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 80,000 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-based blacksmith studio, to create the hand-forged ironwork.
“This gate will stand for generations,” said Robert Thomas, the founder of the company. “We hope those who pass through it feel the weight of history and the beauty of remembrance.”
Robert Thomas, the CEO of Robert Thomas Iron Design in North Charleston, shares some of his firm’s mentality on the floral design of a gate they were hired to forge for the Woodland Cemetery at Clemson University.
Throughout much of the university’s history, the cemetery did not serve as a place of remembrance. Many students used the path as a cut-through to get to the parking lot or as a tailgate spot ahead of football games.
Enclosed by a fence atop a hill on the property is the Calhoun family plot, the final resting place of Andrew Pickens Calhoun, who was John C. Calhoun’s eldest son, and his descendants. Nearby lies Woodland Cemetery, founded as a segregated cemetery for White employees at Clemson, that includes nearly 600 marked graves.
It was known that African American burials existed on the west side of the property, but the extent was not realized until recently.
Five years ago, researchers started using ground penetrating radar to recover more than 500 unmarked graves believed to belong to Black individuals who played a role in Clemson’s history. They included enslaved people and sharecroppers who worked on Fort Hill, convicted laborers who helped build the college and wage workers and families who were employed by the school. While very little specific information exists about the people buried there, the Cemetery Hill research team is working to uncover what they can.
The gate designed by Robert Thomas Iron Design in North Charleston sits at the entrance of Clemson University’s Cemetery Hill to honor the three burial sites on the grounds.
“The recovery of hundreds of anomalies believed to be unmarked graves in Cemetery Hill has enabled us to better understand the size and scope of the African American Burial Ground, which is much larger than previously acknowledged,” said Rhondda Thomas, a Clemson professor who serves as the research and community engagement coordinator for the Cemetery Hill project.
The Cemetery Hill research team is continuing genealogical searches on the unmarked graves, she said. Other efforts to recognize the burial site include special tours, workshops on historic preservation of cemeteries and hosting the annual Day of Remembrance when a flower is placed on every grave.
Gate symbolizes ‘new beginnings’
The gate serves as another effort to honor those buried in the cemetery.
The focal point of the gate is the bouquet of three calla lilies placed at the top to represent the distinct burial grounds at Cemetery Hill. A root system feeds through the entire piece, then grows into a tree that blossoms into the bouquet, to symbolize growth, peace and new beginnings, said Robert Thomas, who has no relation to Rhondda Thomas.
It took close to a month to design a flower that was both beautiful and functional — one that can “stand the test of time,” he said. They had to make sure the flower could drain water, instead of acting like a cup that would quickly rust. They created an opening at the base of the flower to allow water and small debris, like acorns, to pass through.
One of the prototypes of a flower that were placed on the top of the gate for Clemson’s Woodland Cemetery sits on the desk with other pieces matching the design from that project, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in North Charleston.
“These are just concerns that we have to weigh against the aesthetic and the context of the piece,” he said.
During the design process, Rhondda Thomas said the Cemetery Hill research team hosted community events to gather input on certain elements that should be included in the gate. Throughout the effort, members of the team visited the North Charleston shop to see the progress.
Each piece is handmade, from the fence pickets to the intricate leaves and flowers featured on the piece.
Inside the blacksmith studio located at the former Charleston Naval Base, loud reverberations of power hammers forging steel echo throughout the large open-air warehouse. Flaming furnaces turn the steel into a bright yellow or even white as the skilled craftsmen precisely shape the pieces.
At Robert Thomas Iron Design, they use traditional blacksmithing techniques and equipment to ensure a custom, hands-on product.
Paul Reilly uses tools to twist a steel beam into a heart shape at the forge for a large project the firm is working on, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in North Charleston.
“We have raw materials come in one side and finished product comes out the other,” Robert Thomas said. “Everything happens in this building.”
Racks of tools line the back corner of the industrial studio. The tools, like tongs and power hammer tools, are custom made for each project. For the Clemson gate, Robert Thomas said roughly 10 percent of the work was prototyping the parts. Then, they made the tools specifically designed for those parts before producing the final parts.
The craftsmen work with traditional forging machines that are 70 to 100 years old. They purchase the machines from Europe, ship them to the studio and rebuild them. The machines support the work of the craftsmen, instead of the machines controlling the manufacturing, said Eric Doesburg, the chief financial officer at the company.
“The craftsman tells the tool where to do the work,” he said.
For Doesburg, being a part of the Clemson project was personal. As a graduate of the university roughly 30 years ago and a huge Tiger fan, he didn’t think anything could make him love his alma mater more. Then, he met Rhondda Thomas, who told him after learning more about the Cemetery Hill project that his love for Clemson will grow.
Earlier this spring, the Robert Thomas team went to Clemson to install the gate and attend an unveiling ceremony. Doesburg stood next to the cemetery and reflected on his time as a student. He remembered routinely walking through the cemetery from his dorm to the parking lot. He said the cemetery wasn’t taken care of then. He wasn’t aware of the history.
“It didn’t tell a story,” he said. “It was a cemetery and that was it.”
The project gave him a new “depth of understanding” about his alma mater. He said seeing the university’s leadership back the efforts to restore and acknowledge the cemetery’s history meant a lot. It serves as a moment for the university to “right a wrong,” he said.
During the visit, he saw students stopping to look at the gate and slowing down as they walked through the grounds.
“Not a single time in my entire career there did I ever pause in that cemetery,” he said. “The fact I saw physically students pausing and looking and appreciating it.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
