Cemeteries & Graveyards Of Charleston

Gravestones in the graveyard of Charleston's Circular Congregational Church.

If you are interested in old graves and cemeteries, you will find much to enjoy in downtown Charleston. In contrast to many other historic American cities, Charleston both built and has retained a large number of graveyards, most of them attached to the dozens of houses of worship constructed across the city in the years since its founding.

Many of these graveyards date back centuries, with graves from the 18th century still surviving; others are (comparatively) more modern. Several of Charleston’s graveyards serve as records of its ethnic and religious communities.

One large burial ground on the 19th-century rural model is Magnolia Cemetery. Less commonly visited by tourists due to its north-of-downtown location, its landscaped grounds offer a beautiful and peaceful respite from the city amidst the graves of its departed citizens.

Charleston’s Church Graveyards

St Philip’s Church – St Philip’s churchyard is the burial place of several of the most well-known figures in the history of Charleston and South Carolina, including statesman John C Calhoun; Edward Rutledge, signer of the US Declaration of Independence; Charles Pinckney, signer of US Constitution; and DuBose Heyward, author of Porgy.

St Michael’s Church – Among the historical figures buried in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church are two more men associated with the creation of the US Constitution: John Rutledge (brother to Edward, above) and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (likewise a relative of the other Charles Pinckney).

Circular Congregational Church – Some of the oldest surviving grave markers (as opposed to grave sites) in Charleston are located in the graveyard of the Circular Congregational Church, with its Simonds Vault reckoned to be the oldest of all, dating from around 1695.

Unitarian Church in Charleston – The graveyard of the Unitarian Church is one of Charleston’s most picturesque, deliberately cultivated to present an unkempt and rustic appearance.

French Huguenot Church – The French Huguenot Church is built on one of the oldest graveyards in Charleston, laid out in the late 17th century. Many of the headstones were destroyed during the Civil War, when the church and its yard suffered a hit during the Union bombardment of 1863, but most still remain.

First Scots Presbyterian Church – The graveyard of the First Scots Presbyterian Church is divided into four burial areas around the main building. This graveyard’s point of distinction is as the site of graves of former seamen, many of the members of this profession having been of Scottish descent.

Second Presbyterian Church – The graveyard of the Second Presbyterian Church is the resting place of church members killed in several of Charleston’s wars, from the War of 1812 through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. More unusually, it is also the burial place of several free African-American members of the church.

St John’s Lutheran Church – The small cemetery adjacent to St John’s Church has several graves dating from the 18th century, including members of Charleston’s Germanic community.

First Baptist Church – More 18th-century graves are in the yard of the First Baptist Church, including victims of yellow fever outbreaks in the 1790s. More recent developments on the First Baptist lot have forced the removal of some of the tombstones; the oldest are now located along the eastern wall of the church.

Bethel United Methodist Church – The cemetery at Bethel United Methodist Church dates back to 1795, and has since become the repository of the remains of around 500 members of its congregation.

Cathedral Church of St Luke and St Paul – This is one of the larger of Charleston’s historic graveyards, with many larger grave memorials and family vaults.

St Mary of the Annunciation Roman Catholic Church – The graves at St Mary’s include many markers dating back to the 18th century. One of the more unusual features of this graveyard is the row of headstones affixed to the outer walls of the church.

Magnolia Cemetery

Situated on the banks of the Cooper River, to the north of downtown Charleston, Magnolia Cemetery was established in 1850 on the grounds of former rice plantation Magnolia Umbra (umbra being Latin for shade). It is a beautiful southern example of the American trend toward the construction of rural-style cemeteries from the mid-19th century.

92 acres in size, the cemetery was laid out by architect Edward C Jones. Today it presents a mature and atmospheric landscape of shady trees draped with moss, interspersed with hundreds of fine examples of 19th-century funerary art and monuments.

Though somewhat off the beaten track, this cemetery is worth a visit for its serene beauty and points of historic interest, including the reinterred crew of the submarine HL Hunley, the first underwater vessel ever to launch a successful attack on an enemy ship.

The cemetery is also home to abundant birdlife, and offers views of the Cooper River and the Ravenel Bridge.

Open daily, 8am-5pm (8am-6pm daylight savings). More details

Coming Street Cemetery

The Coming Street Cemetery, established in 1762, is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the South, established by the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim congregation in a separate location from its Hasell Street synagogue.

Hundreds of Charleston’s Jewish citizens are buried in this cemetery, although many of the markers have been lost to time. Tours of the cemetery are available by appointment only; a donation of $18 per person to the Coming Street Cemetery Restoration Fund is requested. More details