The Lyn Walker cemetery is maintained by The John Watson I Reunion Cemetery Committee, please contact [email protected] for more information on helping with our clean-ups.
THE WALKER FAMILY CEMETERY, GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Prepared by:
Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
and Debi Hacker
Prepared For: Bell South Telecommunications, Inc.
1600 Hampton Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
ABSTRACT
The Walker Family Cemetery has been known to genealogists at least since its recordation in 1957 by the Colonial Dames, although it is almost certain that like many “family cemeteries” it has been locally known since it first began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century. It is situated in eastern Greenville County on Roper Mountain Road, about 5 miles from downtown Greenville. The cemetery, situated on a ridgetop, incorporates an area of approximately 0.2 acres. The portion within a cast iron fence measures only 54 by 46 feet, or about 0.06 acre—the remainder of the cemetery is situated outside the enclose, primarily to the west.
In early February 1998, Southern Bell requested that Chicora Foundation conduct a survey of the cemetery to identify and map all of the graves present. Initially it was thought that the bulk of the cemetery was within the fenced area, although graves might extend outside in some areas. As work progressed, unmarked graves were found both within the fenced area and also outside, extending the cemetery about 30 feet to the west, 20 feet to the north and south, and 10 feet to the east. A total of 110 individuals were identified buried in the cemetery—33 inside the enclosure and 77 outside. The research revealed 78 unmarked graves identified using a penetrometer and 32 graves which were marked by stones, monuments, or other markers. A plan of the cemetery was produced, with each monument or grave assigned a unique tracking number and marked using surveyors pin flags. This plan also included other significant cemetery features, such as roads, fences, terraces, and prominent vegetation.
Chicora Foundation used a standardized form to record essential information concerning each burial, including inscriptions on the monument or marker, grave orientation, and condition. These proved basic information on all of the marked (as well as unmarked) graves and will serve to help track the condition of the cemetery.
The form also allowed the condition of each monument to be briefly evaluated. Assessments took into consideration such problems as soiling, physical damage, tilting or topping. Previous repairs would also have been noted, although we found little evidence of previous maintenance or repair activities.
While Southern Bell does not own the property within the fence, and their concern is focused on boundaries, this report includes a section which is designed to provide some minimal guidance for efforts to restore and maintain the cemetery.
INTRODUCTION
In late January (1998) Mr. Buddy Johnson, Jr., with BellSouth Telecommunications contacted Chicora, asking us to conduct a survey of the Walker Family Cemetery, situated on property which they owned in Greenville County…..
The Walker Cemetery is today most easily accessed by climbing the bank of Roper Mountain road, although there is a dirt road running along the east side of the cemetery and originating to the south. This road terminates at a sewer easement which has been cut through the property along the edge of the highway…Someone has laid down a gravel pathway from the sewer easement (and across from Roper Mt. Road) for about 15 feet to the gate of the fenced cemetery area. Besides this there are no paths in the cemetery, which is likely the way it was when in active use.
While the sewer itself is perhaps 50 feet from the cemetery, the construction corridor likely impacted at least a few of the graves. In a similar manner, efforts to make the dirt road to the east more passible by laying down gravel have likely also impacted a few of the burials on this side.
The cemetery is largely in leaf litter, with a number of pines, oaks, and other hardwoods scattered both inside and outside of the fenced area. Examination of aerial photographs for the area has helped to document its changing conditions. The 1938 aerials suggest that the cemetery area may have been about 100 to 130 feet square (or about 0.3 acre), with woods to west. To the east and southeast, however, the area was plowed and under cultivation. With the last marked grave representing a 1906 burial, it’s likely that by the 1930s the cemetery, while known, was considered inactive. By 1970 the cemetery is no longer distinct and the area is entirely wooded.
Although we have no clear documentary or oral history information, it is likely that the cemetery as it exists today is very much what it looked like during much of its use period. It is, of course, likely that originally very few trees were present in or around the cemetery. Those found today are perhaps 30 years old, indicating several periods of clear cutting and reforestation.
…the Walker Cemetery was probably always stark. Situated on a hill, the earliest graves were aligned and marked with small fieldstones, only a few of which were perhaps carved with simple information….There would likely have been no pathways and certainly no garden areas. There is, simply put, no hint of an effort to make death seem anything other than what it is.
