Randolph Cemetery is a historic

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

for African-Americans in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. It was established in 1872 and expanded in 1899. It was named for Benjamin F. Randolph (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 History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

state legislators. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 pur ...

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 Henry Weston Cardozo (September 1, 1830 – February 21, 1886) was an American carpenter, cobbler, county auditor, shipwright, tailor, Methodist Episcopal minister, and Reconstruction era South Carolina state senator. Early life Henry Weston Ca ...

(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 William Beverly Nash (c. 1822 – January 19, 1888) was a barber, shoe shine, porter, waiter, and state senator in South Carolina. An African American, Nash was born enslaved in Virginia, Nash gained his freedom at the age of 43 with the passage o ...

(1822–1888), state senator *

Robert John Palmer Robert John Palmer (born January 18, 1849 – May 12, 1928) was a tailor and politician born into slavery in South Carolina. Career Palmer was a state representative from 1876 to 1878 and had a tailor shop opposite the post office on Main Stre ...

(1849–1928), state representative and great-great grandfather of

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

* Benjamin Franklin Randolph (d 1868) state senator assassinated by three members of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

William Simons Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons (17 November 1940 – 21 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his role as PC Alf Ventress in '' Heartbeat'', a role he played from 1992 to 2010. Early life Simons was born on 17 November 1940 in Swansea ...

(d 1878), state representative * Samuel Benjamin Thompson (1837–1909), state representative * Charles McDuffie Wilder (1835–1902), postmaster and city council member in Columbia, South Carolina * Lucius Wimbush (1839–1872), state senator

Gallery

File:Randolph Cemetery in Columbia, SC, facing east.jpg, Facing eastward File:Benjamin Franklin Randolph monument.jpg, Benjamin Franklin Randolph monument File:Grave of Agnes Jackson Simons in Randolph Cemetery.jpg, Grave of Agnes Jackson Simons, who constructed the Mann-Simons Cottage File:George Elmore memorial in Randolph Cemetery.jpg, Grave and monument to George Elmore File:Broken grave at Randolph Cemetery.jpg, Broken cross sculpture File:Broken headstone of Gemima Green at Randolph Cemetery.jpg, Broken headstone of Gemima Green

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