CHARLESTON, S.C. — Residents and religious leaders gathered on the downtown lot at 106 Coming St. to honor the people believed to lie beneath the ground where the College of Charleston intends to put up a new residence hall for first-year students.
From 1794 to 1807 the property was part of a public burial ground run by the city. Historians think the number of graves could reach into the thousands, among them poor residents, travelers, orphaned children and both enslaved and free people of African descent who were never given marked graves.
The program combined quiet reflection, prayer, a libation, drumming, song and dance, and closed with a shared meal. Organizers came from a community task force devoted to commemorating and memorializing the burial ground, and more than a dozen leaders from Christian and Muslim congregations took turns speaking.
Physical work at the site is close. A ground-penetrating radar study done in February picked up more than 175 anomalies, roughly two dozen of which may be graves. A college spokesperson said crews will pull up the asphalt parking lot that covers most of the property at some point after Oct. 25, and a second radar survey will come before any digging.
The project has drawn pushback. The college first went to the city Board of Architectural Review in June 2025 for permission to tear down the building that once stood there, and on Sept. 26 the Charleston NAACP and a group opposing the dorm held a rally at Burke High School to object to the plans.