RESULTS
The research at the Walker Cemetery has provided some very important general information. For example, we now know that there are 110 graves in the cemetery. Of the 110 burials, 70.9% are unmarked and were found during the penetrometer study. The 32 marked burials are primarily designated by field stones (representing about 56% of the marked graves). Only 14 graves are designated by cut stones. Although the majority of the 78 unmarked graves are found on the east and northeast sides of the fenced cemetery, there are graves present on all four sides and 11 unmarked graves are found within the enclosure.
Turning to the graves marked in a manner to provide information on date of death, and age and sex of the individual, the cemetery provides some interesting demographic observations. Males are slightly more common than females.
What is more interesting is that all of the females represented in the sample are adults—there are no female infants or children with markers. The age range for females is from 37 years to 78 years, with a mean death age of 59 years….
Males exhibit an age range from less than a month to 89 years at the time of death. The mean death age is 44 years…
While admittedly a very small sample, it appears that male children, born to be both warriors and leaders of society, were considered more worthy of being memorialized than were female children….
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION EFFORTS
Our recommendations for preservation efforts fall into two general categories. One deals with the preservation of the cemetery as a whole, encompassing such issues as lawn maintenance, establishing roads and paths, landscaping, and so forth. The other deals with the preservation of the individual stones or monuments….
Cemetery Maintenance
One of the foremost rules in any preservation program is to do no harm. …Maintenance activities should be sensitive to the special nature of cemeteries. Not only do they require special care, but they must also be recognized as sacred places.
A second very important rule in preservation work at cemeteries is that the wishes of the deceased and their family must always be respected. It is inappropriate to change the layout of a cemetery plot, its fencing, its plantings, or its general appearance. In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, one must always assume that cemetery plots look the way they do because of either the individual buried there or the immediate family.
Keep the Cemetery free from vegetation. It is likely that during the period of use the cemetery lacked overstory vegetation. The trees that are present today are all very recent, probably self-seeding within the last 30 years. Prior to that the landscape would have been open and the only understory vegetation would have been those plants intentionally incorporated into the graveyard.
Do not mow immediately next to stones. Instead, use a nylon string trimmer.
Consider the use of historically appropriate ground covers in areas where mowing is difficult.
Absolutely no commercial herbicides should be allowed in the vicinity of the stones.
The caregivers should post rules on the use of the cemetery.
SUMMARY
The Walker Cemetery is an exceptionally well preserved example of a rural Piedmont graveyard. The research at the cemetery by Chicora Foundation identified 110 individuals buried there, with burials beginning at least by 1854…
Based on the available information, we believe that the Walker Cemetery is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A
(that the property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history) and also under Criterion D (that the property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history).
Under Criterion A the Walker Cemetery is significant since it represents an important aspect of the local community, being one of the earliest cemeteries in this portion of Greenville County. It reflects the mores of the community, as well as their strong attachment to the region. Perhaps more importantly, the Walker Cemetery is representative of the upland cemeteries begun long before the Rural Cemetery movement and which continued to be used even as urban areas made the philosophical switch from graveyards to cemeteries. It reflects the cultural background of the highlanders and their views of death—focusing on burial practices that were simple and final.
Criteria Consideration D specifies that a cemetery is eligible if its significance is based on age, or distinctive design features, or on its association with historic events…..
This is certainly the case at the Walker Cemetery where the graveyard is representative of a very distinct ethnic group. Its organization and development around the hilltop, as well as its early focus on impermanent markers and fieldstones, all contribute to a plan with origins in the English Border Counties.
Under Criterion D, the Walker Cemetery is significant because of the data it can provide on mortuary practices during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The extensive research has revealed that the data sets at the site include the physical arrangement of the burials, the funerary monuments, and the demographic data.
Bone is known to be present in several of the earliest burials on the hilltop, based on the results of the penetrometer research. This means that the graves can provide a wealth of forensic and anthropological data. Research is possible into questions of diet, health and disease, stature, and aging…
It is important to emphasize that it does not matter that there are no plans to excavate the Walker Cemetery. Its significance is based on what we reasonably expect to be present should excavation take place.
