Darlington Memorial Cemetery
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Avenue D and Friendship Street, Darlington, SC (Darlington County)
Alternate Name:
Darlington Community Cemetery; Darlington City Cemetery (including Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery, Bethel A.M.E. Church Cemetery, and St. James Methodist Church Cemetery)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817716049
Description and Narrative:
The Darlington Memorial Cemetery, also known as the Darlington Community Cemetery or the Darlington City Cemetery, is significant as the first cemetery established for the African American community of Darlington and for its association with many prominent black citizens of the town from the late nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. It is also an intact example of a cemetery reflecting typical burial customs and gravestone art during this period. The cemetery dates from 1890, when the trustees of Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery purchased a five-acre tract to establish a cemetery for members of the church and other members of Darlington’s black community. Until 1946 it was the only African American cemetery within the city limits of Darlington. It was expanded by four additional acres in 1946 when the Bethel A.M.E. Church Cemetery and the St. James Methodist Church Cemetery were established and laid out adjacent to it, adding two acres each for a total of approximately nine acres. These three cemeteries are collectively known as the Darlington Memorial Cemetery, still the primary cemetery for the African American community in Darlington. There are approximately 1900 graves in the cemetery, with most burials dating from the early- to mid-twentieth century. Listed in the National Register June 9, 2005.
Period of Significance:
1890;1890 – 1955
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
June 9 2005
