What the estimates count
The number of people buried at the St. Michael’s Lutheran Church African-American Cemetery near Lake Murray is not settled. WIS-TV reported that nearly 160 people are believed to be buried there. St. Michael’s website describes nearly 150 visible graves, while The Post and Courier reported about 150 graves, including roughly 30 with headstone markers. Those figures describe different forms of counting and should not be treated as a confirmed total.
WIS-TV reported that more than 20 people have been identified by name and that other burial places are marked only by rocks. The station also reported that many of those buried at the site were enslaved. WLTX put the identified burials between 1814 and 1922; The Post and Courier reported that dates on marked stones range from 1888 to 1928. These date ranges refer to different records, not a single agreed span.
Congregational ties and preservation
St. Michael’s was founded in 1814, and Pleasant Spring AME Church in 1869. St. Michael’s account says African American members appear in its parish records from the 1830s and that Pleasant Spring’s original two acres were purchased in 1873 from St. Michael’s member John R. Shuler of Selwood. The church’s history of the cemetery is available on its website.
The preservation effort began in 2017, when the daughter of St. Michael’s pastor, Rev. Frank Anderson, found the cemetery while running in the area, according to The Post and Courier. Members of St. Michael’s and Pleasant Spring worked to clear the site and document graves. WIS-TV reported that the effort received $40,000 in state funding.
State protections for burial grounds
For statewide context, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History says state laws make it a felony to destroy or desecrate burial grounds and establish a legal framework for moving abandoned cemeteries when necessary. The department’s cited guidance does not specify a reporting procedure for unmarked graves discovered during land work.
Rededication marks restoration work
St. Michael’s rededicated the cemetery on Sunday, bringing together descendants, church leaders and community members. WLTX, which reported on the ceremony, said a monument honoring the cemetery is expected to be installed at the site in the coming weeks. The station’s report is the source for those event and monument details: WLTX.