The Walker Cemetery is an important site in the heritage of the Roper Mountain region of Greenville County and it deserves not only the protection of the landowners, but also the recognition of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
THE WALKER FAMILY CEMETERY, GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Prepared by:
Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
and Debi Hacker
Prepared For: Bell South Telecommunications, Inc.
1600 Hampton Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
ABSTRACT
The Walker Family Cemetery has been known to genealogists at least since its recordation in 1957 by the Colonial Dames, although it is almost certain that like many “family cemeteries” it has been locally known since it first began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century. It is situated in eastern Greenville County on Roper Mountain Road, about 5 miles from downtown Greenville. The cemetery, situated on a ridgetop, incorporates an area of approximately 0.2 acres. The portion within a cast iron fence measures only 54 by 46 feet, or about 0.06 acre—the remainder of the cemetery is situated outside the enclose, primarily to the west.
In early February 1998, Southern Bell requested that Chicora Foundation conduct a survey of the cemetery to identify and map all of the graves present. Initially it was thought that the bulk of the cemetery was within the fenced area, although graves might extend outside in some areas. As work progressed, unmarked graves were found both within the fenced area and also outside, extending the cemetery about 30 feet to the west, 20 feet to the north and south, and 10 feet to the east. A total of 110 individuals were identified buried in the cemetery—33 inside the enclosure and 77 outside. The research revealed 78 unmarked graves identified using a penetrometer and 32 graves which were marked by stones, monuments, or other markers. A plan of the cemetery was produced, with each monument or grave assigned a unique tracking number and marked using surveyors pin flags. This plan also included other significant cemetery features, such as roads, fences, terraces, and prominent vegetation.
Chicora Foundation used a standardized form to record essential information concerning each burial, including inscriptions on the monument or marker, grave orientation, and condition. These proved basic information on all of the marked (as well as unmarked) graves and will serve to help track the condition of the cemetery.
The form also allowed the condition of each monument to be briefly evaluated. Assessments took into consideration such problems as soiling, physical damage, tilting or topping. Previous repairs would also have been noted, although we found little evidence of previous maintenance or repair activities.
While Southern Bell does not own the property within the fence, and their concern is focused on boundaries, this report includes a section which is designed to provide some minimal guidance for efforts to restore and maintain the cemetery.
INTRODUCTION
In late January (1998) Mr. Buddy Johnson, Jr., with BellSouth Telecommunications contacted Chicora, asking us to conduct a survey of the Walker Family Cemetery, situated on property which they owned in Greenville County…..
The Walker Cemetery is today most easily accessed by climbing the bank of Roper Mountain road, although there is a dirt road running along the east side of the cemetery and originating to the south. This road terminates at a sewer easement which has been cut through the property along the edge of the highway…Someone has laid down a gravel pathway from the sewer easement (and across from Roper Mt. Road) for about 15 feet to the gate of the fenced cemetery area. Besides this there are no paths in the cemetery, which is likely the way it was when in active use.
While the sewer itself is perhaps 50 feet from the cemetery, the construction corridor likely impacted at least a few of the graves. In a similar manner, efforts to make the dirt road to the east more passible by laying down gravel have likely also impacted a few of the burials on this side.
The cemetery is largely in leaf litter, with a number of pines, oaks, and other hardwoods scattered both inside and outside of the fenced area. Examination of aerial photographs for the area has helped to document its changing conditions. The 1938 aerials suggest that the cemetery area may have been about 100 to 130 feet square (or about 0.3 acre), with woods to west. To the east and southeast, however, the area was plowed and under cultivation. With the last marked grave representing a 1906 burial, it’s likely that by the 1930s the cemetery, while known, was considered inactive. By 1970 the cemetery is no longer distinct and the area is entirely wooded.
Although we have no clear documentary or oral history information, it is likely that the cemetery as it exists today is very much what it looked like during much of its use period. It is, of course, likely that originally very few trees were present in or around the cemetery. Those found today are perhaps 30 years old, indicating several periods of clear cutting and reforestation.
…the Walker Cemetery was probably always stark. Situated on a hill, the earliest graves were aligned and marked with small fieldstones, only a few of which were perhaps carved with simple information….There would likely have been no pathways and certainly no garden areas. There is, simply put, no hint of an effort to make death seem anything other than what it is.
