His enthusiasm and hard work was a prime factor in making the project successful. Mayor Cheatham was responsible for tapping many resources to help with the project. This committee worked hard and had several successful campaigns. Montgomery, David Philips, Ellen Robinson, Buster Smith, James Sulton, David Wallace, Mimi Wannamaker, Clemmie Webber, Michael A. Members of the present Cemetery Committee are Janye Clement, Charlotte Dixon, Harvey Durant, Vickie Green, Jerry Govan, Jr., Maude Lawerence, John Lessane, Jr., Eugene A.R. TodayĪfter the transfer of the cemetery to the City of Orangeburg was completed in 1994, a committee was formed to raise money to fence in the cemetery and make other improvements. Management of the property was transferred from the private Cemetery Association to the City of Orangeburg in 1994 and the site was annexed as a public historic resource under the supervision of the City of Orangeburg Parks and Recreation Department. This $500 award was used for cemetery improvements and upkeep. Later the cemetery site was recognized by the presentation of the Readers’ Digest Award for Community Service. In 1987 the Association received a Keep America Beautiful Award for work in conserving the cemetery property, through the efforts of a local Girl Scouts Troop, directed by Mrs. Mayor Cheatham then made it possible for the committee to meet with City Council. Councilman Haire soon got Mayor Martin C. Members of the Epsilon Omega Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Councilman Bernard Haire joined the group. With this money, Herbert Myers was hired to help with the project. About 100 of the 300 people written answered, some contributing as much as $100. They wrote as many plot owners as they could locate asking them to contribute $25 a year to help improve the appearance of the cemetery. John Salley, Daniel Moore, and Geraldyne Zimmerman formed an ad hoc committee to take up the challenge. In 1984 a committee of six interested people including Maude Lawerence, Sadie Dash McNair, Rev.

They worked for months, but with hand tools, were not able to accomplish much. These two women served lemonade and bologna sandwiches to those who worked to clean the cemetery, which looked like a wilderness.

In 1975 they appealed to churches and civic organizations to send people out early on Saturday mornings, with their own tools, to clean up the cemetery. Lillie Jackson Matthews (1893 - 1987) and Hazel Tatnall Pierce (1888 - 1982) were pioneers in the Orangeburg Cemetery restoration project. The property remained in private hands from 1938 until the 1990s and was maintained by a vigilant group of private citizens. The cemetery is considered to be the oldest, non-church affiliated, private cemetery organized for African Americans in Orangeburg County. Minus (whose position as an officer was not specified). Officers of the Association who signed the deed were Major John H. Brown subsequently deeded the land to the Orangeburg Cemetery Association. Brown was reimbursed by the sale of individual shares in the property at $10 per share.

The final payment on the site was made on September 3, 1896. Brown on behalf of the fledgling cemetery organization. The formalization of the association followed closely upon the purchase of a tract of land acquired on April 1, 1889, by Rev. The individuals listed on the organization's original charter of incorporation are Rev. On April 5, 1889, several leading citizens of color, having determined the need for a cemetery to be established at Orangeburg for its residents of African descent, combined their efforts to charter the Orangeburg Cemetery Association.

Robert webber gravesite