Randolph Cemetery is a historic cemetery for African-Americans in Columbia, South Carolina. It was established in 1872 and expanded in 1899. It was named for

Benjamin F. Randolph Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1820 – October 16, 1868) was an American educator, army chaplain during the Civil War,Methodist minister, newspaper editor, and politician who served as a state senator in the early part of the Reconstruction Er ...

(1820–1868), who was reburied at the cemetery in 1871. Randolph was a militia leader protecting African Americans when he was assassinated. A memorial in his honor and for other African-American leaders killed was erected. Gravemarkers include both manufactured and vernacular homemade varieties. The cemetery holds eight

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

state legislators. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

History

Randolph Cemetery was established as the first cemetery for Columbia's African-American population (up until then, African-Americans has been buried in the local

potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pu ...

called Lower Cemetery between the river and the current Randolph Cemetery). The cemetery initially consisted of three acres purchased from Elmwood Cemetery in 1872. An additional acre was purchased in 1899. Today it spans about six acres. But how those additional two acres were acquired is not clear. The cemetery fell into decline as the descendants of those interred and the owners of the remaining plots moved away, many as part of the Great Migration. The area became wilderness by the middle of the 20th century. The city of Columbia began to clear it out with bulldozers as part of its urban renewal program in 1959, but the clearing was halted when Minnie Simons Williams, a local resident, drew the city's attention to the historical significance of the cemetery. Williams, along with descendants of the founders of the cemetery, reestablished the Randolph Cemetery Association and were given (through a legal suit) stewardship of the cemetery. The association has organized donations and volunteers to restore and maintain the cemetery.

Notable burials

* Henry Cardozo (1830–1886), state senator * George Elmore (South Carolina), businessman who challenged South Carolina's whites-only Democratic Party primary system * William Fabriel Myers (1850–1917), state senator * William Beverly Nash (1822–1888), state senator * Robert John Palmer (1849–1928), state representative * Benjamin Franklin Randolph (d 1868) state senator * William Simons (d 1878), state representative * Samuel Benjamin Thompson (1837–1909), state representative *

Charles McDuffie Wilder Charles McDuffie Wilder (1835 - 1902) was a public official in South Carolina who was appointed postmaster by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and was a city councilor in Columbia, South Carolina. He established himself as a carpenter. He served as ...

(1835–1902), postmaster and city council member in Columbia, South Carolina * Lucius Wimbush (1839–1872), state senator

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina African-American history of South Carolina Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina 1872 establishments in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Columbia, South Carolina African-American cemeteries in South Carolina