1701 Main Street & 1206 Calhoun St
City Directories and History: This was a circa 1920 home constructed for the parsonage of the ARP minister. The ARP church itself was constructed by F.P Milburn and C.C. “Cam” Davis of Newberry. The church was designed by architect Frank P. Milburn (1868-1926), for the cost of $13,000. in 1908 in the Gothic Revival style.
ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN NEWBERRY COUNTY
The information in this article is taken from a number of sources. Many thanks are expressed to Lisa Senn of Newberry for providing copies of histories from the various churches. These have been done by individuals and women’s societies over the years. A sketch of the Cannon’s Creek church was written by Dr. W. C. Brown, and a history of the Newberry Church by Mrs. Mary Parr. Other material was taken from the Centennial History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1905 and the Sesquicentennial History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1951, both published by the denomination. Compiled by Paul Gettys.
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is the result of a merger in 1782 of two groups of Scottish Presbyterians. The Associate Presbyterians, also known as Seceders, were organized in Scotland in the 1730s following brothers Rev. Ebenezer Erskine and Rev. Ralph Erskine and several other ministers who withdrew from the Church of Scotland. The Reformed Presbyterians, also known as Covenanters, grew out of a long period of dissent with the monarchy during the 1600s and 1700s. Many members of both these groups settled in Northern Ireland and later came to America. The Seceders and Covenanters came with a much larger movement of Ulster Scots who were members of the mainstream Presbyterian Church. Because the two small groups had so much in common, they merged in 1782 to form the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Reformed (ARP) Church in downtown Newberry SC – 1889 Sanborn Map Diagram
Associate Presbyterians were part of the early settlement of what is now Newberry County. Between 1763 and 1775, a number of Seceders came to the area between the Enoree River and the Dutch Fork. These were largely members of the congregation of Rev. John Renwick in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Three colonies of members of his church came in 1767, 1770, and 1772. Rev. Renwick came with the group in 1770. Two churches were organized from this settlement in 1772, called Cannon’s Creek and King’s Creek (also called Indian Creek) for two streams draining the area. Rev. Renwick served these congregations until his death in 1775. He was never formally installed as minister, because it was understood that he was continuing his ministry over the settlers from his installation in Ulster. They were affiliated with the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania. The first communion service was held in Patrick Carmichael’s barn near what is now Boyd’s Crossing. In the early years, services were conducted under brush arbors in the summer and in the rude log homes in winter.
From this group of settlers, all of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian churches in Newberry County developed, and many of the General Assembly Presbyterian churches received members from the initial settlement of Seceders. Because the history of these ARP churches is so intimately connected, this sketch will trace the development of several churches: Cannon’s Creek, King’s Creek, Prosperity, Head Springs, Newberry, Unity, and Gilder’s Creek.
As stated earlier, the union between the two branches of the church occurred in 1782, and Cannon’s Creek and King’s Creek became part of the new Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Soon after, in 1790, a Presbytery was formed in the South. There were 22 churches in South Carolina in this Presbytery. Because of growth, this Presbytery was divided in 1800 into First and Second Presbyteries, and a Synod was formed in 1803.
After Rev. James Renwick’s death, there was a time when the churches had no settled minister and received only occasional supply of preaching. In 1790, Rev. James Rogers came from Northern Ireland and became the minister of the two churches. He was installed in February of 1791 and remained as minister about 25 years. During his ministry, a new church was organized in 1802 and called Prosperity. A town has grown up around the church. The first elders at Prosperity were James Young, Samuel McQueens, and Robert Drennan. Elder Young and others built a church building at Prosperity. Rev. Charles Strong was installed as minister of the three churches in 1816 and remained for eight years. Rev. Strong led the churches capably, and they prospered during his ministry. Some of the elders recorded during this period were John Caldwell, Capt. Brice, James J. Sloan, Robert Drumon, and Samuel McQueries at Cannon’s Creek; John Dugan and James Spence at King’s Creek; and Abram Carmichael and Abram Young at Prosperity. Rev. Strong died in 1824. At the time of his death, he was leading in the organization of a new church, Head Spring (sometimes called Head Springs), located in Laurens County. A church building was completed at Head Spring the week after his death. The Head Springs church was organized soon after with James J. Sloan and Capt. James Chalmers as elders. During Rev. Strong’s pastorate, an important event occurred at the King’s Creek church. In April 1822, the Synod of the Carolinas met and declared itself independent of the national ARP denomination. From this date, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod of the South has been a separate denomination.

View of Calhoun Street, ca. 1910. Courtesy of the Beard Postcard Collection – 2017
Another church which was organized in the early nineteenth century was Gilder’s Creek. The date of organization is not known, but Rev. John Renwick, Jr. became pastor in 1809. He had been born at sea in 1770 during his father’s trip to serve the church in America. Records are scarce, but it appears that Gilder’s Creek went into the Presbyterian Church before 1820.
