Two years ago, Monrovia Union Cemetery in Charleston’s Neck Area was overgrown and flooded. But now it is restored and expanded.
The work is a welcomed transformation for Monrovia where more than 1,000 people have been interred, beginning in the late 1800s, said Charleston resident Sabrena Sheppard, secretary of the cemetery’s board of directors.
Highland Resources, based in Houston, Texas, completed the restoration work this spring, a company spokesman said. The company is building the mixed-used development, Magnolia Landing, next to the cemetery on Oceanic Street.
“We appreciate everything they have done, and I am sure the grave owners are very pleased,” Sheppard said.
Looking to the future, Sheppard said the cemetery could use “a more concerted effort by the current grave owners” to maintain the 3.7-acre cemetery between the Ashley River and Interstate 26.
The company trucked in soil to prevent flood damage, replaced cracked bricks and headstones, installed a weather-resistant fence and has scheduled regular landscaping, a company spokesman said.
The company also donated an acre adjacent to the cemetery to give it room to expand, the spokesman said.
In about 10 years, Magnolia Landing is expected to be Charleston’s largest commercial and residential development since the city annexed Daniel Island three decades ago.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
