Hermon Presbyterian Church ~ 1869

Hermon Presbyterian Church was organized in 1869 in a small building at the rear of the former church building.  Reverend J.A. Rainey was the first minister to serve the church, which had a congregation of forty-one members.  The church also served as an elementary mission school for Negro children because then no public school was available.

May 14, 1897 the Ground-breaking Ceremony of the former church was held.  The land for the Church was surveyed and purchased at a public auction in front of the Post Office in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  Reverend C. M. Young was the bidder for the land.

Participants at the Ground-breaking Ceremony included Reverend Alexander Sprunt of the First Presbyterian Church of Rock Hill, Reverend C. M. Young, Reverend T. W. Thompson of Blacksburg, Reverend O. G. Jones of White Memorial  Church, Reverend J. W. Moultrie of the M. E. Church, Prof. M. D. Lee of Clinton Institute, Reverend T. S. Gilmore of Mt. Prospect Baptist Church, Presiding Elder William Robinson and Reverend T. L. Toatley.  Mrs. A. C. Rainey and Reverend C. M. Young lifted the first shovel of dirt.  This was a pleasant day in history Hermon Presbyterian Church.

142 years later...

1999 was an exciting year for Hermon Presbyterian Church, saw the culmination of years of hard work that had been going on since the old church building was severely damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.  When it was determined that the old building would be too expensive to remodel and there was not enough land for expansion, it was sold to a church member who planned to use it for an African-American museum. 

In the fall of 1999, construction on a 10, 132 square foot building was begun on land the church owned on Heckle Boulevard.  This site had been determined by a Synod of South Atlantic study as the best site in all of South Carolina for a new African-American congregation.  Funds were raised by a campaign within the congregation, the sale of the old building, from both the Presbytery and the Synod, and the funds from various projects such as the Presbytery’s square foot club and the Pentecost offering for 1999, and various churches throughout Providence Presbytery.

A donor from Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church (OAPC), who wishes to remain anonymous, promised to give a dollar for each two dollars raised by other members of his church.  

Hermon Church has played an important role in the development and preservation of the ethnic heritage of blacks in Rock Hill.  The church has been a cohesive-community organization for several generations among black residents of Rock Hill. Leaders in education, politics and the civil rights movement have come from Hermon and have influenced the progress made by black citizens.  Hermon will continue that legacy by striving to illuminate and eliminate social injustice for ALL Americans here in Rock Hill and throughout the nation.