Randolph Cemetary and Beyond...

On Wednesday, January 9, 2013, we began our journey in the Randolph Cemetery in Columbia. The Randolph Cemetery was built in 1871 and was one of the first black cemeteries in Columbia. We thought we might find some interesting gravestones and history here. But never in a million years did we suspect we'd find what we stumbled upon.

We love these old headstones. But as we walked towards the far left corner of the cemetery, we noticed that several headstones were in the uncleared woods beyond the cemetery. We decided to follow.

This one looks to be a four year old from 1923.

These were once loved ones of somebody. We found it sad that somehow the woods had encroached upon their grave sites and they were no longer part of the cemetery.

The headstones led to this path in the woods. We decided to follow to see if there were any more graves further in. We walked through the woods, down a ravine and up a small hill on the other side. It was apparent that these woods, and this path in particular, was either a party spot for teenagers or a private area that Columbia's homeless wander. There was all sorts of litter along the path. We were extra vigilant for possible danger along our route.

This was our view after climbing the hill. We found railroad tracks and a bridge for 126.

We saw what appeared to be headstones across the railroad tracks and in the distance towards the interstate. We decided to investigate. We had to walk down the tracks a good piece to find a place suitable to cross. These are live tracks so we remained alert to trains. This is my friend Steph walking in front of me. Together we are the Dynamic Duo! At least for today!

We were right. In a place far removed from the cemetery, through woods, across railroad tracks and beside 126 was more grave sites.

The ground was very soft everywhere and we had to be extra careful where we stepped. We felt maybe it was because of the decaying matter beneath the earth here and we didn't want to fall in.

A heaviness came upon us as we read each gravestone. These were loved ones that were buried here in their final sacred resting place. But this ground wasn't sacred at all. It's throwaway land between the highway, power lines and the railroad tracks.

Jenney Algood: A faithful servant of the Boyer family. She was 80 years old and died in 1868.

We wondered how this could happen. Why has no one complained. And we tried to be respectful as we read and photographed the sites.

Are all their ancestors gone? Still, they are important for historic purposes. One headstone read, "Killed by the Railroad." Many listed years, months, and days old they were before passing. We thought about how sad would it be if this were our grave sites a hundred years from now.

The gravesites were scattered everywhere. If you look in the background you can see lots of wooden stakes in the ground. We believe these are gravesites too.

There were so many graves here, only a few are pictured. We felt a heaviness of heart that stayed with us both all day. But we were so glad we followed the path and found these lost graves. If you look to the right on 126 you can see them from the highway.

We decided to head back and have a look in Randolph Cemetery.

Notice how the ground is sinking in this cemetery too. But not as bad as the place we had just left.

This is just a sampling of the photos taken here. The gravestones are interesting. Some are even hand carved. The words tell a story of times past. It's a shame that there seems to be little maintenance and upkeep here. Many gravestones are overturned and even broken. But this cemetery is chock full of history and definitely worth a visit.