Charleston County Public Library

Randolph Cemetery, mapping and documentation of a historic African-American site, Columbia, South Carolina, report prepared by: New South Associates ; Staci Richey - historian and co-author ; Shawn Patch, RPA - surveyor and co-author ; J.W. Joseph, PhD, RPA - principal investigator and co-author ; Hugh Matternes, PhD, RPA - mortuary archaeologist and co-author

eng

"Randolph Cemetery is a historic African-American burial ground in Columbia, South Carolina. Established in 1872, the cemetery is named for Benjamin Franklin Randolph, a Reconstruction-era African-American senator who was assassinated in 1868. Randolph Cemetery was the most prominent African-American cemetery in Columbia from the late nineteenth century throughout much of the twentieth century, and it is the final resting place of many of Columbia's most notable African-American figures and families. In recognition of its significance to African-American history and culture, Randolph Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. This approximately four-acre property is located adjacent to Elmwood Cemetery in the northwest corner of Columbia, South Carolina. Since 1973, the cemetery has been administered by the Committee for the Restoration and Beautification of Randolph Cemetery (CRBRC), which gained trustee administration of the cemetery in 1984. The CRBRC has been supported in their efforts through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, including the Downtown Columbia Cemetery Task Force (DCCTF) and the Historic Columbia Foundation (HCF). In its efforts to assist the Committee for the Restoration and Beautification of Randolph Cemetery, the DCTFF, a group of non-profit organizations working to preserve cemeteries in the city center, has received grant support from the State of South Carolina and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, which has funded a project to map and prepare a database of the burials and cemetery features within Randolph Cemetery. This grant was administered by the HCF. This report provides the results of this mapping and database project as well as recommendations for the future management and restoration of Randolph Cemetery."--Page iii

Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-53)

illustrationsmaps

no index present

non fiction

Randolph Cemetery

bibliography

report prepared by: New South Associates ; Staci Richey - historian and co-author ; Shawn Patch, RPA - surveyor and co-author ; J.W. Joseph, PhD, RPA - principal investigator and co-author ; Hugh Matternes, PhD, RPA - mortuary archaeologist and co-author

New South Associates technical report, #1497

mapping and documentation of a historic African-American site, Columbia, South Carolina

Introduction -- History -- Physical development and landscape -- Current conditions -- Restoration recommendations -- Randolph Cemetery database