I'm Looking For:
Go To Home Page
    
    

leaders of the past

For more than a century, nestled on a hill near the intersections of Stone Avenue and Laurens Road, Richland Cemetery has been the resting place of some of Greenville’s most influential and prominent African Americans.
Recently, Greenville City Council took the first steps to beef-up maintenance of one of its valuable, historical resources — Richland Cemetery. By the creation of Friends of Richland Cemetery, a non-profit support group, citizens will attempt to address maintenance and beautification issues by raising funds for additional capital improvements, as well as raising awareness and preserving the historical significance of the cemetery.
If you are interested in serving on the Friends of Richland Cemetery support group, please contact the City Clerk’s Office, City of Greenville, at 467-4350.
Several of Greenville’s most prominent citizens are interred at Richland Cemetery. These people made significant contributions to the Greenville community during their life time. The legacy of their contributions continues today.

Jesse L. Bates
Sterling High School Teacher of Science and Mathematics.

 

 

 

 

Masselena Vivian Lawrence Bowen
Teacher in Greenville County Schools for 50 years; 40 of these years at Allen City School, teaching seventh grade.

 

Hattie Logan Duckett
 founder of Phillis Wheatley Center; elementary school named in her honor (Hattie Duckett Elementary School, now Fine Arts Center).

 

 

Mary Moone Calhoun
 Union Elementary School Teacher.

 

 

 

 

Cora Kilgore Chapman
First African American Registered Nurse; first African American superintendent of Greenville Hospital.

 

 

J. Pickens “Pick” Chappell
Trustee of Sterling High School, Trustee of Workingman’s Savings & Loan (African American Bank) .

 

 

Emma Clark
 owner and manager of Broadway Beauty Shop, the oldest and one of the First African American beauty parlors in the Greenville.

 

 

Elias B. Holloway
appointed principal of then Union School (West End School); and First African American mail carrier; Writer for Greenville News.

Florence L. Lykes,
Sterling High School Teacher of Social Studies.

 

 

 

Anna M. Richardson
Sterling High School Teacher of English, affectionately known as “Ma” Richardson.

 

 

Lila Lomax Sewell
First African American school supervisor; Piano teacher

 

 

 

William R. Sewell
First African American licensed building contractor – constructed Sterling High and SC Franks Funeral Home (former location on Anderson Road)

 

Dr. Oswald M. Thompson
one of Greenville’s first African American Dentists, who received his Dental Surgery Degree in 1905.

 

 

Harriet Elizabeth Williams
graduate of Sterling High School; first African American female in Greenville County female to receive a Master’s Degree (Atlanta University) in Pure mathematics.

 

Hattie E. Williams
one of the first Trustees of Allen Temple AME Church.

 

 

 

Lida Logan Williams
 One of Greenville’s first African American Registered Nurses.

 

History of Richland Cemetery

Friends of Richland Cemetery

Map and Directions

Honoring Our Past
Slide Presentation

Cemetery Master Plan

Cemeteries as
Cultural Resources

 

To access PDF downloadable news letters, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not currently have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please click on the icon which will take you to Adobe site to obtain the free software.

 


 
Powered by the City of Greenville  © 2008 Greenville, SC. Please send any comments or suggestions to:  cityinfo@greatergreenville.com