New First Missionary Baptist Church Burial Ground

The general purpose of this project was twofold: to create a precedent and model for mapping heritage sites in the Lowcountry, and to provide the New First Missionary Baptist Church with a tangible, yet flexible, representation of their burial grounds that could be displayed by the community. The second aim is made more difficult by the additional need to create a map that has specific and accurate archaeological information, while also being aesthetically-pleasing and a satisfying representation of important community landscapes. The plots at the New First Missionary Baptist Church contain the remains of generations of local families, buried since 1819. Cemeteries like this on Edisto Island predate modern laws that require long-term plans for funding and ongoing maintenance. African and African descendant people's burial sites are disappearing from the American landscape, taking with them history, heritage and a people's place in the rapidly changing world. The restoration, preservation and documentation of these treasured gravesites is intended to honor the histories of the deceased, which hold over two hundred years of this unique island town's spiritual, natural, and cultural heritage.