The Graniteville Cemetery is considered one of the most interesting and spooky places in Aiken County, if not South Carolina, and it is home to an old, unique grave that has been a topic of conversation for 161 years this year.

In a part of the Graniteville Cemetery that cannot be seen from the road, where most all the graves are well more than 100 years old, there lays a small, unassuming grave sitting alone that reads, “The Little Boy” with the date October 1855.

The grave has a small rectangular wall surrounding the front to outline where the boy is buried, and within that rectangle, a visitor to the grave may find an array of toys, flowers, coins and candles.

Currently, there is a hand-knitted blanket covering the entire grave.

Buddy Wingard is a member the Horse Creek Historical Society, and he has extensive knowledge of the Graniteville Cemetery and the story behind the grave.

Legend has it that in October 1855, there was a train going between Charleston and Hamburg, South Carolina, with an unknown boy on board who was noticeably sick and all alone, Wingard said.

The boy went unconscious and the conductor took him off the train at the Warrenville station, which was a half-mile from Graniteville, he said.

The child was then taken to the Graniteville Hotel, where he was cared for until he tragically died a few days later. Residents in the town felt so bad for the unknown child who had died all alone in a strange town that they rallied together to make sure he was laid to rest with respect and care, Wingard said.

A local cabinetmaker built a casket for him, while townspeople contributed scraps of satin and silk for its lining, he said.

William Gregg, the founder of Graniteville, had set off land for a cemetery, and he donated the spot where the boy was laid to rest, Wingard said.

Wingard said the little boy’s grave is in the oldest part of the Graniteville Cemetery, and the original headstone was replaced at some point when restoration was done on older parts of the graveyard. Now, the little boy can be visited anytime of the year.

It is common for families to visit the grave together. Parents who heard the story as children pass it down to their children. It is also traditional to take a gift for the boy to accompany him in the afterlife.

However, it isn’t really known when the tradition of leaving items on the grave began, though Wingard said many believe it started after the restoration of the grave. ~Aiken Standard

From the Aiken Standard (newspaper):
According to Boyd and Diane Gunter, president of the Horse Creek Historical Society, a train came through Aiken Station - then located in Warrenville - carrying, among others, a little boy. The boy, who was approximately 12 years old, was traveling alone and was too sick to speak. He didn't have any form of identification with him so he was taken in by Henry Senn, an area wagoner whose wife operated the Graniteville Hotel, to be nursed back to health when he'd be able to tell his story.

The little boy's fever never broke, and he died a few days later. He took his identity and the purpose for his trip with him to his grave, which was provided by the people of Graniteville.
"The village folk 'nickeled' up and had Mr. Lawrence Quimby, the coffin maker, build a coffin," Boyd said.
In addition, William Gregg, the founder of Graniteville, donated a burial plot in the cemetery. As was the case with other families that couldn't provide a gravestone, Gregg provided a cedar marker until the people of Graniteville saved enough money to purchase a permanent stone for the Little Boy.
This is another element that has added a sense of intrigue to his story.
"Time had passed, and no one could remember the day he died, so his stone reads, 'The Little Boy, October 1855,'" Boyd said.
The generosity of Graniteville didn't stop with the interment of the Little Boy. Over the years, the grave has been visited by many adults who leave flowers and children who leave coins, toys and other small gifts.
"This is probably the most visited grave in the cemetery," Gunter said of the final resting place of many, which also includes 83 Confederate soldiers.
As part of preserving the history of Graniteville and Aiken County, the historical society has maintained its monuments. The grave and tombstone of the Little Boy are no exception.
Enduring vagrants and vandalism are factors in the deterioration of the Graniteville Cemetery, which is only open to visitors during the day. Time and natural erosion ultimately have been the biggest culprits in the diminishing aesthetic beauty. The Little Boy's tombstone, the one which replaced the original cedar marker, broke over the years and is currently propped on the grave.
The historical society and the Graniteville Cemetery Association are in the process of buying a new tombstone. In addition, the historical society will beautify the grave by covering it with gravel, planting three crape myrtle trees and installing a bench for visitors.
Dedicated to the preservation and upkeep of the Little Boy's grave, not to mention his story, Boyd and Gunter are quick to point out there are so many more stories to tell. Many can be found in Graniteville Cemetery.
"Tombstones do talk," Boyd said of the symbolism and literal information they possess.
"There is so much here, a lot of history," Gunter said. "But this is what everybody knows - the Little Boy."

From the Gaffney Ledger dated 22 Dec 1982 page 4.