Skip to main content

The Cemetery inside the Interstate 85 Median

Image
By
Near Gaffney, South Carolina between exits 95 and 96, Interstate 85 separates to allow for a wider median.  The reason - a small family cemetery that dates to the mid-1800s.  The Lipscomb-Sarratt or  Ross-Lipscomb cemetery is an example of the numerous small family burial plots that were found within many rural farms and plantations throughout the South during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The cemetery consists of at least 13 gravestones with six that still have legible markings.  Most of those buried passed away between 1850-1880.   The cemetery is also one of the oldest in Cherokee County.



How the cemetery came to exist in the middle of an increasingly busy Interstate 85 is an interesting story.  In the early 1950s, South Carolina moved US 29 onto a newly built a two lane express highway from the North Carolina State Line near Grover to northwest of Spartanburg.  At the time, the cemetery sat just to the new highway's south.  What is now the Southbound lanes of Interstate 85 carried this new highway.
Interstate 85 first appeared in Upstate South Carolina around 1959. (SCDOT /Mike Roberson)
When the Interstate Highway System was created in 1956, the new US 29 highway would become part of Interstate 85.  With two lanes of the road already built, South Carolina quickly built two additional lanes of highway and closed any existing at grade intersections.  By 1959, a four lane Interstate 85 was open in the area.  SCDOT, wishing not to disturb the gravesite, built the new northbound lanes of the highway immediately to the south of the cemetery.

For years, the cemetery was accessible by a little known dirt road that connected the two carriageways of the Interstate.  This was to allow relatives of the families to maintain some upkeep of the grounds.  Over time, the dirt road has disappeared and upkeep of the property has become more difficult.  Distant relatives or anyone that knew of the site and wanted to investigate typically will park on the right hand shoulder and hustle across the highway.  Currently, a construction project that will widen Interstate 85 to six lanes has resulted in concrete barriers along the median making it rather difficult to visit the site.  The construction project is expected to last until 2021.  The widening project will keep the wide median and cemetery intact.

The new Interstate 85 Exit 95 configuration once the widening is completed.  The cemetery will remain in place.  (SCDOT)

Sources, Links, & Further Reading:


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

By
Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado
Post a Comment
Read more

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

By
Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 152 east of Pacheco through the San Luis Reservoir

By
Dinosaur Point Road east of Pacheco Pass to the waters of the San Luis Reservoir is the original alignment of California State Route 152.  Since July 1965, California State Route 152 has been realigned east of Pacheco Pass via a modernized expressway.  The original alignment of California State Route 152 on occasion reemerges from the San Luis Reservoir at Dinosaur Point.  Pictured above as the blog cover is the original alignment of California State Route 152 at Dinosaur Point disappearing eastward into the waters of the San Luis Reservoir.  Below California State Route 152 can be seen passing through what is now the San Luis Reservoir east of Pacheco Pass on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Merced County. Part 1; the history of California State Route 152 east of Pacheco Pass through the San Luis Reservoir site The present site of the San Luis Reservoir during the era of Alta California was part of Rancho San Luis Gonzaga.  Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was granted to Francisco Jose Riv
Post a Comment
Read more