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The First
Presbyterian Churchyard is a testament to the faithfulness of
God and the indomitable spirit of its members past. It also reflects
their faith and deeds, and their trials and tribulations, mirroring
those of this State and Nation as well.
Established as a burial ground by an act of the legislature in
1798, the oldest existing marker, that of the first minister,
dates from 1804. In 1813, the congregation was incorporated by
the legislature as the "First Presbyterian Church of the
Town of Columbia" with half of the burial ground to be conveyed
to it and the other half to the Protestant Episcopal Church. Thereafter,
First Presbyterian Church purchased the interest of the Episcopalians.
The markers number among them people from the earliest days of
the republic and this congregation: ministers, physicians, judges,
merchants, legislators, government officials and university presidents,
as well as soldiers of the Revolution, the Mexican War and the
Civil War. The tombstones record immigrants from many birthplaces:
Scotland, England, Ireland, Connecticut, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
Church records describe as well "free persons of color"
and slaves as members. The churchyard testifies to the many backgrounds
that joined in Christian worship at First Presbyterian Church.
In response to the many requests of members, in 2004, a Memorial
Garden for the interment of cremated remains was added to the
Church’s cemetery. This area is located around the east,
south and west walls of the Family Life Center, and the spaces
are marked with tasteful granite markers. If you are interested
in obtaining more information about spaces in the Memorial Garden,
please call our office at (803) 799-9062, ext. 261, or send written
inquiries to the church at 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201.
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| Download a
spreadsheet of those interred in our churchyard.
Raw Data
(Comma Separated Values format)
PDF format
Take Video
Tour of the Church Yard
Download a map of the churchyard with plot
numbers: PDF format
(1.97 MB) |
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