Jason Harpe (left), providing hands-on instruction at Cemetery Hill.
RGA’s Director of Cemetery Conservation, Jason Harpe, was recently featured in Clemson University’s May Newsletter for his work in supporting the larger Cemetery Hill Project. This project is an ongoing initiative focused on the preservation of the university’s historic burial grounds and honoring those who are interred within them. In celebration of Preservation Month, a nationwide observance led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the newsletter spotlighted the cemetery preservation workshop held at Cemetery Hill led by Mr. Harpe.
The Cemetery Hill Project seeks to preserve three historic cemeteries located on Clemson’s campus: the African American Burial Ground, the A. P. Calhoun Family Plot, and the Woodland Cemetery. Together, these cemeteries form an important part of the university’s cultural landscape and heritage. These cemeteries are the final resting places for over 600 Clemson employees, as well as over 500 unmarked graves of African American enslaved persons, sharecroppers, domestic workers, and their families. Clemson’s Historic Preservation Officer, Rick Owens, organized the hands-on workshop to train faculty, staff, and local preservationists in proper care and repair methods for their use at Cemetery Hill and other local cemeteries.
Over the course of three days in December of 2024, Mr. Harpe instructed participants in a range of cemetery preservation techniques. The workshop activities included cleaning and treating grave markers using D2 biological solution, repairing broken headstones with stone structural epoxy and lime mortar, and raising sunken grave markers to prevent further deterioration. The workshop was held at Cemetery Hill and the Old Stone Church Cemetery in nearby Pendleton, South Carolina, both of which contain significant 18th- and 19th-century burials.
Among the preservation efforts completed during the workshop was the repair of a child’s box tomb and the reassembly of a fractured early-1800s headstone (Pictured Right). Participants also learned best practices in cemetery landscape maintenance and stabilization of burial plots using both gravel and lime mortar.
Since the December workshop, Clemson has continued its preservation efforts with additional events, including a headstone cleaning workshop held during Carrel Cowan-Ricks Day in March 2025, and a volunteer cleaning effort at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church led by Dr. Spencer Roberts and his Cultural Institutions class.
RGA is proud to support the preservation of historic cemeteries and to work with academic institutions like Clemson University in promoting hands-on education and long-term stewardship. We’d also like to thank Clemson University and the Historic Preservation Office for featuring RGA’s work in the May Newsletter and for the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful project!