Unitarian Church Graveyard
Begun in 1772 and finally completed in 1787 after British troops quartered in it during the Revolution, the Unitarian Church in Charleston is the oldest Unitarian church in the South and a National Historic Landmark, its graveyard left deliberately wild because the congregation believes the dead should not be disturbed. Among the vines and leaning stones, visitors and tour guests have reported a "Lady in White" drifting the overgrown paths, seen behind speakers dozens of times over the years. One enduring strand of the legend names her Mary Whitridge, who lived across the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant with her ailing husband Edward; when he was sent north for treatment he died on the voyage and was buried far away, and Mary, by the telling, collapsed and died the very same day. She was laid in the family plot here with the space meant for Edward left forever empty beside her, and those who glimpse the pale figure say it is Mary still pacing the green dark, searching for the husband who never came home.
📍 4 Archdale Street, Charleston, SC 29401, Charleston, SC · Get directions