RESULTS
The research at the Walker Cemetery has provided some very important general information. For example, we now know that there are 110 graves in the cemetery. Of the 110 burials, 70.9% are unmarked and were found during the penetrometer study. The 32 marked burials are primarily designated by field stones (representing about 56% of the marked graves). Only 14 graves are designated by cut stones. Although the majority of the 78 unmarked graves are found on the east and northeast sides of the fenced cemetery, there are graves present on all four sides and 11 unmarked graves are found within the enclosure.
Turning to the graves marked in a manner to provide information on date of death, and age and sex of the individual, the cemetery provides some interesting demographic observations. Males are slightly more common than females.
What is more interesting is that all of the females represented in the sample are adults—there are no female infants or children with markers. The age range for females is from 37 years to 78 years, with a mean death age of 59 years….
Males exhibit an age range from less than a month to 89 years at the time of death. The mean death age is 44 years…
While admittedly a very small sample, it appears that male children, born to be both warriors and leaders of society, were considered more worthy of being memorialized than were female children….
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION EFFORTS
Our recommendations for preservation efforts fall into two general categories. One deals with the preservation of the cemetery as a whole, encompassing such issues as lawn maintenance, establishing roads and paths, landscaping, and so forth. The other deals with the preservation of the individual stones or monuments….
Cemetery Maintenance
One of the foremost rules in any preservation program is to do no harm. …Maintenance activities should be sensitive to the special nature of cemeteries. Not only do they require special care, but they must also be recognized as sacred places.
A second very important rule in preservation work at cemeteries is that the wishes of the deceased and their family must always be respected. It is inappropriate to change the layout of a cemetery plot, its fencing, its plantings, or its general appearance. In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, one must always assume that cemetery plots look the way they do because of either the individual buried there or the immediate family.
Keep the Cemetery free from vegetation. It is likely that during the period of use the cemetery lacked overstory vegetation. The trees that are present today are all very recent, probably self-seeding within the last 30 years. Prior to that the landscape would have been open and the only understory vegetation would have been those plants intentionally incorporated into the graveyard.
Do not mow immediately next to stones. Instead, use a nylon string trimmer.
Consider the use of historically appropriate ground covers in areas where mowing is difficult.
Absolutely no commercial herbicides should be allowed in the vicinity of the stones.
The caregivers should post rules on the use of the cemetery.
SUMMARY
The Walker Cemetery is an exceptionally well preserved example of a rural Piedmont graveyard. The research at the cemetery by Chicora Foundation identified 110 individuals buried there, with burials beginning at least by 1854…
Based on the available information, we believe that the Walker Cemetery is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A
(that the property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history) and also under Criterion D (that the property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history).
Under Criterion A the Walker Cemetery is significant since it represents an important aspect of the local community, being one of the earliest cemeteries in this portion of Greenville County. It reflects the mores of the community, as well as their strong attachment to the region. Perhaps more importantly, the Walker Cemetery is representative of the upland cemeteries begun long before the Rural Cemetery movement and which continued to be used even as urban areas made the philosophical switch from graveyards to cemeteries. It reflects the cultural background of the highlanders and their views of death—focusing on burial practices that were simple and final.
Criteria Consideration D specifies that a cemetery is eligible if its significance is based on age, or distinctive design features, or on its association with historic events…..
This is certainly the case at the Walker Cemetery where the graveyard is representative of a very distinct ethnic group. Its organization and development around the hilltop, as well as its early focus on impermanent markers and fieldstones, all contribute to a plan with origins in the English Border Counties.
Under Criterion D, the Walker Cemetery is significant because of the data it can provide on mortuary practices during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The extensive research has revealed that the data sets at the site include the physical arrangement of the burials, the funerary monuments, and the demographic data.
Bone is known to be present in several of the earliest burials on the hilltop, based on the results of the penetrometer research. This means that the graves can provide a wealth of forensic and anthropological data. Research is possible into questions of diet, health and disease, stature, and aging…
It is important to emphasize that it does not matter that there are no plans to excavate the Walker Cemetery. Its significance is based on what we reasonably expect to be present should excavation take place.
The Walker Cemetery is an important site in the heritage of the Roper Mountain region of Greenville County and it deserves not only the protection of the landowners, but also the recognition of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Lyn Walker cemetery is maintained by The John Watson I Reunion Cemetery Committee, please contact [email protected] for more information on helping with our clean-ups.
