Magnolia Cemetery was established in 1850 and covered 92 acres. It is the oldest public cemetery in Charleston. Many prominent South Carolinians are buried at Magnolia Cemetery. Magnolia is beautifully landscaped with winding drives and paths interspersed with small ponds and a lake. Many Charlestonians would come to Magnolia to picnic and play, as well as visit lost loved ones.

Magnolia Cemetery also contains great examples of late 19th century cemetery architecture and sculpture as well as excellent examples of iron work. Today, Magnolia Cemetery continues as one of the best and most beautiful examples of rural and Victorian cemetery design in the U.S.

Magnolia Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District in 1978.
Dedicated in 1850 by Charles Fraser.
Nearest city: Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates: 32°49'6?N 79°56'32?W
Area: 92 acres (37 ha)
Built: 1850
Architect: Edward C. Jones
NRHP reference #78002502
Added to NRHP: March 24, 1978
Notable interments:
William Aiken, Jr. (1806–1887), US Congressman, South Carolina Governor
John Bennett (1865–1956), author and illustrator
Thomas Bennett, Jr. (1781–1865), Governor of South Carolina
William H. Brawley (1841–1916), U.S. Representative from South Carolina and United States federal judge
Sallie F. Chapin (1830-1896), organized the Charleston Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1881, the first in the state and served as first State president in 1883
Langdon Cheves (1776–1857), American politician and a president of the Second Bank of the United States
James Conner (general) (1829–1883), Confederate general in the American Civil War
George E. Dixon (1837–1864), Commander of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. (1911–2001), author
William J. Grayson (1788–1863), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Wilson Godfrey Harvey (1866–1932), Governor of South Carolina
Daniel Elliott Huger (1779–1854), US Senator from South Carolina
Horace Lawson Hunley (1823–1863), Confederate marine engineer, developer of early submarines
Micah Jenkins (1835–1864), Confederate general
Mitchell Campbell King (1815–1901), physician
George Swinton Legaré (1869–1913), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Hugh S. Legaré (1797–1843), 16th U.S. Attorney General
William Turner Logan (1874–1941), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Andrew Gordon Magrath (1813–1893), South Carolina Governor
Burnet Rhett Maybank (1899–1954), US Senator, South Carolina Governor
John Darlington Newcomer (1867–1931), American architect[5]
Josephine Pinckney (1895–1957), novelist and poet
St. Julien Ravenel (1819–1882), physician and chemist
Robert Rhett (1869–1913), U.S. Representative and Senator from South Carolina
Roswell S. Ripley (1823–1887), Confederate general
William Gilmore Simms (1806–1870), poet, novelist and historian
Charles Henry Simonton (1829–1904), Confederate Colonel and federal judge on 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
Julius Waties Waring (1880–1968), United States federal judge linked to the American Civil Rights Movement.
Richard Smith Whaley (1874–1951), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
British war graves of five Royal Navy and Merchant Navy personnel of World War II.