Historic Old Purity Cemetery at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Chester County, South Carolina. |
Purity Presbyterian Church (originally known as Bull Run Presbyterian Church) was organized on the site in 1770. The church's cemetery has been there since 1787.
The cemetery continued to grow in size and number of graves. A stone wall was built in 1872 enclosing the cemetery. At the time there were about 462 marked graves, some of them dating back to the late 1700s. The wall itself underwent several restorations over the years, the last one happening in 1960. A marker on the wall near the church entrance mentions this.
Inside the old cemetery's stone walls are many beautifully carved old graves, many with Ulster Scots surnames. Several birthplaces listed on the oldest gravestones mention counties in Northern Ireland. Several of the more prominent families have stone crypts in the center of the cemetery.
The graves of soldiers from various battles and wars can be found throughout the old cemetery, including those who fought in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War (1780-1782) and Confederate soldiers from the War Between the States (1861-1865).
Just outside the stone wall facing the highway is a stone marker that sits on the site where former slaves and members of the original church are buried in unmarked graves. This marker was dedicated in 1942 and is probably one of the oldest of such markers in this part of the State.
The original Purity Presbyterian Church was moved into in 1835 and now sits on Wylie Street in Chester. Today the historic walled cemetery is surrounded by the church yard of modern-day Trinity Presbyterian Church.
The cemetery itself is well cared for and all of the war veterans graves are clearly marked. The following are photos taken by this blogger of the cemetery and some of its headstones and markers.
A small garden near the cemetery gate. |
Marker for the original site of Purity Presbyterian Church erected in 1939. This marker sits in the Trinity Church parking lot. |
Iron archway to the cemetery and church yard seen from the parking lot dedicated to the historic Old Purity Cemetery. |
A baby's grave with a beautifully carved flower on the headstone. |
Stone marker next to the old iron gate to the cemetery lists the names of eight soldiers of the American Revolutionary War buried on the site. The last three names were added later. |
The grave of Reverend John Hemphill Simpson, Confederate Army Chaplain for the 6th SC Infantry Regiment. |
A special thanks to the members of the Old Purity Society for providing some of the information in this article, and for their outstanding efforts in maintaining this historic cemetery.
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