Graniteville Cemetery, Graniteville, SC - South Carolina Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The Graniteville Cemetery was established around 1850 in association with the Graniteville Mill, which was founded by William Gregg. Cotton was king, and the mill was a large producer of textiles in the area, making the name Gregg synonymous with the art of cotton production. The mill generated a worker village, and, in 1860, the village was home to 830 people. With generations of family members working at the mill, a cemetery was required to house the bodies of family members.

The cemetery sprawls across the top of a hillside overlooking the now-incorporated town of Graniteville. The potter's field houses the grave of Mr. William Gregg himself (33 33.940 -81 47.935), perched at back of the cemetery with the best view of the town. Also in the cemetery are 83 Confederate soldier, and James Wesley Reardon, who worked at the Graniteville Mill from 1872 to his death in 1959 -- 87 years!

Like nearly all Southern cemeteries, the cemetery has many stories and legends. One such story talks of a grave simply marked "The Little Boy" with a date of October 1855 (33 33.971 -81 47.908). The story goes that a little boy was riding the Graniteville train by himself where he became ill. He was removed from the train, where he died before he could tell anyone who he was or where he was going. His grave is covered in toys put there by passersby in memoriam.

See the links below for some more history.

• http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~cescott/manufacturers.htm
• http://www.hampsteadchamber.com/A%20Southern%20Primer/greggmill.htm