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Summer 2006 -- Vol. 59, No. 3
In one of
Clemson’s “smartest” classrooms, oaks
replace walls, monuments replace computers and chirping birds replace
grinding chalk. The lectures focus on service, honor and dedication.
Teachers include names like Riggs, Sikes and Howard. And education
is all about examples set by Clemson’s rich heritage of learners,
leaders and legends.
In the two
years since the Woodland Cemetery Stewardship Committee last
updated Clemson World readers on its plans for progress at Cemetery
Hill, that classroom has only gotten smarter, with several important
modifications and enhancements already completed or nearly under
way. Because the lessons taught there are so meaningful to Clemson’s
distinctive heritage, we take this opportunity to update you
once more on those ongoing efforts for improvement.
Equally
important as historical preservation is strategic planning
for the decades ahead. Although Cemetery Hill is unique, its grounds
are similar to real estate elsewhere in at least one regard — it’s
at a premium! For this reason, the committee has carefully surveyed
and studied the cemetery grounds and identified an area of future
expansion that will allow for 150 additional gravesites, many of
which will be small plots available only for cremations.
As we reported last fall, we investigated the possibility of unmarked
slave graves in one area of the cemetery, but S.C. Archaeologist
Jonathan Leader found no evidence of such burials. Therefore, the
committee has decided to open that area to future cremation plots
but with a strong contingency plan that any evidence of unmarked
graves will halt new burials and provide proper attention for preserving
and recognizing those graves.
The stewardship committee has also been directing a capital improvement
project on Cemetery Hill for nearly five years now. The chain-link
fencing has been removed. The old railroad tie retaining wall on
the northeast side of the cemetery has been replaced by a new stone
wall. This wall, originally scheduled as part of a latter phase
within the overall improvement plan, not only addresses erosion
concerns on the site but also enhances the aesthetics of the cemetery
in a fitting way.
By the time you receive this issue of Clemson World, the first
full phase of our initiative will be under way. As a result of
nearly $200,000 in contributions from generous donors like you,
a new set of entry gates fronting Williamson Road is scheduled
for construction in September. As depicted in the conceptual drawings
shown left, the gates will serve as identification markers of the
recently expanded boundaries of the cemetery itself. (The grounds
were expanded by action of the Clemson University Board of Trustees
in 2002 to include the grass area leading to the residential parking
lot R-1 and the wooded lot on Williamson Road beside Memorial Stadium).
Moreover, the entry gates will announce to all who pass through
them that they have entered into a sacred and special part of our
campus.
The
second phase of this initiative is slated to begin in late
2007 or earlier as appropriate funding becomes available. Our
focus during this phase will be to “connect” the
original, well-established section of the cemetery with the
rest of campus through an oak-lined entry court. Think of it
as a foyer of sorts to the remainder of the grounds; this entranceway
will guide visitors from the newly constructed gates on Williamson
Road to their destination and will act as a much-needed replacement
to the uneven, erosion-riddled gravel drive that has been in
existence for many years. These improvement efforts will put
a face on the Woodland Cemetery that is more befitting its
special place in the heart of campus and in the hearts of Clemson
people.
The Woodland Cemetery Stewardship Committee would like to take
this opportunity to say a very heartfelt thank you to all those
who have given to the Cemetery Preservation Fund over the last
five years. Our progress, thus far, has been driven primarily through
your support, feedback and ideas. But
the important preservation work on Cemetery Hill is not yet
complete. In addition to the upcoming phases of the capital improvement
plan, we still need to improve the irrigation system, repave the
internal roadways and plant new trees. Any support you can offer
to this cause will help ensure that our cemetery remains one of
Clemson’s smartest classrooms. The men and women laid to
rest there never stopped giving to Clemson and teaching important
lessons during their lifetimes. We cannot stop learning from their
legacies. |
