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I realize that a graveyard is not a typical subject for a photo album. But this has always been a favorite place of mine in Charleston and I love taking pictures in here.
The graveyard is part of the Unitarian Church, a National Historic Landmark, established in 1772 and it is the 2nd oldest church building in Charleston. When the British occupied Charleston in the 1780's, they used the church as a barracks for the militia and at times, stable their horses. The church was finally completed in 1787 with some enhancements to the church in 1852. Only 32 years later, the great earthquake of 1886 hit Charleston (estimated to be between an 8.9-9.1 magnitude) and it suffered severe damage to the vaulted ceiling and tower. It was rebuilt less elaborately and in 1989 Hurricane Hugo struck. The church again suffered massive damage and I remember walking through the graveyard then with neither a leaf on a tree nor hardly any living plants. Some of the gravestones had been uprooted and you could see under the stones.
But Nature repairs herself and again the garden cemetary thrives. The oldest stone here dates from the 1790's.
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