The Rock Hill sit ins began on February 12, 1960. About 100 students, the majority of which were from near by Friendship Junior College, began sit in protests at McCrory's as well as Woolworths. In response to the sit ins, the lunch counter was closed for 11 days. The sit ins resumed when the counters were reopened. As the protests continued, people began to be arrested and charged with trespassing. They were given the option to pay $100.00 bail or serve 30 days hard labor. Bail would be paid by the NAACP,&nbsp; and then they would be back protesting. Lasting for more than a year, over $17,000 was spent in bail money. On January 31, 1961 more students came in and sat at the counter and placed orders. They were again refused and told to leave. When they didn't leave, they were arrested and given the bail option. This time they refused to pay the bail, opting for the 30 days hard labor at York County Prison Farm. This choice to take jail time prompted the "jail no bail" strategy, which then forced the county to pay.

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In 1960, McCrory's department store was the site of a student sit in for civil rights. Students from Friendship Junior College had been denied service at the stores lunch counter and sparked protest. Because of the sit ins, the store closed it's lunch counter for 11 days, after they reopened the protests continued for over a year. The store closed in 1997.

McCrory's Civil Rights Sit Ins

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This tour begins at a historic home that is one of the oldest in the area and moves on to several landmarks in the center of Rock Hill such as the First Presbyterian Church and the federal courthouse. The tour includes landmarks related to economic development as well as civil rights and concludes at Tillman Hall, the first building constructed on the Winthrop University campus. 

The White Home is one of the first houses built in Rock Hill. In 1838, George Pendleton White moved onto land that he subleased from the Black family and into a one room cabin. He would begin to build a larger house next door to the cabin but his untimely death of pneumonia in 1849 left the family home unfinished. His wife, Anne Hutchison White, completed the house but had to turn it into a boarding house to make money. She sat aside one room upstairs, which she called her Prophet's Chamber, in which traveling ministers could stay for free. She also connected the boarding house to the original cabin. Few changes were made to the house before the war, but during Reconstruction and after receiving an inheritance, she added on a Carpenter's Gothic addition. The house is open to the public today as a house museum and the operating base for Historic Rock Hill, a historic preservation nonprofit.

The White Home was built in 1838 as one of the first homes in the town of Rock Hill. From 1838 to 2003, five generations of the White family lived in the house and left a major impact on the town. Now the headquarters of Historic Rock Hill, the White Home houses a collection of historic artifacts that tell the family's story as well as the story of a growing Rock Hill. 

The White Home

First Presbyterian was established in 1854 as a mission of its "mother church," Ebenezer Presbyterian, and called Antioch Chapel. In 1858, the congregation bought the property on which the current church now stands to be closer to the growing town. The chapel building was moved here (on log rollers) at that time. In 1869, the congregation received its official charter and changed its name to First Presbyterian Church. It erected a new brick church building in 1875.As the congregation grew in the coming years, it became increasingly clear that a new building was needed. As a result, the present building was completed in 1895. In 1905 the church was the first in the city to install a pipe organ (the current one was installed in 1961). The first educational building was erected in 1923 but later torn down to make way for the new one, which is called the Joe Hopkins Ministry Center.The congregation became the largest Presbyterian church in the South Carolina by 1907 and its influence was felt throughout the city and state. It established the first secondary school in Rock Hill, established mission and chapels in mill villages, and founded a daughter church that is now called Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church. The church also opened a dispensary in South Korea in 1891 that treated women and children. It grew to become The Presbyterian Medical Center in Jeonju, South Korea.

With its soaring five-story tower, First Presbyterian Church has been an important landmark in Rock Hill since its construction in 1894. It is home to a congregation founded in 1854 that has contributed significantly to the religious and cultural development of the city. South Carolina architect Charles Coker Wilson designed the church in the Late Victorian style. The sanctuary is circular in shape with eight gables and a cupola on top; the tower features sets of three windows, an open fifth level, and a pyramidal roof; arched and rose windows; and decorative finials. The attached education building was constructed in 1999. First Presbyterian was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

First Presbyterian Church

Just over the border of South Carolina, Rock
Hill, SC is home to many historical sites. "Old Town Rock Hill" is only about 30 minutes from Downtown Charlotte, NC&nbsp;and is home to many Carolina natives. The largest building in Old Town Rock Hill, and with ornate
architecture is the Gettys Art Center. This multi-level building is located on
Caldwell Street in the heart of Old Town. Although it is currently used for a
variety of studios and galleries, the Gettys Art Center is also the historic
Federal Courthouse and Post Office. The Federal Courthouse and Post Office is
close to 100 years old being built in 1931-1932. It was built with the
intention of bringing more federal buildings to the area in South Carolina
after the Public Buildings Act of 1926. David R. and Allison Harris Black had
the Federal Courthouse and Post Office put on the National Register and in the
South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Following an immense amount
of paperwork, the Federal Courthouse and Post Office was added to the National
Register on January 21, 1988. This is one of the many treasurers of “Old Town”
Rock Hill, South Carolina today.

