North Charleston blacksmith firm creates gate for Clemson

CLEMSON — Near the southern side of Memorial Stadium, a new 17-foot-tall gate with intricate, swirling designs stands as a striking landmark — one that has nothing to do with the college football team that draws more than 80,0000 people to the stadium on gamedays.

Instead, the gate serves as a formal entrance to Cemetery Hill, the adjacent 17-acre piece of land that includes three distinct cemeteries: the African American burial ground, the Andrew P. Calhoun family plot and Woodland Cemetery.

Once marked by a chain attached to bollards, the cemetery entrance now commemorates all buried there, including the hundreds of unmarked graves of Black individuals who contributed to Clemson University’s growth. The university commissioned Robert Thomas Iron Design, a North Charleston-bas