Tourists Uncover Historic Burial Ground on South Carolina’s Edisto Island

Beachgoers on South Carolina’s Edisto Island unearthed a historically significant find that’s got archaeologists buzzing. While strolling near the Jeremy Cay gated community on May 23, tourists stumbled upon what they thought were fossils—turns out, they were human remains, likely tied to a forgotten 19th-century burial ground.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) swooped in, treating the site like a crime scene, though there’s no foul play suspected. The remains, found half a mile from shore, point to Edingsville Beach, a once-thriving resort for Charleston’s elite before the Civil War. Hurricanes and economic collapse later swept the settlement into obscurity, leaving these bones as a haunting reminder.

The Colleton County Coroner’s Office is now working with the Medical University of South Carolina to study the remains, which could unlock stories of the area’s past, from wealthy planters to African American sharecroppers who later claimed the land. Details about the individual and their fate are still a mystery, but the investigation is in full swing.

Edisto Island, steeped in history as part of the Sea Islands, continues to surprise. This discovery joins other recent finds, like Revolutionary War relics in Kershaw County, proving South Carolina’s beaches and battlefields still have secrets to share.