Mattoon Presbyterian Church

Front inscription

Mattoon Presbyterian Church was organized in 1878 by Black members of Washington Street (First) Presbyterian Church. They affiliated with the Northern Assembly of Presbyterians and named the church for Rev. Stephen Mattoon, president of Biddle University for freedmen in Charlotte, N.C. Biddle graduate Rev. Benjamin Franklin McDowell served as Mattoon Church’s pastor from 1879 to 1906. The church was originally part of Catawba Presbytery in the Atlantic Synod.

Reverse inscription

The two-story brick building at this site was constructed in c.1887 and was Mattoon’s first permanent place of worship. It is one of the oldest historically Black church buildings in Greenville and originally had a central steeple. The congregation included approx. 50 communicant members around 1900. Mattoon Church also maintained a parochial school that served Black families around the community, including non-members. The school closed in c.1930.