THE WALKER FAMILY CEMETERY, GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Prepared by:
Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
and Debi Hacker
Prepared For: Bell South Telecommunications, Inc.
1600 Hampton Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
ABSTRACT
The Walker Family Cemetery has been known to genealogists at least since its recordation in 1957 by the Colonial Dames, although it is almost certain that like many “family cemeteries” it has been locally known since it first began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century. It is situated in eastern Greenville County on Roper Mountain Road, about 5 miles from downtown Greenville. The cemetery, situated on a ridgetop, incorporates an area of approximately 0.2 acres. The portion within a cast iron fence measures only 54 by 46 feet, or about 0.06 acre—the remainder of the cemetery is situated outside the enclose, primarily to the west.
In early February 1998, Southern Bell requested that Chicora Foundation conduct a survey of the cemetery to identify and map all of the graves present. Initially it was thought that the bulk of the cemetery was within the fenced area, although graves might extend outside in some areas. As work progressed, unmarked graves were found both within the fenced area and also outside, extending the cemetery about 30 feet to the west, 20 feet to the north and south, and 10 feet to the east. A total of 110 individuals were identified buried in the cemetery—33 inside the enclosure and 77 outside. The research revealed 78 unmarked graves identified using a penetrometer and 32 graves which were marked by stones, monuments, or other markers. A plan of the cemetery was produced, with each monument or grave assigned a unique tracking number and marked using surveyors pin flags. This plan also included other significant cemetery features, such as roads, fences, terraces, and prominent vegetation.
Chicora Foundation used a standardized form to record essential information concerning each burial, including inscriptions on the monument or marker, grave orientation, and condition. These proved basic information on all of the marked (as well as unmarked) graves and will serve to help track the condition of the cemetery.
The form also allowed the condition of each monument to be briefly evaluated. Assessments took into consideration such problems as soiling, physical damage, tilting or topping. Previous repairs would also have been noted, although we found little evidence of previous maintenance or repair activities.
While Southern Bell does not own the property within the fence, and their concern is focused on boundaries, this report includes a section which is designed to provide some minimal guidance for efforts to restore and maintain the cemetery.
INTRODUCTION
In late January (1998) Mr. Buddy Johnson, Jr., with BellSouth Telecommunications contacted Chicora, asking us to conduct a survey of the Walker Family Cemetery, situated on property which they owned in Greenville County…..
The Walker Cemetery is today most easily accessed by climbing the bank of Roper Mountain road, although there is a dirt road running along the east side of the cemetery and originating to the south. This road terminates at a sewer easement which has been cut through the property along the edge of the highway…Someone has laid down a gravel pathway from the sewer easement (and across from Roper Mt. Road) for about 15 feet to the gate of the fenced cemetery area. Besides this there are no paths in the cemetery, which is likely the way it was when in active use.
While the sewer itself is perhaps 50 feet from the cemetery, the construction corridor likely impacted at least a few of the graves. In a similar manner, efforts to make the dirt road to the east more passible by laying down gravel have likely also impacted a few of the burials on this side.
The cemetery is largely in leaf litter, with a number of pines, oaks, and other hardwoods scattered both inside and outside of the fenced area. Examination of aerial photographs for the area has helped to document its changing conditions. The 1938 aerials suggest that the cemetery area may have been about 100 to 130 feet square (or about 0.3 acre), with woods to west. To the east and southeast, however, the area was plowed and under cultivation. With the last marked grave representing a 1906 burial, it’s likely that by the 1930s the cemetery, while known, was considered inactive. By 1970 the cemetery is no longer distinct and the area is entirely wooded.
Although we have no clear documentary or oral history information, it is likely that the cemetery as it exists today is very much what it looked like during much of its use period. It is, of course, likely that originally very few trees were present in or around the cemetery. Those found today are perhaps 30 years old, indicating several periods of clear cutting and reforestation.
…the Walker Cemetery was probably always stark. Situated on a hill, the earliest graves were aligned and marked with small fieldstones, only a few of which were perhaps carved with simple information….There would likely have been no pathways and certainly no garden areas. There is, simply put, no hint of an effort to make death seem anything other than what it is.