The
Federal Courthouse and Post Office is remembered today by its use as the Gettys
Art Center. The Art Center still holds the original courtroom, office spaces,
and mailboxes of the historic site. However, a larger portion of the building
has transformed into a modern home for the Arts. If you follow the grand
staircase upstairs, there are multiple vendors are artists that rent out the
previous office spaces for clerks and judges as studios for their art. This is
also where the Rock Hill Pottery Center is located. Across the hall from the
studios and small business spaces is the old courtroom that has remained empty.
The Gettys Art Center has been a transformative part of Rock Hill embracing its
historical heritage.

The
term “Old Town Rock Hill” was first coined in 2001, and has since allowed Rock
Hill to connect with its historical roots with a modern appreciation. Old Town
outlines the center of Rock Hill’s downtown, the Textile Corridor, and Winthrop
University. Art has become a focus throughout the downtown center shops and
museums. Rock Hill, SC has shifted into a cultural center with a long heritage
that began with the change of the historic Federal Courthouse and Post Office
into the Gettys Art Center.&nbsp;

Rock Hill, SC is home to many federal buildings following the Public Buildings Act of 1926, but the first of these is the Federal Courthouse and Post Office. This historic site is now home to a variety of studios and artists as the Gettys Art Center in "Old Town Rock Hill."

Federal Courthouse and Post Office

Large textile mills started to be built in South Carolina in the 1870s as part of an effort for cotton-producing states to not only grow cotton but to process it into final products as well (for much of the century, cotton was shipped to New England for processing). A group of investors in Rock Hill recognized the potential that mills could bring to the town and decided to build the Rock Hill Cotton Factory. The investors included cotton broker, James M. Ivy, and a local merchant and farmer, Adolphus Eugene Hutchison, who became the company president. Construction began in 1880. The site was chosen because it was located next to the Charlotte, Columbia &amp; Augusta Railroad and had access to roads. A year after it opened, the mill employed between 100 men, women, and children. Over the course of the next several years, the factory added more looms and was producing various products including sheeting, shirting, drills, and cotton rope. In 1898, the factory closed and was reorganized and renamed as Belvedere Mills. It was renamed a number of times during the following decades. In 1905, the mill was electrified. In 2000, the last company to occupy the mill closed and the old building was acquired by Rock Hill Development Corporation. Six years later, a student loan collection agency called Williams &amp; Fudge bought the building and converted it into retail and office space.

The former Rock Hill Cotton Factory had a tremendous impact on Rock Hill's growth during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1881, it was the city's first cotton mill and the first steam-powered textile mill in the state. The factory was a boon for the local economy as it was a major employer and very productive (by 1884, it produced 85,000 bales of cotton). Its success demonstrated that textile milling was profitable in Rock Hill and as a result, six other mills were built by 1907. In terms of architecture, the factory is a good example of an early textile mill and its design was emulated in future mills. Today, the old factory is an office and retail building. 

Rock Hill Cotton Factory

John Anderson was born in 1861. Soon after marrying his wife, Alice, in 1884 he co-founded the Holler and Anderson Buggy Company with his father-in-law. The company became the Anderson Motor Company and he served as president from 1905 to 1924. The company was known for building luxury cars manufactured by hand using the finest parts available. Its slogan was "A little bit higher in price, but...made in Dixie." Competition from other companies, such as Ford, that made cheaper cars forced the company to close in 1924. Anderson contributed to Rock Hill in a number of other ways. He installed the first telephone exchange in the city, founded and served as the first president of the Rock Hill Chamber of Commerce, led the effort to pave the streets and sidewalks, and successfully lobbied for the first post office and U.S. District Court. Anderson also served on the Winthrop College Board of Trustees, and developed a plan to reduce cotton acreage in 1911 that prevented a financial crisis.

This beautiful home was built in 1898 for John Gary Anderson, who was a prominent figure in Rock Hill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He co-founded and was the president of the Anderson Motor Company, which was one of the few car manufacturers in the South. Anderson also contributed to the development of the city. As for the house itself, it is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style. Anderson chose the design from a published catalogue of plans by George Franklin Barber, who was one of the country's most well-known architects at the time. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to be a private residence today.

