first arp church
201 East white Street

This church began as a mission work in the summer of 1895 when Arthur Small Rogers, a seminary student at Erskine Theological Seminary, was sent to Rock Hill to hold services.  The rural areas around Rock Hill had a number of Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Churches dating back to the 1700s, but two previous efforts to organize the church’s members in Rock Hill had been unsuccessful.  Rogers arrived on July 4 and began holding services in Armory Hall on Main Street.  From the beginning the new work was a success.  Arthur Rogers returned to the Seminary in the fall to complete his education, and area ARP ministers preached during the winter of 1895-96.  The congregation was organized on November 19, 1895 with 26 charter members.  Arthur Rogers returned following his graduation from the Seminary and was installed as minister.  He immediately began raising funds for a church building, both locally and throughout the ARP denomination. 

The Herald reported on Aug 13, 1897 - "That the new ARP Church is estimated to cost $8,000."

In 1896, a lot was purchased on White Street from Mrs. Ann White’s Estate and A. H. White.  The site, now on the corner of East White Street and Oakland Avenue, had been part of the White family’s apple orchard.  The architect selected for the building was C. C. Hook of Charlotte, N.C.  Construction on the sanctuary was begun in 1897 and completed in the spring of 1898.  The brick sanctuary building features a dominant bell tower at left front with a smaller tower at right front and a polygonal projecting wing in the center.  The left tower has a spire with finial, rounded arch openings, and tall paired traceried windows with granite lintels and sills. There are matching rose windows in the front-facing gable and the side gables. 

Rev. Arthur S. Rogers was pastor of the church from the first meeting in 1895 until his retirement in 1948.

15. Saint John's Methodist Church