RESULTS
The research at the Walker Cemetery has provided some very important general information. For example, we now know that there are 110 graves in the cemetery. Of the 110 burials, 70.9% are unmarked and were found during the penetrometer study. The 32 marked burials are primarily designated by field stones (representing about 56% of the marked graves). Only 14 graves are designated by cut stones. Although the majority of the 78 unmarked graves are found on the east and northeast sides of the fenced cemetery, there are graves present on all four sides and 11 unmarked graves are found within the enclosure.
Turning to the graves marked in a manner to provide information on date of death, and age and sex of the individual, the cemetery provides some interesting demographic observations. Males are slightly more common than females.
What is more interesting is that all of the females represented in the sample are adults—there are no female infants or children with markers. The age range for females is from 37 years to 78 years, with a mean death age of 59 years….
Males exhibit an age range from less than a month to 89 years at the time of death. The mean death age is 44 years…
While admittedly a very small sample, it appears that male children, born to be both warriors and leaders of society, were considered more worthy of being memorialized than were female children….
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION EFFORTS
Our recommendations for preservation efforts fall into two general categories. One deals with the preservation of the cemetery as a whole, encompassing such issues as lawn maintenance, establishing roads and paths, landscaping, and so forth. The other deals with the preservation of the individual stones or monuments….
Cemetery Maintenance
One of the foremost rules in any preservation program is to do no harm. …Maintenance activities should be sensitive to the special nature of cemeteries. Not only do they require special care, but they must also be recognized as sacred places.
A second very important rule in preservation work at cemeteries is that the wishes of the deceased and their family must always be respected. It is inappropriate to change the layout of a cemetery plot, its fencing, its plantings, or its general appearance. In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, one must always assume that cemetery plots look the way they do because of either the individual buried there or the immediate family.
Keep the Cemetery free from vegetation. It is likely that during the period of use the cemetery lacked overstory vegetation. The trees that are present today are all very recent, probably self-seeding within the last 30 years. Prior to that the landscape would have been open and the only understory vegetation would have been those plants intentionally incorporated into the graveyard.
Do not mow immediately next to stones. Instead, use a nylon string trimmer.
Consider the use of historically appropriate ground covers in areas where mowing is difficult.
Absolutely no commercial herbicides should be allowed in the vicinity of the stones.
The caregivers should post rules on the use of the cemetery.
SUMMARY
The Walker Cemetery is an exceptionally well preserved example of a rural Piedmont graveyard. The research at the cemetery by Chicora Foundation identified 110 individuals buried there, with burials beginning at least by 1854…
Based on the available information, we believe that the Walker Cemetery is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A
(that the property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history) and also under Criterion D (that the property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history).
Under Criterion A the Walker Cemetery is significant since it represents an important aspect of the local community, being one of the earliest cemeteries in this portion of Greenville County. It reflects the mores of the community, as well as their strong attachment to the region. Perhaps more importantly, the Walker Cemetery is representative of the upland cemeteries begun long before the Rural Cemetery movement and which continued to be used even as urban areas made the philosophical switch from graveyards to cemeteries. It reflects the cultural background of the highlanders and their views of death—focusing on burial practices that were simple and final.
Criteria Consideration D specifies that a cemetery is eligible if its significance is based on age, or distinctive design features, or on its association with historic events…..
This is certainly the case at the Walker Cemetery where the graveyard is representative of a very distinct ethnic group. Its organization and development around the hilltop, as well as its early focus on impermanent markers and fieldstones, all contribute to a plan with origins in the English Border Counties.
Under Criterion D, the Walker Cemetery is significant because of the data it can provide on mortuary practices during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The extensive research has revealed that the data sets at the site include the physical arrangement of the burials, the funerary monuments, and the demographic data.
Bone is known to be present in several of the earliest burials on the hilltop, based on the results of the penetrometer research. This means that the graves can provide a wealth of forensic and anthropological data. Research is possible into questions of diet, health and disease, stature, and aging…
It is important to emphasize that it does not matter that there are no plans to excavate the Walker Cemetery. Its significance is based on what we reasonably expect to be present should excavation take place.
