David Richardson - Pickens County’s Grave Digger

By Donna Bain
Staff Writer

Everybody knows a lot of business has to be taken care of when there is a death in the family. One thing that has to happen that is often taken for granted is the grave has to be dug in order for the per- son who died to be buried.
If you have ever been around when a grave is being dug in Pickens County, you have probably run into David Richardson. Richardson got his start digging graves because he saw there was a need for a grave digger in Pickens County during the 70s.
“Pickens County Water Authority said if I would buy a backhoe, I could set their meters and fix their leaks,” said Richardson. “That is the reason I bought a backhoe. That didn’t last long because they bought their own backhoe. Most grave diggers in Pickens County at that time came from Mississippi or somewhere else. I had the equipment to do it, and so I began digging graves.”
When asked how many graves he digs in a week, Richardson explained, “We do 100 graves a year, at least, if not more. Sometimes we might go four or five days and not dig one, and then you’ll have three in a row to do.”