Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-05-09
ROCK Hills EARLY DAYS
Nj. David HutChison Recalls Some
Interesting Historical Events.
ne is OLDEST NATIVE MALE RESIDENT

HE Is OLDEST NATIVE MALE RESIDENT
City Had Population Of Less Than 1o'
atsEariiest Reeolleetion-how Rat
tier Did Saloon Keeper Howe Il
|. psath---First' Church Building Wa'
= Moy&dS In from Distance of Three
Miiss---Won,an Was in Charge of thu
: First Observation-Disclosures Took Charge
of Election to Insure Fair County
Rock Hill, May s.-There i0 only one
man. living in Rock Hill today, VINO
has been a citizen OF the city for more
than 60 years and who can TESTIFY
from personal recollection to the rapid
growth of Rock Hill from mere ham,
let to its present population OF more
than 10000. This man who has OBJ
served ali the scenes. in this wonderful
movie of Rock Hills progress Is Mr..
David Hutchison, now SO years OF age
whose memory is keen and whose rec
objections, include every incident worth
while over that long period. In TACT
Mr. Hutchisen is eminently fitted 10
write a most interesting history OF
Rock Hill, and If he could be persuad-
ad to do so the work would be one Oh
the greatest value to citizens OF young :
,srsivear a. wears in the city and of value to
those coming on. Mr.. Hutchioon talk
sd most interestingly to the correspon-
dent the other day about Rock Hill as
he first knew it-a village OF ie"
scattered houses before the War Be-
tween the States, and he told OF num-
hers of facts and incidents that nave
never been published.
Citizen, Since 1858. g
i It was in 1883, that Mr.. Hutchisop'
then aSled tof about FIVE years, moved
m Rock Hill with the family of his
father. the late A. E. Hutchison. There
were only a few houses in the ragged
little village and the stores couid DC
countsd ON the fingers of one hand.
The first store keepers We're D. c. kod-
.dey. brother of the late Capt: w. L.
.Roddey, James Bynum, and Dan "A a. :
tRptton. Bynum ran a store on the
corner where the National Union pahK
now, stands. II was little bit OF d
store, according to Mr.. Hutclison, ana
there was not a great deal of business
A, do Dan y A.. Button had candy
shop in Rock Hilr before the Civil war
and since a shoe shop was,a necessary
to any town In the days when all shoes
were were made by hand, David Gordon mao
tbe hrst shoe shop in the town, 1t being
located where the, Citizens Bank ana
Trust company now stands. Tnere
was little postoffice and express OF
Acc combined In the early days wnich
Was first conducted, according to MT
Hutchison's recollection by Miss Marie
Rutland, d maiden who long ago
moved away from Rock Hill. 40.
Growth Began After the War.
Rut II was not until after the close
of the war that Rock Hill. gave any
promise of becoming the live city that
1t is today and acdprdins to Mr.. Hutch
,aon. the late ]. M Ivey deserves as
much II not more credit, than any oth-
er man for it's growth. Mr.. lvey came
to Rock Hill from the Waxhaw sectioh
Of Lancaster county about 1856. he
started a general I9erchandise busi-
ness and he elso bought cotton. In a
short time 1t became npised aoroau
over York, Chester and Lancaster
counties that Ivey would pay moreafor
cotton than any other buyer. Farmers
began carrying their cotton 10 ROCK
Hili from miles and miles arouna.
They would sell to Ivey and wouid
purchase supplies from him to be car
ried back to their farms extending over
a. wide territory. Then other mer-
chants and other business people came
in and Rock Hill commenced to be a
oGood Town" Thus from the day that
the late J.. M. Ivey came to town, ROCK
Hill began to be a Good Town"
>, The First Church.
, Ebenezer, two miles west OF ROCK
Hill. which is now considered the city S
principal suburb, was a much larger
and much more important place than
Rock Hill, according to Mr.. Hutchi-
sons earliest recollections. Eoenezer
PRESBYTERIAN church was the place Oh
worship for Presbyterians for twenty
miles around and in the late fifties the
few people who composed the village
Of Rock Hill worshipped at Ebenezer'
because they had no house OF worship
Of their own, In those, days, however
there was a, small Presbyterian chapei
located on lands of Capt. Frank work
man, about three miles south or ROCK
Hill. But the people of Rock Hill' IN
sistine that they should have church
in the village, finally secured an agree
ment whereby the chapel could De
moved into Rock Hill About 1853 this
chapel was moved to Rock Hill on the
site where the present handsome First
PRESBYTERIAN church now stands. II
was a very small building, its seating
canacity not being more than 90 or TO-
but it was plenty large to serve the
..f