Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-11-03
BOWLING GREEN
kentucky Horse Trader Said TO Have
Given Village Its Name.
The CHURCH DROVE BOOzERS AWAY


How a Bar Keeper Came to Minister
to Learn His Doom-one Postmaster
Has Served Since Hamlet Was
Recognized by Government-Rail-
road at Odds With Government in
Matter of Name.
(By Staff .Correspondent.l
Bowling Green, S. c., November g.
Some twenty odd years ago horse
trader with a string of fine horses
came this way from Bowling Green,
Ky. There was no village here then,
just a sort of wide spot in the road
like. But it looked good to the Bowl
ing Green, KY, man and he stopped to
make camp for the night. What do
they call this section?" he inquired of
a man living in the community and the
answer was that it had no name. "Why
not name it Bowling Green after the
finest town in old Kaintuck?" sug
gested the stranger and the native al
lowed as how that name would do as
good as any. And that is how Bowling
Green came to be Bowling Green, ac-
cording to information given this cor
respondent by residents of the hustling
little village. In 1896 the government
established a postoffice here with W.
3. Flanagan as postmaster. He has
been Uncle Sans representative here
ever since, giving prompt and ef-
ficient service to the people of the
community. Year by year since the
Kentucky horseman came through
with his steeds, the little village has
been growing and it now forms quite
q link in the long chain of cotton mills
extending from north to south. Just
now the Bowling Green mill is being
enlarged, thousands of dollars being
invested in the enterprise.
Liquor Shops Worried.
But getting back to the beginning of
Bowling Green. Thirty years ago there
were a number of bar rooms on the
state line which is just one-half a
mile to the north. One can stand on
the front steps of Flannagan's store
here and see the spots where liquor
shops did a thriving business little
more than quarter Of century ago.
In addition to the retail liquor business
there were one or two distilleries in
the neighborhood where they made real
good liquor if there is such thing as
good liquor" They tell the story
here that one of the early pioneers in
the textile industry in Gastonia and
who died some years ago leaving a pile
of shekels nearing the million mark,
got his start selling liquor just a
stones throw from Bowling Green.
And across the line over in the
Union section of CASTOR county, n. c.
was another old liquor dealer, square
and honest in his dealings with men
who also made his pile out of rum
The late Rev. G. A. Sparrow, according
to story told here, came to the con-
clusion that the old mans liquor bust
ness was interfering too much with
Union Presbyterian church and that
since it was obvious that either the
church or the rum sIop would have to
go, it must be the rum shop. So the
late lamented preacher wrote the old
rum seller a letter in which he de-
livered the ultimatum Of the church
The old rum seller couldn't read so
upon receiving the letter he mounted
his trusty mule and rode over to the
house with the request that
the minister read his own letter. 1t is
not of record just what conversation
between the preacher and the liquor
dealer followed the reading Of the
letter; but it is a fact that the old man
soon closed up his liquor shop.
Bowling Green Church.
And the organization of Bowling
Green Presbyterian church ran the
'AiNO4 oHOpS OuN VI DuSlllGSS III lHlS VI
cinity and made Bowling Green a de-
lightful place to live in. Along about
1894 some of the good citizens came to
the conclusion that liquor had held
sway in the community long enough.
Drunken men from CASTOR county, n.
c.; and from all sections Of York
county and other counties Of South
Carolina came to the bar rooms near
Bowling Green to get tanked up and
quite frequently they terroized the
community. Under the law then
bar room or distillery could not be
conducted within three miles of a
church. So the thing to do was to
organize a church and that was done.
So in 1895 the Bowling Green Pres
byterian church came into being. It
had small beginning. Growth for a
number Of years was slow because
there were many other Presbyterian
churches not great distance away
Still it has grown slowly but steadily
in its twcnty-seven years Of life and
today it has membership of about
137. The pastor is Rev. II. D. Corbett,
formerly of St Matthew's who lives