MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — The Lowcountry is home to numerous historic African American cemeteries, but many have been overlooked due to a lack of proper documentation. One such cemetery is Scanlonville Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, which was left in obscurity until the East Cooper Civic Club took ownership and made it a point to preserve and honor its history.
On Saturday, the East Cooper Civic Club hosted the annual Scanlonville Flower Day Celebration to honor the lives of those buried there and to highlight the historical significance of the community.
Honoring Ancestors and Preserving Legacy
“We started doing this to honor our ancestors who founded this community, and that’s why we formed Flower Day,” said Miss Jackie Gore, Treasurer of the East Cooper Civic Club.
The Scanlonville community, located along the Wando River, was established for a specific reason. Historically, the riverbanks were undesirable for the white community during the slavery era, but they became a center for African American communities, who found themselves living and working near the waterways.
“One of the things you know, most African-American communities, if you notice, they’re all along the waterway,” Gore explained, reflecting on the historical significance of the area.
A Generational Connection to History
Ashlee Priester, a fourth-generation Scanlonville resident, emphasized the importance of keeping the community’s history alive for future generations. “If we don’t hold on to our storytellers and our generations, if our grandmothers and great-grandmothers aren’t passing down recipes and stories, we’re going to lose all of that heritage,” Priester said.
For Priester, the celebration is not only about remembering the past but ensuring it’s preserved for her children and their children. “My six-year-old is here, my one-year-old is here because one day when I move on, I’d expect them to uphold the same responsibility that I’ve been entrusted with as well,” she said.
The connection to the land is deeply personal for Priester. Seeing headstones with her family name made her wonder if they were related, reinforcing the importance of keeping history alive. “You feel the connection to the land, especially once some of those generations go on. This is our connection. This is my connection to my grandmother, to my grandfather, to other people in the community,” she said.
Marking History with the Fourth Plaque
A key part of this year’s celebration was the unveiling of the fourth and final plaque, which showcases the written history of the Scanlonville Cemetery. This plaque ensures that the cemetery’s history will never again be overlooked or forgotten.
The Scanlonville Flower Day Celebration continues to serve as an essential event to honor the legacy of the community’s ancestors, ensuring that their contributions and stories are never lost.