The next settled pastor to serve the group of churches was Rev. Samuel P. Pressly, who was installed as pastor of Cannon’s Creek, King’s Creek, Prosperity and Head Springs in March 1826. Rev. Pressly was described as one of the most able ministers and preachers in the Synod. He resided in the village of Newberry and was principal of an academy there. He served the churches for eight years. As was common during this period for yoked churches, ministers were limited in their ability to preach by distance and poor transportation. In many cases, services were held once a month or sporadically. Rev. Pressly was very successful as a preacher and pastor, although he was somewhat progressive in his views. In 1834, he was offered a professorship at Franklin College (now the University of Georgia) in Athens. In Athens, he affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
During this period, a number of families form the ARP churches in the area followed the example of Rev. Pressly and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. They were responsible for
helping to establish Aveleigh church in Newberry, and Smyrna, Bush River, and Mt. Bethel in the eastern section of Newberry County.
In 1835, Rev. Jonathan Galloway was chosen as the next pastor. He served in the large field for twenty years. Because of the size of the ministry in Newberry County, the churches were divided into separate fields in 1848. Rev. Galloway continued to serve Cannon’s Creek, Prosperity, and Head Spring. Rev. J. O. Lindsay served King’s Creek and part time at Cannon’s Creek.
During this period, the village of Newberry was growing and began to attract ARP families in from the countryside. A congregation was organized in Newberry in 1850 with 9 members, one of the few ARP churches in a town at that time. It was originally called Thompson Street ARP Church, and a white frame building was erected on that street by Dr. Thomas W. Thompson. The first elders were Dr. Thompson, Prof. William Hood, and Dr. William McMorris. In 1853, Rev. H. L. Murphy was called to serve both the Thompson Street church and the King’s Creek church. He moved to Tennessee in 1865, and the vacancy was not filled until 1870, when Rev. E. P. McClintock was installed as pastor of Thompson Street and King’s Creek. He continued to serve both churches until 1883, when he moved to Newberry and began serving Thompson Street only. Rev. McClintock resigned in 1906. The next year, the Thompson Street building burned to the ground in a fire that destroyed a number of buildings in Newberry. Only the pulpit, two chairs and the communion table were saved. A new building was constructed at the corner of Calhoun and Main Streets. It opened in November 1908, hosting the meeting of the General Synod that year. Because of the relocation the name was changed to Newberry ARP Church. The 1908 sanctuary continues to serve the church. An extensive interior renovation in 2007-2008 included restoring and rebuilding the pipe organ, removing carpet, and refinishing the heart pine floors.
The Cannon’s Creek, Head Spring, and Prosperity churches were served by Rev. J. C. Boyd from 1858 to 1899. During his long pastorate, a centennial celebration was observed in 1872 for the Cannon’s Creek and King’s Creek churches. In the early twentieth century, the churches were sometimes yoked and sometimes had pastors serving only one of the churches.
In 1902, Rev. J. B. Hood was serving as pastor of King’s Creek. He began preaching at Garmony School near the church. This work prospered, and a church building was erected. The congregation of Unity ARP Church was organized in 1903. Because of shifts in the population, Unity was closed in 1947. Ministers who served Unity include Rev. C. M. Boyd, Rev. I. S. Caldwell, Rev. J. W. Carson, Rev. A. J. Ranson, and Rev. Paul Sherrill, most as supply ministers.
In 1912, Dr. J. W. Carson began a yoked ministry with the Newberry and King’s Creek churches in what proved to be the longest pastorate in the churches within the county. He was pastor of the two churches for 35 years.
In the middle and late twentieth century, the economy and settlement patterns in Newberry County underwent great changes. Agriculture ceased to be the dominant source of employment, and the rural areas experienced an out-migration as families moved to cities to seek a livelihood. These trends had devastating impacts on rural churches. The Unity church closed in 1947. On November 8, 1964, a special service of commemoration was held at the King’s Creek church as it closed its doors. The cemetery still exists. King’s Creek had three buildings. The foundation stones of the first log structure can be seen on the edge of the cemetery. The second building was a frame structure about a mile from the original site, located near a spring. About 1930, the final building was constructed on a hill overlooking the spring. The Head Spring church moved to Mountville, but eventually closed in the late twentieth century. The Cannon’s Creek Church was merged with Prosperity in 1959 and is known as Cannon’s Creek-Prosperity ARP Church, located as 14395 C. R. Koon Highway (US 76). Cannon’s Creek had four church buildings. Nothing is known about the first two. The third was large frame building. In 1948, a new brick church was constructed on the highway between Newberry and Prosperity. Since the merger with the Prosperity church took place, services have been held there. The original Cannon’s Creek Cemetery is located on Bearington Road, and a new cemetery is located behind the present church building on US 76. The Prosperity church was originally on the south side of the town cemetery. In 1889, a new and larger church was erected near the center of town. When Prosperity merged with Cannon’s Creek in 1959, this building was vacated.
Associate Reformed Presbyterians have been an important part of the history in Newberry County since the 1770s. Although there are only two churches remaining, the rich history of the denomination has had a significant influence on the character of the county.

Newberry ARP Church – Images courtesy of photographer Bill Segars, 2011
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