This article caught my attention today in the Post and Courier about a group of people that is looking to restore many of the forgotten cemeteries scattered throughout the Upstate.
If you are reading this from far away and haven’t spend much time here in the Upstate of South Carolina, one of the things that may catch your attention when you come to visit is how many cemetaries there are. It’s a testiment to the long history of the state and how many people were here long before us. It also often seems like they are found in random locations but that’s because they were here first and development sprung up all around these cemetaries.
Prior to coming to South Carolina nearly four years ago, I had lived in Minnesota and prior to that we were in California. As a kid I also lived in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and North Carolina. I don’t ever recall seeing so many cemeteries. In the upper midwest things are planned out and cemeteries tend to occupy large plots of land. But in South Carolina, cemeteries might just be an acre or two of ground where the early settlers decided that’s where they wanted to bury their dead.
I don’t know about you, but I like cemeteries. I’m always amazed at thinking about how many people were here before we were and wondering about their lives and how challenging their lives must have been. History runs deep here in South Carolina and it’s one of the things I really love about the area.
There are some amazing cemeteries to visit here in South Carolina if you’re in to that kind of thing or maybe a history buff. Here’s some information on the historic cemeteries in Greenville. The Springwood Cemetery in downtown Greenville is incredible and worthy of a visit. There’s also quite the cemetery in downtown Simpsonville, SC as well.