Richland Cemetery

One thousand four hundred graves of the Black community lie in this cemetery, begun in 1884.

During the time of slavery, African-Americans would typically be buried at churches in unmarked graves near their slave masters or would be buried in designated slave burial grounds. The graves were rarely documented or marked with tombstones, leaving generations of African-Americans without a trace of their ancestry or a tie to their roots. After the Civil War, only the white citizens of the city were allowed to be buried in private “white” cemeteries.

The African-American community appealed to the City Council. We wanted a cemetery that we could claim as our own. In 1884 we were given land in the Richland Creek area to create the first municipal cemetery for African-Americans in Greenville.

It allows visitors to see the graves of influential African-American members of the community that have passed, such as Mr. William Sewell, the contractor who built Sterling High School, and Hattie Logan Duckett, the founder of the Phillis Wheatley Center.

It was a victory.

It will not be the last.

Suggested Readings:

Butler, Ruth A. "Richland Cemetery." Greenvillesc.gov. Accessed March 20, 2019.

"Richland Cemetery Leaders of the Past." Richland Cemetery Leaders of the Past | Greenville, SC - Official Website. Accessed March 21, 2019.

"Springwood Cemetery." Greenville, SC - Official Website. Accessed March 22, 2019.

United States Department of the Interior's National Park Service, designated 2005.