In the early 1950s the U.S. Government acquired a large area in Aiken and Barnwell Counties South Carolina for the development of the Savanna River Project (SRP), an extensive facility for the production of materials for nuclear bombs and related operations. One of the major issues in vacating and securing the area was the 161 cemeteries located there. The Corps of Engineers was the government agency with the responsibility for relocating graves. Families with graves in the area were given the choice of either leaving them in place with limited opportunities to visit or to have the moved to another location outside the area. Many of the graves or entire cemeteries were moved to locations selected by families or organizations, such as churches, that were responsible or had an interest in a specific cemetery.
The records indicate that there were thirty-three (33) Colored (African-American) cemeteries without any interest in their relocation. For these, the US Government purchased a plot of land in the White Pond Community of Aiken County and moved the graves there. There were a total of approximately 1135 graves in the 33 cemeteries moved to this site.
Apparently there were no provisions for continuing care and the site was abandoned. It has become overgrown with trees and most of the graves are heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
The following list of relocated cemeteries is from the records produced by the Corps of Engineers.
RP # Cemetery Name Graves
2 Unknown Colored 56
3 Unknown Colored (Slave?)22
4 Bush 4
15 Reynolds 10
20 Grubfield 27
21 Asbury Chapel 47
22 Hazel 4
23 Hazell 24
25 Parker 5
36 Sunhill 53
39 Briar Hill 9
47 Bush 106
49 Unknown Colored 55
57 Johnson 1
59 Fair Branch 86
60 Bush 14
63 Mose Williams 10
64 Bush Field 191
69 Unknown 11
70 Dicks 12
71 Log Cane 8
72 Doe 16
76 Church Of God 1
77 Chrisholm 23
81 Dunbar 7
83 Ficklen 98
90 Flowd 34
92 Woods 72
94 Unknown 22
101 Dunbar 27
120 Money 5
121 Stephens 19
146 Spring Branch 29
161 Unknown 27
Total 1135