Greenville Marks 617 Forgotten Graves at Springwood

A ground-penetrating radar survey located burial sites in a historic potter's field section of Springwood Cemetery.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Philanthropy

Greenville Marks 617 Forgotten Graves at Springwood

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Should your local government spend public funds honoring forgotten historic burial grounds?

Greenville, S.C. identified and permanently marked approximately 617 previously unmarked graves in Section V of Springwood Cemetery. The burial ground, historically known as a potter's field, had largely been forgotten over the years.

Why it matters

The graves, which historical records date to around 1865, had lost their documented locations over more than a century. Permanent markers now restore identification of the burial site for families and the public in Greenville.

A ground-penetrating radar survey identified approximately 617 graves in Section V, an area left unobserved for roughly 150 years. The disc markers do not identify the dead, and their individuals remain unknown.

The players

Greenville County Historical Society

A county-level historical organization that provided $6,000 to fund the permanent disc markers placed at the graves.

The details

Section V of Springwood Cemetery was historically a potter's field, or public burial ground, and was known as Elford Cemetery before joining Springwood in the 1970s. The Greenville County Historical Society provided $6,000 to fund permanent disc markers, and committee members are considering a larger monument and a garden with yucca and daffodils.

The earliest surviving marker in the section dates to 1860.
Historical records indicate the graves date to around 1865.
Elford Cemetery became part of Springwood Cemetery in the 1970s.

Philanthropy Context

Efforts like the Greenville County Historical Society's funding of disc markers follow a pattern of local historical groups locating and memorializing unmarked potter's field burials in Southern municipal cemeteries. The Section V project reflects how such marking efforts are often driven by private historical funding rather than public budgets.

Families with ancestors who may have been buried in Section V can contact the cemetery's owner, the City of Greenville, about the newly marked graves. Visitors to Springwood Cemetery can now locate the area of Section V where the permanent markers were installed.

The takeaway

Local historical groups can play a direct role in restoring the identity of forgotten public burial grounds. Residents interested in such efforts can support or volunteer with county historical societies.