Goose Creek woman worried about construction near private graves

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – Residents who live in the Boulder Bluff community are concerned about construction work they feel could threaten some gravesites.

The work is taking place at the intersection of Amy Drive and Judy Drive in Goose Creek.

Katheryn Brennan posted photos of the gravesites on Facebook after noticing construction in the area earlier this year. The marked graves include World War II Army Private James Baylock, Mariah Mazyck Baylock, and Sadie Richardson.

“I heard it was the site of a former African American church that had burned down,” she said.

Brennan said she saw loads of gravel and construction equipment left very close to the existing graves. She’s worried not only about the three graves but also about the other private graves that may exist there.

“That site, having formerly been burned down, there may be unmarked graves of former African American enslaved people, or their family members buried there, and no one knows about those things are being run over by cars and having stuff put on it,” she said.

It appears the construction work is in support of sidewalks that are being added along Amy Drive.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) said they are working on getting News 2 additional information about the work, but we had not heard back from them as of Friday afternoon.