The Above Ground Cemetery In South Carolina That’s Equal Parts Creepy And Fascinating
By this point, most native South Carolinians are familiar with the period practice of burying the dead in an above ground grave that’s nothing at all like a sealed crypt or mausoleum. It’s simply a brick and mortar (or just mortar) encasement with a cover bearing a few kind words about the dearly departed, including their name and birth/death dates.
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These kinds of graves are commonly found in the low-lying parts of the state, and in particular, where waters often reach flood level.
Perhaps the custom of burying the dead above ground migrated across the Atlantic with immigrants arriving from Europe, where it was quite common during the 1800s to inter a loved one in this fashion.
If you're new to the Palmetto State and have yet to visit a graveyard with above-ground burial boxes, we suggest heading to the Biggin Church ruins in Moncks Corner.
It's here that you can combine a fascination for the history of South Carolina with an educational jaunt inside a centuries-old graveyard with above-ground burials that will bring both intrigue as well as a grave concern.
You'll find many below ground graves here as well; some of them from more recent times. However, the practice of burying the dearly departed in an above ground fashion became less and less common beginning approximately a century ago.
For that reason, and perhaps to your sad dismay, you'll often find the tops bearing the grave marker have been broken. Sometimes it's by vandals, other times it's a fallen tree that is behind the destruction.
Many cemeteries, including this one, are very well maintained and make every effort to restore the covers, when possible. But encountering a broken lid is still unnerving.
Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
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