Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • History and Genealogy
  • Spirits of Springwood

Spirits of Springwood

Posted on October 24, 2011 By Tom 3 Comments on Spirits of Springwood
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography

Spirits of Springwood-31

This past Sunday Laura and went on the Spirits of Springwood Tour sponsored by the Upcountry History Museum. Springwood Cemetery features many historic graves and lots of interesting headstones and carvings. I’ve visited many times on photo walks, but thought it would be interesting to get an “official” tour.

There were two tours scheduled – one starting at 5:00 pm and one at 6:45 pm.  I initially wanted to do the 5:00 pm tour because the lighting would be so much better for photography.  However, Laura convinced me that the 6:45 tour with flashlights would be fun, and that this wasn’t really a photography tour.

Photography tour or not, I came prepared.  I had my DSLR with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, my trusty Nikon S70 sidearm, and the little infrared point-and-shoot I’d used on our Blue Ghost excursion.  I knew a tripod wouldn’t be appropriate for a tour, so I brought cameras that would work well (mostly) in low-light situations.

As usual, we arrived early. I took advantage of the waning afternoon light to take a few photos.

Spirits of Springwood-30Spirits of Springwood-32Spirits of Springwood-13

Thomas McAfee Funeral Home was one of the evening’s sponsors (appropriately enough) and had a funeral tent set up as a gathering spot for the tour just inside the main gates. Once we checked in, we headed back out front to the Confederate Memorial for an orientation.

Spirits of SpringwoodConfederate MemorialConfederate Memorial

One point that was made during our orientation was that this is a park. Public cemeteries have always be viewed as parks, and at one time people even enjoyed picnics and playing in cemeteries. Modern sentiments seem to call for a more respectful approach to these public spaces, but it is still a city park, and open to all.

We divided into two groups and headed on into the cemetery. After passing back through the gates we gathered with our guide, Debbie Spear, who gave us some background on the various symbols we were likely to see, as well as a history of some of the carvings.

Springwood GatesSpirits of Springwood-4

I won’t try to replicate the tour here. We did see many examples of cemetery imagery, including pall-draped columns…

Pall-draped Column

…lambs and doves, usually for the innocence of a child…

LambTwin Doves

…broken columns indicating a life cut short, and various hands reaching from the afterlife, either clasping or pointing.

Hand PointingClasped Hands

There were also gates, angels, willows, dogwoods, and symbols from the person’s life, such as eagles or other organizational emblems.

Spirits of Springwood-7Spirits of Springwood-8Spirits of Springwood-5

Debbie took us to the graves of several of Greenville’s prominent citizens, including the crypt of Charles Daniels and others. Laura was particularly interested in the Furman University plot, which has the graves of several chemistry professors we both knew, as well as the grave of recently departed president John E. Johns.

The most striking statue in the cemetery is prominently featured on a hill in a circle. It marks the graves of the Heldmann family. George Heldmann was a saddle maker from Germany who became one of the wealthiest men in town. He had arranged a marriage for his daughter, Fannie, with one of his business associates. Rather than marry, Fannie committed suicide by drowning herself in the Reedy River. Heldmann had a tall statue constructed, which now serves as the guardian angel for Springwood.

Spirits of Springwood-25

The tour was fascinating, and it was fun in the dark. However, I do want to go back and visit some of these locations when I can view the graves and headstones a bit more clearly. As far as photography was concerned, I found that the little IR camera did much better with close subjects where the IR light could reflect back from it, such as these:

Spirits of Springwood-12Spirits of Springwood-10

The DSLR was able to take advantage of the low light from the flashlights with the fast f/1.8 lens, and gave better color and details than the IR lens. Here are two shots of the same set of headstones, the first with IR illuminated with flashlights, and the second with the 50mm lens:

Spirits of Springwood-6Spirits of Springwood-26

I still want to try getting an IR flashlight and seeing if that might help, but I don’t think it will beat the regular camera with a good lens for detail and color.

But back to the cemetery…

The tour was well worth the price of admission. The Upcountry Museum sponsors these on a regular basis, so be watching for the next tours. Until then, though, the City of Greenville’s GIS department has put together an excellent Springwood Cemetery Viewer, with a map of the cemetery, and a search box to find those buried therein. It’s also well worth a visit.

Springwod GIS

Tags: cemetery Greenville history Photography South Carolina Springwood Cemetery

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Happy Frances Willard Day!
Next Post: Sock Saga Update ❯

3 thoughts on “Spirits of Springwood”

  1. Ken Cothran says:
    October 26, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    I don’t know why, but when I see the image with which you lead the story, I think of the Harry Potter cemetery scenes, particularly the scene in the snow when Harry visits Godrick’s Hollow. What an amazing image!

    Reply
  2. William Bates says:
    December 6, 2019 at 2:20 am

    I wrote a collection of songs based on the story of
    Fannie Heldmann called Across the River. I have CDS of the song cycle and
    Songs, Photos, and videos at the site listed below.

    Reply
  3. William Bates says:
    December 6, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    http://www.reverbnation.com/acrosstheriver

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (200)
  • Entertainment (202)
  • Family (121)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (99)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (266)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (451)
  • Miscellaneous (550)
  • Music (196)
  • Paddling (248)
  • Photography (779)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (227)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (411)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (60)

Recent Posts

  • In Search of the Road Builder
  • The Phoenix Riots and Dr. Benjamin Mays – An MLK Day Ramble
  • An Obsession with Steak Knives
  • An Epiphany on Patriotism
  • Kayaking Bates Old River and Running Creek

Recent Comments

  • Walter Kokoszka on Mysterious Mayucha and The Wolf Pit
  • Elizabeth on The Temple of Health: Ground-Truthing in Antreville
  • The Bay Area Basketball Fan’s Guide to March Madness on FU All the Time!
  • Why You Should Root For This March Madness Underdog on FU All the Time!
  • Gregory Davis on Ghost Towns of the Pee Dee – Part 2, Centenary

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
March 2023
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jan    

Copyright © 2023 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown