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Group strives to restore historic Richardson Cemetery |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Thursday, 05 August 2004 |
Aug 5, 2004
By Mike Gellatly
The oldest known cemetery in Clarendon County has been undergoing some major restoration. After many years of neglect, the Richardson Cemetery in the St. Paul area is in need of extensive repairs.
Vandalism and the effects of weathering have presented the Richardson Cemetery Committee (RCC) with a challenge and opportunity to restore one of the most historically significant graveyards in southern history.
The RCC, a committee of the Clarendon Historical Society, are continuing their efforts with a new capital fund drive to raise money for the completion of the restoration work.
Over the past 11 months, $9,000 has been raised in an effort to complete not simply restoration but also to improve access for the community by widening the road leading to the cemetery with plans to create parking area and provide for the future upkeep of the site.
“ We have been very fortunate in that we exceeded our expectations considerably,†said RCC chairman Woody Haynes. “It was our goal to raise $5,000, and mostly through the generosity of the Richardson family we went far beyond this.â€
The Richardson family, more accurately known as the St. Marks Society, includes the descendants of the many Richardson’s buried in the historic cemetery, as well as those associated with the church and surrounding community.
As well as monetary contributions, the RCC has received a donation of land that will become a parking area and will be utilized in widening the access road.
The restoration effort so far has included a complete survey of the site, construction of a new road, erection of a boundary fence and an ongoing effort to control vegetation by mowing, weeding and use of herbicides.
In addition to private contributors, the Chicora Foundation Inc. has restored four broken monuments at a cost of $5,900. Members of the foundation have been hands on involved in the process.
“ Our restoration effort is very important,†said Haynes. “There are several very prominent figures in the county and state buried there.â€
More than being simply aged, the Richardson cemetery houses several very notable people, including two former governors of South Carolina and a Revolutionary War general and comrade of Frances Marion, Gen. Richard Richardson.
“ Of five governors from the area, two are buried in the cemetery,†said Haynes. “One of the two is John Peter Richardson, who was the founder of the Citadel.â€
The first burial in the cemetery that is marked with a monument is that of Dorothy Kearley and her grave is dated 1762.
In total, 26 of 32 headstones need to be attended to; it is estimated that around another $50,000 will be needed to complete the restoration. In an effort to meet this goal, the RCC is offering contributors the chance to “adopt†a stone. Such a directed gift will range from between $70 to $3, 300, depending on the gravesite.
A major emphasis is being placed on the restoration of these stones as it is hoped they will be completed in time for the Sesquicentennial celebration to be held in 2005.
Other projects that need to be undertaken at the cemetery include replacing the chain link fence with something more substantial, providing security for the site so as to head off any future vandalism, planting live oaks along the driveway as well as long-term maintenance beyond completion.
Anyone interested in helping with the efforts of the RCC should contact Clarendon Historical Society at (803) 435-0328.
http://www.clarendontoday.com/Pages/080504/News/cemetery.html |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“The cradle of the future is the grave of the past.” Franz Grillparzer
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