Overview	View of Field Bordering Cemetery	Snowflakes and Stone Gravemarker	Snowflakes outlining grave

The King Cemetery is a good example of the distinctive, regionally important type of African American cemetery found in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Named for the primary nineteenth century plantation owner, the King Cemetery is thought to have been used by the area’s African-American community since at least the late antebellum, and contains at least 183 graves. Oral history documents the extensive use of the graveyard during slavery and continuing into the first half of the twentieth century. Distinctive characteristics include the placement of grave goods, ranging from ceramics to bottles to household furniture, on the grave; the use of white or reflective materials and objects; the use of alternative methods of grave marking; and the use of plant materials. In particular, this cemetery clearly reveals the importance of plants and their association with grave plots, not only as items of lasting beauty, but also as lasting - and living - markers. Moreover, the King Cemetery clearly reveals the importance not of well-marked and permanently identified family plots, but rather of the area, the space. Oral history has kept alive the importance of this space, in spite of the black community’s fragmentation and the gradual loss of many cultural practices. Listed in the National Register June 13, 2000.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.

Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.