The Walker Cemetery is an important site in the heritage of the Roper Mountain region of Greenville County and it deserves not only the protection of the landowners, but also the recognition of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
THE WALKER FAMILY CEMETERY, GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Prepared by:
Michael Trinkley, Ph.D.
and Debi Hacker
Prepared For: Bell South Telecommunications, Inc.
1600 Hampton Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
ABSTRACT
The Walker Family Cemetery has been known to genealogists at least since its recordation in 1957 by the Colonial Dames, although it is almost certain that like many “family cemeteries” it has been locally known since it first began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century. It is situated in eastern Greenville County on Roper Mountain Road, about 5 miles from downtown Greenville. The cemetery, situated on a ridgetop, incorporates an area of approximately 0.2 acres. The portion within a cast iron fence measures only 54 by 46 feet, or about 0.06 acre—the remainder of the cemetery is situated outside the enclose, primarily to the west.
In early February 1998, Southern Bell requested that Chicora Foundation conduct a survey of the cemetery to identify and map all of the graves present. Initially it was thought that the bulk of the cemetery was within the fenced area, although graves might extend outside in some areas. As work progressed, unmarked graves were found both within the fenced area and also outside, extending the cemetery about 30 feet to the west, 20 feet to the north and south, and 10 feet to the east. A total of 110 individuals were identified buried in the cemetery—33 inside the enclosure and 77 outside. The research revealed 78 unmarked graves identified using a penetrometer and 32 graves which were marked by stones, monuments, or other markers. A plan of the cemetery was produced, with each monument or grave assigned a unique tracking number and marked using surveyors pin flags. This plan also included other significant cemetery features, such as roads, fences, terraces, and prominent vegetation.
Chicora Foundation used a standardized form to record essential information concerning each burial, including inscriptions on the monument or marker, grave orientation, and condition. These proved basic information on all of the marked (as well as unmarked) graves and will serve to help track the condition of the cemetery.
The form also allowed the condition of each monument to be briefly evaluated. Assessments took into consideration such problems as soiling, physical damage, tilting or topping. Previous repairs would also have been noted, although we found little evidence of previous maintenance or repair activities.
While Southern Bell does not own the property within the fence, and their concern is focused on boundaries, this report includes a section which is designed to provide some minimal guidance for efforts to restore and maintain the cemetery.
INTRODUCTION
In late January (1998) Mr. Buddy Johnson, Jr., with BellSouth Telecommunications contacted Chicora, asking us to conduct a survey of the Walker Family Cemetery, situated on property which they owned in Greenville County…..
The Walker Cemetery is today most easily accessed by climbing the bank of Roper Mountain road, although there is a dirt road running along the east side of the cemetery and originating to the south. This road terminates at a sewer easement which has been cut through the property along the edge of the highway…Someone has laid down a gravel pathway from the sewer easement (and across from Roper Mt. Road) for about 15 feet to the gate of the fenced cemetery area. Besides this there are no paths in the cemetery, which is likely the way it was when in active use.
While the sewer itself is perhaps 50 feet from the cemetery, the construction corridor likely impacted at least a few of the graves. In a similar manner, efforts to make the dirt road to the east more passible by laying down gravel have likely also impacted a few of the burials on this side.
The cemetery is largely in leaf litter, with a number of pines, oaks, and other hardwoods scattered both inside and outside of the fenced area. Examination of aerial photographs for the area has helped to document its changing conditions. The 1938 aerials suggest that the cemetery area may have been about 100 to 130 feet square (or about 0.3 acre), with woods to west. To the east and southeast, however, the area was plowed and under cultivation. With the last marked grave representing a 1906 burial, it’s likely that by the 1930s the cemetery, while known, was considered inactive. By 1970 the cemetery is no longer distinct and the area is entirely wooded.
Although we have no clear documentary or oral history information, it is likely that the cemetery as it exists today is very much what it looked like during much of its use period. It is, of course, likely that originally very few trees were present in or around the cemetery. Those found today are perhaps 30 years old, indicating several periods of clear cutting and reforestation.
…the Walker Cemetery was probably always stark. Situated on a hill, the earliest graves were aligned and marked with small fieldstones, only a few of which were perhaps carved with simple information….There would likely have been no pathways and certainly no garden areas. There is, simply put, no hint of an effort to make death seem anything other than what it is.
