At Deaths Door

Walking among the graves of Magnolia Cemetery was an awe-inspiring experience that allows one to literally walk among history.  The location of the cemetery was a little peculiar being that it was not as close to the main part of Charleston as one would expect. Never the less, the cemetery was beautiful not only because of the marsh in the background and the little pond in the middle of the cemetery but because of the gravestones which were pieces of art that is truly what made the whole place breathtaking.

                The layout of the cemetery was also very interesting. It was almost like a little neighborhood as it were. Throughout the whole cemetery, there were streets with signs and names associated with them like Cunnington loop South, North, and Greenhill Section. This setup made for navigating simple and easy. Along with streets, the cemetery had a pond complete with a bridge that stretched across connecting the two ends. The layout of the whole place was aesthetically pleasing and could not have been planned out any better. 

                Out of all the magnificent pieces of art that Magnolia had to offer there were three that I found to be most interesting. These three included the Gibbs Mausoleum, the William and Hattie Bird Monument, and the Receiving Tomb. All three of which were magnificent pieces of art with stories to tell.

                - The Gibbs Mausoleum was quite interesting to me at first due to the fact that it has grass growing all over the top of it. This is called a Tumulus which consists of artificially created mounds of dirt and stones. James Schoolbred Gibbs was the benefactor for this mausoleum where he and eight other members of his family once resided. This family arrived from Barbados to be highly involved in the United States Government with one even becoming the governor of Carolina Province from 1710-12.  The Gibbs family has also been in instrumental in financing museums and art exhibits which is shown in their final resting place such as the tumulus being a burial method since before the time of the Illiad and the drapes urn representing the physical body staying here on earth while the spirit moves on.

                - The Bird Monument was built in 1882 in the likeness Hattie Bird who died earlier that year of heart disease. This monument is one of the only monuments made in the likeness of one of its inhabitants and contains many Christian symbols like the cross and crown and the XP which are the first two letters in Greek for Christ. The benefactor of this monument and husband of Hattie Bird was one William Bird who was a highly respected businessman who would outlive his beloved by 38 years before dying of cancer. He was a member of the Knights Templar, the Free Masons and a board member of his floor covering company till the time of his death. He lived a long and extremely productive life and will be remembered for many things including his love for his wife.

                - The Receiving Tomb to me has to be the most interesting part of Magnolia Cemetery. It was built in the year 1850 and was meant to house the body of people who are waiting for their final resting place to be completed. Sadly due to foundational issues, the tomb itself has been put to rest while repairs can be made. The Preservation Society of Charleston is in charge of this project and so far a hard rock foundation has been built for the tomb to prevent its fall into the marsh. The people that this tomb has held who were in wait for their final resting place is astounding and interesting. It is a shame that time and erosion have made this tomb unusable but the silver lining in this unfortunate event is that it still stands and its story can still be told.

               

                The whole Magnolia experience was amazing and I am glad that I was able to go on this journey and experience the rich history that it provided. This place holds a lot of important people and history and to see it still thriving and being kept up with is very heartwarming that these peoples stories are continuing to be told. Again, this was an amazing experience that I plan to do again. Hopefully, everything will stay the same the for years to come and until next time I see dead people.

Info: Credited to Patrick Harwood and his book. This is where I found out about the history of each of the monuments.