Chicora Completes First
Phase of Richland County Cemetery Survey
Chicora Foundation has completed the first phase of a
cemetery survey in Richland County (see the news blurb below). As a result
of this work, and the outstanding cooperation of organizations and
individuals across Richland County, we were able to identify the locations
for 463 cemeteries in Richland County. That's about one cemetery every 1.6
square miles!
In addition, the work produced a list of another 92
cemeteries whose locations could not be identified based on the information
available to us.
While the primary goal of the work was to identify
cemeteries, there were additional findings - presented as recommendations to
the Richland County Council and the Richland County Legislative Delegation.
Among those recommendations: the County needs to assume (or in some cases,
continue) care for cemeteries with no legal owner. We also made
recommendations regarding actions by the Richland County Planning and
Development Department to provide appropriate protection to cemeteries in
the County.
At a state level, we recommended that DHEC begin tracking
cemetery locations and provide public access to this information. We also
recommend modifications to South Carolina's law concerning disinterments,
urging the incorporation of a requirement that burials over 50 years old be
removed under archaeological oversight.
For more, read our report,
available here.
For a recent State newspaper article on the work,
read this.
Chicora Receives Grant
from Richland County (SC) to identify cemeteries
Chicora Foundation has received a major grant from the
Richland County Conservation Commission to identify and record
cemeteries in the County. This first phase of the project and involves using
a wide range of sources to identify cemeteries, including various on-line
lists, property tax records, a review of Richland County plats, aerial
photos, a number of historic maps, and other sources. Once identified we'll
be obtaining UTM coordinates for the cemeteries, as well as the tax map
number. We have already identified over 500 cemeteries and know that there
are many more.
An
important component of the project is soliciting the assistance of Richland
County citizens who may have stumbled on a cemetery in the middle of the
woods. Maybe you are a hunter and found a cemetery on hunt club property;
maybe you're a land owner and know that you have one hidden on your land;
maybe you've been doing genealogical research and have tracked down a
long-lost family cemetery. You may even know that a cemetery exists, but
aren't sure exactly where.
We need public support - please call us (803-787-6910) or
email us (hacker@chicora.org) with
any information you have. We may the cemetery already identified, but that's
ok - because the next one you report we may not have any information on, so
please contact us.
Why are we doing this? Too often cemeteries are found
during development - a new big box store is being built, a road is under
construction, and suddenly there is a media account with everyone saying
they had no idea the cemetery existed. Well, we're working to make sure
these cemeteries are known. That way there won't be any last-minute
surprises; there won't be any expensive construction delays; and there won't
be hard feelings and accusations about how we got to that point.
This handout provides
additional information.
So, please, contact us with the cemeteries you're aware
of. Thanks!