Rock Presbyterian Church — Greenwood, South Carolina

When Presbyterians began arriving to the South Carolina backcountry in the mid-eighteenth century, a group of Presbyterian ministers from New York and Pennsylvania settled in an area called Rocky Creek just north of present-day Greenwood in 1770 and formed a Presbyterian church called Rocky Creek Church. The congregation built a frame structure soon afterwards, replacing it with a larger wooden sanctuary in 1815. By 1844 the church was officially chartered, and its name was changed to Rock Presbyterian Church the following year.

As the town of Greenwood grew during the mid-nineteenth century, a need arose for a closer church. First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood was established, with Rock Presbyterian Church minister John McLees noted as a founding father of the congregation. Rock Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood shared a minister until 1890. By 1892, Rock Presbyterian had become inactive due to low membership, with most local Presbyterians attending First Presbyterian of Greenwood instead.

By the mid-twentieth century, First Presbyterian decided to help reopen its mother church, Rock Presbyterian, as part of its mission and outreach. As a result, in 1956 the church became active again, and the present stone sanctuary replaced the 1815 wooden church in 1960; the frame church had burned the year before. Rock Presbyterian Church continues to serve the residents of the Rocky Creek area of Greenwood.

Rock Presbyterian Church Map

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