Cook's Old Field Cemetery
Cook's Old Field Cemetery, also known as Hamlin Cemetery, is a historic cemetery located near Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina. It contains graves dating from 1805 to 1916; the majority date from the 1840s and 1850s. The oldest marker is for Arnold Wells who died in 1805. On July 16, 1863, Mary Moore Hamlin set aside one acre of land for the dedicated cemetery.
Cook's Old Field Cemetery | |
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Location | 0.5 miles north of Rifle Range Rd., near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |
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Coordinates | 32°50′20″N 79°48′13″W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | By 1805 |
NRHP reference No. | 01000679[1] |
Added to NRHP | May 9, 2003 |
The cemetery is an excellent example of a mid-19th century plantation cemetery associated with the Hamlin, Hibben, and Leland families and is an excellent example of mid-nineteenth century gravestone art. It is also the last extant resource associated with the Hamlin, Hibben, and Leland families; none of the families' plantation houses survive around Mount Pleasant. The cemetery has 38 marked graves. There are headstones, box tombs, and an obelisk. Two markers commemorating the descendants of those who began a reunion committee in 1949 are located immediately inside the gate. The stones, arranged by family, display weathering and some vandalism but otherwise retain their integrity. Two brick columns mark the location of missing iron gates at the entrance. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2003.[1][2][3]
Seven of the ornately carved markers were identified as the work of the family of Charleston stone carver Thomas Walker, who started a family business in 1794 that lasted until 1904.[4] Information about the graves has been cataloged on the free internet site, Find a Grave, which can be accessed here.
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- Linda Dayhoff Smith (March 2003). "Cook's Old Field Cemetery" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved June 2014. Check date values in:
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(help) - "Cook's Old Field Cemetery, Charleston County (½ mi. N. of Rifle Range Rd., Mt. Pleasant vicinity)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- David Quick (June 5, 2003). "Local cemetery on national register". Charleston Post & Courier. p. B3. Retrieved Nov 22, 2012.