Many old Lexington County cemeteries remain hidden and unknown because the graves were marked with field stones or now rotted wooded markers.

This is especially true for older African-American cemeteries. A cemetery in what is now Governors Grant subdivision contains the remains of slaves of John Fox and their descendants. John Fox’s plantation, the Point, was where Governors Grant is today.

Only 2 graves have markers for John Walter Dreher and George Harris Jr.

Both men died while training for World War I. They were also cousins whose maternal grandparents, Walter and Jemima Leaphart, were slaves on Fox’s plantation.

JR Fennell is Lexington County Museum director