Anderson House 

The 1960 Supreme Court Case Boynton v Virginia ruled that segregation during interstate travel was illegal. In order to enforce this right, groups of predominantly Black but also a significant number of white&nbsp;students gathered for what would be known as “Freedom Rides”. The Freedom Ride groups traveled via bus throughout the states of the south, typically crossing south from Virginia to New Orleans.&nbsp;In 1961 the first group of 13 freedom riders set off from Washington DC. After incident free stops throughout North Carolina and Virginia, the&nbsp;first stop in the deep south occurred in Rock Hill, South Carolina. &nbsp;Upon arriving in Rock Hill, the 13 students, 6 Black and 7 white, disembarked the bus at a Greyhound stop. John Lewis, one of the Black riders, approached the white only&nbsp;waiting room at the stop. He was verbally accosted before being brutally beaten. Several other riders, including a Black male and one female, were also assaulted, and while police were present they were notably absent from breaking up the assault for as significant period of time.&nbsp;The group would go on to experience additional trauma and violence throughout the remainder of their journey, but incited a movement that would continue after their ride had ended.&nbsp;
48 years later a man named Elwin Wilson would step forward as having instigated the fight, claiming responsibility of the attack, and subsequently&nbsp;apologizing for the event.&nbsp;
Lewis would go on to become a U.S. Congressman of Georgia. In 2002 he returned to Rock Hill, where he spoke at Winthrop University and was given a key to the city. In 2008 he was asked to speak at a Martin Luther King, Jr holiday observance, and the presiding mayor offered an official apology from the city on behalf of the freedom rider’s treatment during their stop in Rock Hill.

Following the landmark court case that allowed for desegregated interstate travel, Black and white students across the country participated in Freedom Rides, a bus trip throughout the south. The first group of 13 passed through Rock Hill, South Carolina, where they were brutally beaten and assaulted by a white mob of racists and anti segregationists. The students received delayed assistance from the Rock Hill police, an action that in 2008 the standing Mayor of the city apologized for. 


Greyhound Bus Station

<h3>Winthrop University</h3>Winthrop University was founded in 1886 as the Winthrop Training School for Teachers. It was located in the chapel of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Columbia, SC. The effort to establish it was led by Dr. David Bancroft Johnson, who received help from philanthropist Robert C. Winthrop and the Peabody Education Foundation, which was headed by Robert C. Winthrop, for whom the school was named. In late 1891, the state acquired the school and renamed it the South Carolina Industrial and Winthrop Normal College, thus becoming the first state-sponsored college for women in South Carolina. The school was renamed to Winthrop College, the South Carolina School for Women in 1920. In 1972, the school became co-ed and its name was shortened to Winthrop College. It became a university in 1992.Tillman Hall was built between 1894-1895. The three-story building (it also has a basement and attic) forms a "T" shape and features a square bell and clock tower, and double-arched vestibule at the main entrance, and several arched windows on the third floor. Over the years, Tillman Hall has housed classrooms, an art gallery, a swimming pool, the library, offices, and a museum.<h3>Benjamin Tillman</h3>Benjamin Tillman (1847-1918) served as governor from 1890-1894 and then as U.S. Senator from 1895 to 1918. He was born on his family's large plantation in northwestern South Carolina, a region known as the Upcountry. The family was wealthy and owned dozens of slaves. As an adult, Tillman was staunchly against African Americans acquiring civil rights. He was a leader of a paramilitary organization called the Red Shirts that operated in the late 19th century. The Red Shirts used violence and intimidation to support the Democratic party, which supported white supremacist policies, and to oppose all efforts to grant civil and voting rights to African Americans.The most notorious incident Tillman was involved in was the "Hamburg Riot" massacre in 1876, during which he and other white men murdered six African Americans. The purpose of the incident was to intimidate African Americans from voting in that year's governor's race (the Democratic candidate won, marking the end of the Reconstruction era in the state). While in office as governor and senator, Tillman often encouraged violence African Americans, perhaps most notably in an 1892 speech in which he declared "I would lead a lynching." He also supported legislative policies to disenfranchise African Americans.In June 2020, the Winthrop University Board of Trustees sent a resolution to the state requesting to allow the university to rename Tillman Hall as Main Building. According to state law, two-thirds of the state legislature must approve of any removal of flags or memorials to historic individuals or events on any public property.

Tillman Hall is the original building on the Winthrop University campus. Originally known as Main Building, it was built in 1894 and given its current name in 1962 after former governor and avowed white supremacist, Benjamin Tillman. In addition to being the focal point of the campus, it is also one of the few surviving examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the state. It appears the building currently houses administrative offices. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places 1977.

Walking Tour of Rock Hill, South Carolina

McCrory's Civil Rights Sit Ins

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information