Springwood Cemetery
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Main Street and Elford Street, Greenville, SC (Greenville County)
Alternate Name:
Elford Cemetery; Old Graveyard; Old Village Burial Ground
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817723061
Description and Narrative:
Springwood Cemetery is locally significant for its association with a number of persons important to the early history and development of Greenville, and for its funerary art and distinctive landscape design which reflect the rural cemetery movement of the mid to late nineteenth century. The first burial in what would become Springwood occurred in 1812. Over the years Springwood has been known by various names including Elford Cemetery, the Old Graveyard and the Old Village Burial Ground. Springwood features a formal, planned design. A series of winding paved roads run throughout the cemetery and dissect it into several sections labeled chronologically from A to T. Sections dating from the mid to late nineteenth century feature circular and semi-circular walks designed by Gottfried L. Norrman, a landscape architect inspired by the rural cemetery movement. According to survey completed in 1978, the plots contain approximately 7,700 marked graves. It is estimated that another 2,600 unmarked burials are located in the cemetery. Gravemarker types and materials vary dramatically from natural fieldstones to raised brick tombs to elaborate Victorian monuments to Greek peristyles and sculptures to contemporary marble headstones. The variety and style of monuments reflects the long history of the cemetery as well as the socio-economic diversity of those buried there. Listed in the National Register October 4, 2005.
Period of Significance:
1812;1829;1876
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Community Planning and Development;Art;Landscape Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
October 4 2005
