Pastors
Benjamin Palmer Reid
“The conference occurred in October 1894, when Wilson met with a Presbyterian elder, George Taylor, of the synod office in Greenville, and the Reverend Benjamin Palmer Reid. Reid, a thirty-four-year-old pastor with a round face, firm features, and receding hairline, had started his career at Heath Springs and then served..Read More
W.F. Strickland
“That month the Reverend Walter Strickland, about whom little is known, preached at Pendleton Presbyterian Church, then visited Fort Hill, and expressed an interest in the dual pastorate. The position had not changed since Reid; it still required that the pastor live in Pendleton, preach there Sunday mornings, and then..Read More
Francis W. Gregg
“Even before the synod completed its debate on the Fort Hill question, the churches in Calhoun and Pendleton called a young minister, the Reverend Francis W. Gregg, to replace Pastor Strickland. But Gregg’s appointment did not last long, and during his brief time as pastor, the ministry at Clemson College..Read More
Wayne Hayne Mills
“The Session and the congregation at Fort Hill, much as many other small rural Presbyterian churches, turned to the presbytery for assistance. At its meeting in September 1906, the presbytery called the Reverend Mr. William Hayne Mills as pastor to Fort Hill. Mills, who had a thin face, penetrating eyes,..Read More
W. Emmet Davis
“At the beginning of 1918, with the approval of the synod and presbytery, Fort Hill extended a call to W. Emmet Davis, a twenty-four-year-old student at Columbia Seminary. Blessed with a pleasant personality and strong broad facial features, and recently married, Davis was accepted and liked immediately by the church..Read More
John McSween
“Many Fort Hill members doubtless felt a serious loss with Davis’ departure. But the new pastor, the Reverend John McSween, who began work at the church on 1 September 1923, proved a worthy replacement. Although McSween remained at Fort Hill barely a year and a half, he nevertheless worked closely..Read More
Sydney J.L. Crouch
“Fort Hill not only survived this era of immense tragedy for America and the world, as well as for the church itself, but it also emerged by the mid- 1950s strengthened with new programs and poised to expand its ministry and physical facilities. Its success resulted to a great extent..Read More
Charles H. Raynal, Jr.
“During 1954, Fort Hill searched for five months for a pastor to replace the retired Reverend Crouch. On 9 November, the Reverend Mr. Charles Henry Raynal, Jr. accepted the church’s call. Born in Statesville, North Carolina on 6 May 1915, he had graduated from Davidson College and Union Seminary in..Read More
Zebulon North Holler
“In 1975, Fort Hill called to its pastorate the Reverend Dr. Zebulon North Holler, who preferred to be called “Z.” Holler, a tall, thin, and scholarly looking man, was born in Atlanta on 2 August 1928 and earned degrees from Davidson College and Union Seminary. He spent 1967 in Scotland,..Read More
James T. Richardson
“The 1980s began at Fort Hill with great hope among its members for the church’s future. To its pulpit the church called the Reverend Mr. James T. Richardson, a dynamic and powerful speaker whose sermons attracted consistently large crowds on Sunday mornings and a growing church membership. Richardson saw tremendous..Read More
