History of Quail Hollow Presbyterian Church

Quail Hollow Presbyterian Church's history has its roots in Pineville NC, a village which had earlier been called Morrow's Turnout due to the stagecoaches traveling between Camden SC and   points further north stopped at the Morrow home and "turned out" the horses for water and feed. With the coming of the Charlotte, Augusta and Columbia Railway in 1852, a name was needed for the whistle stop and the name "Pineville" (incorporated in 1873) was given to represent the tall, stately, pine trees of the area.

Up to this time, no churches were located in Pineville. Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians had to travel several miles to worship. So, a few Presbyterian families began worshipping together in a schoolhouse on what is now Gay Street in Pineville. Following the Civil War, this group petitioned Mecklenburg Presbytery to organize a church in Pineville (about 1874.) Their petition was granted on a Saturday in 1875 and the next day the Sabbath was observed, the officers of the new church were ordained, there were three baptisms, and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered. The organization of Pineville Presbyterian church was complete.

Immediately upon being organized, steps were made to acquire a church site. On January 22, 1876, a lot was deeded to the trustees of Pineville Presbyterian on what is present-day Main Street in Pineville. A few months afterward, a brick building was erected at a cost of $2,000. The structure, still standing, was made from handmade bricks which came from a clay deposit on the banks of Sugar Creek. It remained a one-room building until 1930, when it was remodeled and six Sunday School rooms added. In 1938, the late W. A. Rogers (grandfather to Mr. Donald Rogers, current Choirmaster) who taught the Ladies' Bible Class, added to the right side of the building what became known as "the Ladies' room."

The first sermon was preached by Rev. G. S. Robins on Sunday, April 2, 1876. He was the first pastor (with a salary of $250.) The first full-time minister was Dr. Henry Bedinger who served from 1948-1960.

In 1965, the congregation voted to move from their Pineville location to Park Road in Charlotte NC to become the nucleus of a new Presbyterian Church being planned for this area (modern-day "Quail Corners" area in South Charlotte), and thereby expanding the church's ministry. The new land was given to the church by Mr. & Mrs. James J. Harris.

As a lasting reminder of the church's heritage, the congregation brought several things with them from Pineville. Among them were:

a cornerstone which has been placed at the main entrance of the new building. It reads, "Pineville Presbyterian Church, Erected 1876."

a bell which reads, "Pineville Presbyterian Church, Rev. G.S. Robinson, Pastor, 1885" and "Henry McShane & Co., Baltimore, MD, 1885."

The bell has been placed over the well left by the farm once here (and initially the source of water for the church until it went dry in 1970.) This combination give the church's newsletter its name "The Bell and The Well."

 

The church is a member of the Presbytery of Charlotte and the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is represented through our denomination in the National Council of Churches in the World Council of Churches. We believe that we are a true branch of the Church of Jesus Christ, in that our faith and life are rooted in the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We welcome all people to worship here in our church, God's House, in spirit and in truth.