A little research and I found this statue has a name ‘Little German Boy’. Considering the time frame of the headstones, places of birth, it fits.
The Bethany Cemetery was created when the old Lutheran one in Charleston suddenly was full due to a yellow fever epidemic.
Later on the actual site of the first cemetery was lost. In the 1930’s the church land was sold off in lots, fast forward to 1981 and graves were found during excavation. Later on 437 graves were relocated to Bethany.
The skyline.
Once a cattle farm, in a place that should never have had cattle.
The house must have been impressive in it’s time, a Victorian alone in a wilderness.
Another small child monument that makes you stop in your tracks.
Bethany Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina.
Photographers drive right past this beautiful site. The old Magnolia Cemetery is at the end of this small road. The Charleston Cemeteries Historic District encompasses a cluster of 23 cemeteries north of downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
Owned and maintained by St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, the land was purchased by the church in 1856 when its first cemetery on Reid Street – called Hampstedt Cemetery – reached capacity during a yellow fever outbreak.
Early grave sites are primarily of German Lutherans, members of the original St. Matthews congregation.
The chapel here has one of the last ‘Receiving Tombs’ along with Magnolia that still exist. The deceased were placed here until the burial site was ready. They were common up north where the ground might be frozen.
The grounds here have a different feel from the older Magnolia Cemetery. Sites are newer and the grounds are more laid out like a traditional cemetery.
When Magnolia was first opened a cemetery was a new idea. Burials had always been in a church grave yard. The first ‘destination’ type cemetery was the St. Louis # 1 in New Orleans LA., next was St. Bonaventure down the road in Savannah GA, Magnolia here was a few years later. These three cemeteries are the most famous, and filmed, in the US.
Bethany  is known for its fine Victorian-era funerary headstones and monuments.
The history of Charleston is reflected in it’s cemeteries.
Here, a place of German immigrants.
This is located in Bethany Cemetery, Charleston.
I have seen many different types of headstones for young children in the old sites. This may be one of the more poignant and touching.
The entrance to my house is just not as grand as this.
Usually I work with black and white here, these are some of the originals too nice to bury.
When I first started shooting old homes and cathedrals I went for wide images, get everything in a single shot. I learned an expensive lesson, shot some elegant German churches that turned out not so good, I now pay attention to details.
Click any image below for a full size view.
