There is a small dirt road right off of Governor Richardson road between the towns of Summerton and Remini. This road, named Julia James road, is just like any other dirt road in the south. However, a short two miles in, at the back of a large field in a thicket of trees, lies a small graveyard. This graveyard, named “Friends and Family of The Spates Graveyard” by the relatives of those buried there, is hidden from view. A few of those relatives want to change this.
“My grandfather is buried somewhere out here,” said Ruthie Mae James Walker. “We can’t find where he is because it is so grown up.”
Walker is blind; however, she walked around the rough and overgrown terrain with grace and composure, calling on the assistance of her sister Dorothy Mitchell only when she needed it. The pair started to organize a clean-up crew for the cemetery last September following a dream that Walker had about the land.
“God spoke to me while I was sleeping one night,” said Walker. “Since then, I have become a sort of visionary for this project.”
The graveyard is not visible from the road, and it is barely visible from the edge of the woods, even though it is only five feet away. Small batches of grass, vines, and towering trees block the view. Wild white flowers resembling irises grow around several gravestones; according to Mitchell, these were not planted.
“You can see the flowers growing up across the back,” said Mitchell. “They are beautiful.”
The land does not belong to either of the sisters. However, owner Marie Milton allows the two to come and go regularly. The two want to give the property the proper treatment, as trees have fallen on to headstones, and many plots don’t have a marker at all.
“We want to give it a makeover,” said Walker. “It needs to have a facelift, a manicure.”
The majority of the graves within sight range from the early 1900s to the most recent in 1998; however, more graves can be found venturing deeper into the woods, graves that go back throughout the 1800s. One headstone stands out among the rest, a polished white stone erected above the burial site of George Hampton, a PFC in the US Army during World War II. This grave, unlike the others, is a replacement sent by the United States Veterans Association. The plot is also full of sunken areas, which are indications of unmarked graves.
“The small sunken areas that are scattered around are graves,” said Mitchell. “We don’t know how to find out who is buried there, but we need to so that we can mark them properly.”
These graves also have historical significance to the Clarendon County archives. Having these names, times of death, and final resting places allow archivist Meesha Witherspoon to create a more accurate history of Clarendon County. This will also enable her to find relatives of those deceased, and inform them of the location of their loved ones.
“Things like this are extremely helpful when it comes to genealogy,” said Witherspoon. “It allows us to help people who are curious about their past and family.”
For now, the graveyard remains overgrown. If all goes to the sisters’ plan, however, it will not stay that way for long. After cleaning the plot of land up, they plan on raising funds to purchase headstones for the unmarked graves.
“We have to honor and respect those who have passed and are buried here,” said Walker. “It is the least they deserve.”
