Greenwood Street, Troy, S.C.
City Directories and History: Established in 1882, the Troy Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church was established in 1882 by the Rev. Henry T. Sloan, a noted ARP minister from the area. At the time, Sloan was pastor of Lower Long Cane and Cedar Springs ARP churches.
TROY ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH by P.M. Gettys – 2015
The Troy ARP church was organized in June 1884 by a Commission of Second Presbytery. In the early 1880s, Rev. Henry Thompson Sloan, pastor of the nearby Cedar Springs and Long Cane ARP churches, began preaching at Troy, a railroad village in Greenwood County near the line with McCormick County. His work led to the formation of the church with 34 charter members. The first installed minister was Rev. Robert Foster Bradley, a native of Abbeville County. He was installed in 1884 and served until 1889. He later became pastor of the neighboring Long Cane Church, where he served for 41 years. Rev. Thomas Wylie Sloan was pastor from 1890 to 1900. Rev. Sloan eventually became minister of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville. Rev. Hunter Bryson Blakely, Sr. became the pastor in 1901 and served until 1913. He was instrumental in the creation of the John De la Howe School, where he served as Superintendent. Later ministers were Rev. C. Bynum Betts, Rev. J. H. Buzhardt, Rev. R. E. Craig, Rev. W. P. Grier, Jr., and Rev. R. E. Huey.
The first building for the Troy ARP Church was constructed in 1882, even before the formal organization of the congregation. This building was a frame structure with a tall steeple in the center and flanking porches. In August, 1904, the steeple was struck by lightning and a wind storm in 1906 caused the church building to collapse. Services were held in the Methodist Church while a new building was under construction. The new church was completed in 1908.
The Troy church has the distinction of providing three female missionaries for the work of foreign missions of the ARP denomination. Miss Lavinia Neel and Dr. Kate Neel Dale served in Mexico, and Miss Mary L. Kennedy went to India in 1921.
Sources: Centennial History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1903, published by the General Synod and Sesquicentennial History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1951, published by the General Synod.
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