Study finds no unmarked graves at Oak Bluff construction site

Construction can resume on the newest phase of the Oak Bluff subdivision off Clements Ferry Road, after a new archaeology study reported no evidence of unmarked graves in an area slated for homes. 

 

A stop work order was issued by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) on May 5 after Charleston City Councilwoman Marie Delcioppo, Grant Mishoe of the Gullah Society and longtime community advocates MaeRe Skinner and Fred Lincoln paid a visit to the site and spotted what they thought were sunken graves on a parcel that had just been cleared by the developer. After the DHEC directive, the developer, Oak Bluff Development LLC, hired the Columbia-based Chicora Foundation Inc. to conduct an archaeological study of the site so a proper determination could be made. 

 

The area in question is located in close proximity to a documented African American burial ground and McDowell Cemetery, a Revolutionary War-era graveyard also known as Old Ruins Cemetery. The Chicora report — titled “Evaluation of the African American Cemetery at Oak Bluff (38BK267/1785)” — was prepared by Michael Trinkley, Ph.D., RPA, and Debi Hacker. After completing a visual inspection of the area, doing a “deep dive” into historical records, and conducting ground penetrating radar studies, the authors noted their work “failed to identify any graves.” The ground depressions observed by Mishoe, Delcioppo and others were most likely marks created by vehicles used for clearing, stated the report.

 

“We were not able to see these depressions,” wrote Trinkley and Hacker. “To us, they appeared simply as vehicle tire 

depressions.”

 

They also explored an area just outside the front gate to the McDowell Cemetery, on its dirt access road, where unmarked graves were also suspected, as well as a 10-foot strip around the perimeter, but did not find any indication of burials outside the cemetery’s borders.

 

“The survey work performed by Chicora Foundation, Inc., and the findings were acceptable to both the Historic Preservation Office and the State Archaeologist,” stated Chris Stout of DHEC. “With no evidence of graves in the area for residential lots, work can begin in that area of the development.” 

 

When contacted Monday, Lincoln said he had not yet read the study in its entirety, but was satisfied with the report’s conclusions.

 

“Ours was just a gut feeling (that there may be unmarked graves) and theirs is based more on their study,” Lincoln noted. “I have to trust their study ... We have to go along with their findings. I wouldn’t want to question their integrity on it.”

 

Skinner, who has several generations of family buried in the McDowell Cemetery, said she is grateful no burials were found in the path of development, but called on the developer to proceed with care and to take steps to maintain adequate access to the cemetery, which is protected through the property’s deed and state cemetery law. According to Skinner, their access road to the site from Clements Ferry Road has been blocked due to construction and clearing activities and is now overgrown with vegetation. 

 

“I’m frustrated that they have closed our road access,” she said. “... We have written permission to use that road ... We need a place to park cars for funerals and for just descendent access.”

 

Site plans for the expanded development do show several homes being constructed over a portion of the original access road, but there is to be a new access point through the neighborhood for those wishing to visit the cemeteries. The developer has not made clear what is to happen in the interim. Skinner would like to see the original road remain.

 

“Let us keep our road,” she said. “... In the interest of the community, the history, preservation and honoring the residents of the Cainhoy area who came before us.”

 

According to DHEC, the developer was notified on July 28 of the acceptance of the Chicora report. When contacted regarding the study’s findings, construction status, and the issue of access, Bob Pickard, vice president of land development for Oak Bluff Development LLC, declined to comment.