RESULTS
The research at the Walker Cemetery has provided some very important general information. For example, we now know that there are 110 graves in the cemetery. Of the 110 burials, 70.9% are unmarked and were found during the penetrometer study. The 32 marked burials are primarily designated by field stones (representing about 56% of the marked graves). Only 14 graves are designated by cut stones. Although the majority of the 78 unmarked graves are found on the east and northeast sides of the fenced cemetery, there are graves present on all four sides and 11 unmarked graves are found within the enclosure.
Turning to the graves marked in a manner to provide information on date of death, and age and sex of the individual, the cemetery provides some interesting demographic observations. Males are slightly more common than females.
What is more interesting is that all of the females represented in the sample are adults—there are no female infants or children with markers. The age range for females is from 37 years to 78 years, with a mean death age of 59 years….
Males exhibit an age range from less than a month to 89 years at the time of death. The mean death age is 44 years…
While admittedly a very small sample, it appears that male children, born to be both warriors and leaders of society, were considered more worthy of being memorialized than were female children….
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION EFFORTS
Our recommendations for preservation efforts fall into two general categories. One deals with the preservation of the cemetery as a whole, encompassing such issues as lawn maintenance, establishing roads and paths, landscaping, and so forth. The other deals with the preservation of the individual stones or monuments….
Cemetery Maintenance
One of the foremost rules in any preservation program is to do no harm. …Maintenance activities should be sensitive to the special nature of cemeteries. Not only do they require special care, but they must also be recognized as sacred places.
A second very important rule in preservation work at cemeteries is that the wishes of the deceased and their family must always be respected. It is inappropriate to change the layout of a cemetery plot, its fencing, its plantings, or its general appearance. In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, one must always assume that cemetery plots look the way they do because of either the individual buried there or the immediate family.
Keep the Cemetery free from vegetation. It is likely that during the period of use the cemetery lacked overstory vegetation. The trees that are present today are all very recent, probably self-seeding within the last 30 years. Prior to that the landscape would have been open and the only understory vegetation would have been those plants intentionally incorporated into the graveyard.
Do not mow immediately next to stones. Instead, use a nylon string trimmer.
Consider the use of historically appropriate ground covers in areas where mowing is difficult.
Absolutely no commercial herbicides should be allowed in the vicinity of the stones.
The caregivers should post rules on the use of the cemetery.
SUMMARY
The Walker Cemetery is an exceptionally well preserved example of a rural Piedmont graveyard. The research at the cemetery by Chicora Foundation identified 110 individuals buried there, with burials beginning at least by 1854…
Based on the available information, we believe that the Walker Cemetery is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A
(that the property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history) and also under Criterion D (that the property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history).
Under Criterion A the Walker Cemetery is significant since it represents an important aspect of the local community, being one of the earliest cemeteries in this portion of Greenville County. It reflects the mores of the community, as well as their strong attachment to the region. Perhaps more importantly, the Walker Cemetery is representative of the upland cemeteries begun long before the Rural Cemetery movement and which continued to be used even as urban areas made the philosophical switch from graveyards to cemeteries. It reflects the cultural background of the highlanders and their views of death—focusing on burial practices that were simple and final.
Criteria Consideration D specifies that a cemetery is eligible if its significance is based on age, or distinctive design features, or on its association with historic events…..
This is certainly the case at the Walker Cemetery where the graveyard is representative of a very distinct ethnic group. Its organization and development around the hilltop, as well as its early focus on impermanent markers and fieldstones, all contribute to a plan with origins in the English Border Counties.
Under Criterion D, the Walker Cemetery is significant because of the data it can provide on mortuary practices during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The extensive research has revealed that the data sets at the site include the physical arrangement of the burials, the funerary monuments, and the demographic data.
Bone is known to be present in several of the earliest burials on the hilltop, based on the results of the penetrometer research. This means that the graves can provide a wealth of forensic and anthropological data. Research is possible into questions of diet, health and disease, stature, and aging…
It is important to emphasize that it does not matter that there are no plans to excavate the Walker Cemetery. Its significance is based on what we reasonably expect to be present should excavation take place.
The Walker Cemetery is an important site in the heritage of the Roper Mountain region of Greenville County and it deserves not only the protection of the landowners, but also the recognition of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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