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African-American Cemetery

The final resting place of at least 40 individuals, enslaved and free, Drayton Hall's African-American Cemetery, circa 1790, is one of the oldest documented African-American cemeteries in the nation still in use.

Over the centuries, the landscape surrounding the cemetery has changed dramatically. The earliest record describing its use as a "burying ground" dates from about 1790, indicating this sacred ground may be even older. At that time, one would have seen fields in cultivation in all directions. A century later, the cemetery was at the heart of a community of families -- of small frame houses with swept dirt yards, vegetable gardens, outbuildings, and fields.

In keeping with the wishes of Richmond Bowens, who was born at Drayton Hall in 1908 and buried here in 1998, the cemetery has been "left natural," not manicured or planted with grass or decorative shrubs. As he said, "Leave 'em rest."

Mr. Bowens lived and worked at Drayton Hall on and off for over 50 years, including as gatekeeper and, in later years, as oral historian. He remembered that when someone became sick and died, neighbors and kin rallied around. Women prepared food, took care of children, and assisted in many other ways. Men dug the graves and made the wooden caskets and grave markers. His memories of death and burial underscore connections with community that were practiced across the South and related to African customs.

Marked and Unmarked Graves

"The dead can only find rest at home with the ancestors" is a Lowcountry tradition with roots in Africa. It's one that you'll often hear repeated: the belief that the dead should be buried at home. In fact, most of the graves that you see are of Bowens family descendants and in-laws -- people whose family history stretches back three centuries in the history of South Carolina and the nation.

According to customs, the graves are aligned in an east-west direction with the interred person facing east toward the rising sun. One hundred years ago or more, we might have seen other practices altering this landscape: freshly planted trees on the graves, their roots below and branches above connecting the spirit world of the deceased with their passage into the next life.

While many African practices were in marked contrast with European traditions, over the years a blending of the two occurred; families would identify their loved ones using plants, personal belongings and other grave goods. Sadly, because these markers have long since deteriorated, fewer than ten graves have been identified; the depressions still visible in the ground are where the wooden coffins have collapsed over time.

We hope that future archaeology combined with information provided by family members and genealogists will contribute to a more complete understanding of how these grounds were used, how they changed over time, and the identity of those interred within.

Tradition Evokes History

In a grove of trees toward the back of the cemetery is an installation of sculpture entitled Sentinel. Conceptualized by Lonnie Graham, photographer and educator, and created by sculptor Thaddeus Mosley in 2001, it was part of a Spoleto Festival USA program, Evoking History: Listening Across Cultures and Communities. The tall carved poles of cedar evoke traditional wooden sculpture found in cemeteries in Africa and in African-American cemeteries in the South.

The African-American Memorial at A Sacred Place
Dedicated October 9, 2010

The wrought-iron memorial arch was developed as an enduring tribute to the people of African descent that have contributed to Drayton Hall from its earliest inception.

The design was inspired by the famed Charleston blacksmith Philip Simmons who was closely connected to Drayton Hall's descendant families, including a long friendship with Richmond Bowens.

With the passing of Mr. Simmons in 2009, the memorial was crafted by his protégés, cousin Joseph "Ronnie" Pringle and nephew Carlton Simmons, in the Simmons Blacksmith Shop. It includes elements found in Simmons' work, such as the series of interlocking circles symbolizing the chains of slavery, and a small bird or dove symbolizing freedom and the movement into the next life. In the center is the philosophy left by Richmond Bowens: "Leave 'Em Rest," urging us to leave this place natural.

Support for the Memorial project was provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the South Carolina Competitive Community Grants program, and the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor.