'Built on their graves:' Fans tailgated on top of 500 unmarked graves at Clemson football stadium
For many years, football fans at Clemson University parked their vehicles and tailgated right in the middle of a burial ground - many never even realizing there were hundreds of people buried right beneath their feet.
Posted — UpdatedMore than 500 unmarked graves dating back to the early 1800s serve as the final resting place for enslaved men and women – many who built the university itself, and before that, the plantation on which the school sits.
Other people buried in the graves are believed to have been Black sharecroppers, domestic workers, tenant farmers, convicted laborers and wage workers and their families.
Some of the graves were overbuilt by the marked graves of white people who had worked at the university.
"It makes you wonder, how much of America – the parts that we prize the most – were not only built on the backs of the people who built them, but literally were built on their graves, on the places where they died," said historian and author Carmen Cauthen.
Before Clemson University there was Fort Hill Plantation
Many universities in the south have connections to slavery –– whether built using enslaved labor or using money from wealthy plantation owners. Today, many universities and historians are working to ensure the names of the people who built the buildings and worked the land are not forgotten.
Historians believe the hill on campus that is now known as 'Cemetery Hill' first became a burial site when the Calhoun family's firstborn son died and was buried there. Over the passing decades, more family members were buried in proximity to these initial plots.
Clemson University was founded on the plantation in 1889 at the request of Thomas Green Clemson, who had married into the Calhoun family. After the school had been around for around 30 years, another cemetery was established near the Calhoun family cemetery – this one specifically to honor faculty of Clemson and their immediate families. It became known as Woodland Cemetery.
As far back as 1946, the college reports knowing about at least 200 to 250 of the graves belonging to enslaved men and women and convicted laborers. The college Buildings and Grounds Committee recommended placing a permanent marker on the site at that time, but it didn't happen.
Historic cemetery used as a parking area
It took nearly 75 years before those burial grounds would finally be marked. Today, a small placard marks the cemetery, alerting visitors to the history: African American Cemetery Site.
Between 2020 and 2021, these burial sites were formally recognized and marked with flags, as researchers began the process of working to identify the hundreds of individuals who lived and worked on that land.
"People kind of saw the cemetery more as a park, rather than a cemetery," said Rhonda Robinson Thomas, Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature at Clemson University.
She says Clemson allowed parking within the cemetery – parking that raised a lot of money for the school.
"They had paid parking, and so quite a bit of money was raised. It was treated as a funding resource for athletics," she said. "It was also treated as a place to party before the games."
Over 500 unmarked graves 'hidden' in the cemetery
Research from the 1940s shows historians had only discovered around 200 graves belonging to the Black families that had toiled on the land. However, modern equipment discovered there were many more burial sites 'hidden' in the cemetery.
"A decision was made to survey the entire cemetery," said Thomas. "After the ground-penetrating radar was completed, over 500 anomalies were (found that are) believed to be unmarked (graves). Burials were found throughout the entire cemetery."
Researchers have linked those to enslaved people, sharecroppers and tenant farmers who had worked on the land.
"Once we learned the history, we had a decision to make," she said.
What did the school decide to do?
"They decided to provide the resources that we needed to actually document the history of the cemetery for the first time. They decided to beautify the cemetery by putting in new pathways that would really signal to the world that this is a sacred site," said Thomas.
Today, Clemson University has documented its history and strives to tell and honor the stories of all the people that lived and worked on that land.
"As long as there's a Clemson University, the cemetery will be cared for," said Thomas.
History hidden by football stadiums across the state
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Listen to Chris Lea explain how he became fascinated with the history hidden by football stadiums across NC and SC.
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