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Richland County unveils volunteer‑friendly cemetery mapping effort to protect historic burial sites
Summary
County staff demonstrated a phone app and polygon mapping technique to more accurately map hundreds of cemeteries; staff said DNR has already mapped dozens and county records list about 517 sites with potential to reach ~700, helping planning and permitting to avoid disturbing graves.
Richland County conservation staff demonstrated a new, volunteer‑friendly cemetery mapping program at the Dec. 2 council meeting and said the tool will help the county better locate and protect historic and family cemeteries from unintended disturbance during development.
John McKenzie of the county Conservation Division described a mapping workflow that records cemetery boundaries as polygons using a phone app rather than single points. “When you work with a point…if you don't mind going check…that is where they thought a cemetery was. When it was actually mapped out as a polygon using GPS…you can see that not only is it not on that property, it's on 3 or 4 other properties,” McKenzie said, explaining why polygon mapping matters for permitting and protection.
McKenzie said county records currently list about 517 known cemeteries and staff expect that total could grow toward 700 as volunteers and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) contribute additional finds. He showed examples where more precise polygons could prevent developers from unintentionally disturbing graves.
Council members praised the effort. Councilman English said he appreciated the work and noted that private employers sometimes maintain family grave sites, and Councilman Branham thanked DNR staff and emphasized the duty to respect remains and to share GIS maps publicly to aid planning.
McKenzie said staff will train volunteers and commission staff training so the county can progressively replace single‑point markers with polygons, improving land‑development reviews and permitting decisions. No formal vote or budget action accompanied the demonstration; it was presented as an implementation step of an existing ordinance and a county‑preservation goal.
