Scots Irish Presbyterians Flood the Yadkin Valley

The North Carolina Presbyterian Historical Society will gather on Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, 2025, for their annual Spring Tour of churches and historical sites. The tour will convene at Thyatira Presbyterian Church in Rowan County with registration beginning at 10:30 a.m. Friday’s events continue to Third Creek Presbyterian Church near Cleveland and the final church of the afternoon will be Bethany Presbyterian Church near Statesville. The Hampton Inn in Statesville will be the headquarters for the tour and the site of overnight accommodation. Saturday’s events include a visit to Fort Dobbs State Historic Site and First Presbyterian Church in Statesville.

The Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to Georgia was 700 miles. A family in a Conestoga wagon could travel about five miles per day. Great convoys of wagons would assemble. The 400 miles to the Yadkin Valley took about 80 days, with good luck! Along with the Ulster Scots and their families, Quakers, Germans and Moravians spilled into the Yadkin Valley. Settlement became very intense in the 1750s. Whenever a group of Presbyterians settled, plans for establishing a church would shortly follow. When a good minister was on board, there would be talk of a school or academy. This was the pattern followed in Iredell and Rowan counties, the area between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers.

THYATIRA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

The first Presbyterian church in N.C. was Grove, active as a meeting house in 1736, in Kenansville. This area in eastern N.C. was settled by Ulster Scots, before the large Highland Scot immigration into the Cape Fear region. Thyatira, formerly Cathey’s Meeting House, was begun in 1753 in Rowan County, and along with Rocky River P.C. in Cabarrus County, are the oldest churches of any denomination in western N.C. Thyatira’s first permanent pastor was Dr. Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, a graduate of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) and a founder of what is now the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. McCorkle founded the Zion-Parnassus classical school nearby and was a leading figure in N.C. education. The church has an excellent museum, is beautifully maintained, and will be our first site visit on the Spring tour.

THIRD CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Third Creek Presbyterian Church existed as a meeting house perhaps as early as 1751 when itinerant minister John Thompson preacher at several Scots-Irish locations, including Third Creek. The church is said to have been founded before 1779. During the 1760’s ministers Hugh McAden and Elihu Spencer pastored the church. Dr. Samuel McCorkle was pastor of both Thyatira and Third Creek in 1789-1792, according to session minutes. The present impressive brick structure was built in 1835 and is one of the oldest Presbyterian buildings in the State. Third Creek is near Cleveland in Rowan County.

Books and pamphlets are now being accepted for 2025 Awards. Please contact Awards Chair Peter Fish for more information and deadlines. Awards will be presented at the Fall Meeting.

Asheboro First Presbyterian Church will be celebrating their 175th anniversary on Sunday, May 4, 2025. For more information: (336) 625-3277 www.fpcasheboro.org

Visit our website at www.ncphs.org

BETHANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Bethany Presbyterian Church is another of the several 18th century Scots-Irish kirks in the Yadkin Valley. It is a daughter church of the old Fourth Creek Church, which is now Statesville First Presbyterian Church. After William Sharpe created a demographic map of homesteads in the Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church area, it was decided that two additional kirks were needed; they became Concord and Bethany. Bethany was organized in 1775. These three churches were pastored in 1778 by a remarkable minister, James Hall, also a graduate of the College of New Jersey under the tutelage of John Witherspoon. Hall had a stellar career as a calvary captain in the Revolution, a missionary to the Natchez territory as well as a long association with his three churches. He established the Ebenezer Academy at Bethany and later Clio’s Nursery, both classical academies.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN STATESVILLE

First Presbyterian Church in Statesville had its beginning as Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church, organized in 1764. Rev. John Thompson had preached here in 1751 and the Rev. Elihu Spencer organized the church. This was one of Rev. James Hall’s kirks and it is the welcoming site of our lectures and business meeting. The church name was changed from Fourth Creek to First Presbyterian in 1875.

FORT DOBBS STATE HISTORIC SITE

The French and Indian War (1754-1763) occurred while the Scots-Irish churches were just being established. Fort Dobbs was the only permanent fortification in North Carolina, and it was built to house militia as well as provide settlers a safe place. It was the site of a significant Cherokee attack. It fell into ruin after the war but has been handsomely restored. We will visit Fort Dobbs on Saturday morning.

NCPHS Business Meeting Minutes for October 12, 2024

The fall business meeting of the NC Presbyterian Historical Society Business meeting was called to order by President Sam Martin. In attendance were Flo Durway, Don McLeod, John Myhre, Sally McLeod Owen. The minutes were approved along with the treasurer’s report. Sally reported getting calls about taking pictures of a cemetery at a church in Robeson County near Pembroke. The cemetery dates back to the beginning of the Scots-Irish settlement. She also reported correspondence from the Overhills area about ruins between Fort Liberty (now Bragg) and Harnett County.

Sam Martin reported on his delivery of the Dudley books to churches with anniversaries. He also named the churches that celebrate anniversaries this year: Woodburn in Leland, Bethel in Duplin County, Mount Olive First Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian in Greensboro, Howard Memorial in Tarboro, and Pleasant View in Albertson.

For new business, we discussed the need for ways to promote the society. New brochures can be printed by the same company that printed the Dudley book, and they are needed to get better information out to the state. Sam will get prices. Electing new officers was postponed until the spring meeting. John Myhre, Steve McRae, and Flo Durway will serve as nominating committee. The newsletter needs to have dates for contributions to be submitted and someone who can set it up. With many of the churches in Western NC suffering from the effects of the floods, Sam Martin proposed that the Society give grants to six places or groups in need. Discussion followed concerning the difficulty of converting funds. Steve McRae asked if we were giving the grants. Can we give grants from the Dudley Fund? We voted to pursue the issue. Sam ended the meeting with prayer.

Respectfully submitted, Flo Durway, Secretary

NORTH CAROLINA PRESBYTERIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPRING MEETING, APRIL 25-26, 2025, STATESVILLE N.C.

FRIDAY

• 11:00 a.m. Convene, Thyatira Church, 220 White Road, Salisbury
• 01:30 p.m. Third Creek Church, 2055 Third Creek Road, Cleveland
• 03:30 p.m. Bethany Church, 114 Bethany Road, Statesville
• 05:30 p.m. Hampton Inn, 1508 Cinema Drive, Statesville Tel. 704-883-8380
• 06:30 p.m. Dinner, TBA

SATURDAY

• 08:00 a.m. Breakfast, Hampton Inn
• 09:00 a.m. Fort Dobbs State Historic Site, 438 Ft. Dobbs Road, Statesville
• 11:00 a.m. First Presbyterian, Statesville, 125 N. Meeting Street
• 11:15 a.m. Scots-Irish from the Scottish Borders, to Ulster and North Carolina Don McLeod, FSAScot
• 12:00 noon Scots-Irish Experience in Iredell and Rowan Counties Jeff Gray, JD
• 12:30 p.m. Catered Lunch
• 01:00 p.m. Business Meeting
• 02:00 p.m. Farewell