carrel Cowan-Ricks Recognition Day.

Dr. Rhondda Thomas joined Trustee David Dukes and Sally Mauldin in conducting informational sessions via Zoom about the cemetery for Clemson employees and retirees. She and Angela Agard, director of the Clemson Area African American Museum, are developing a presentation titled “Uncovering, Preserving, Sharing and Celebrating local African American History” for the International Town and Gown Conference that will be held at Clemson University on June 7-9, 2022. Their presentation will explore how to recover, preserve, and tell stories about the many contributions of African Americans in building Clemson University and local communities, including those who are believed to be buried in unmarked graves in the African American Burial Ground in Woodland Cemetery. More information about the conference can be found here.

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May 2022 Newsletter

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.

Below are the first two issues:

October 2021 Newsletter

November 2021 Newsletter