Before the Hodges Presbyterian Church came into existence in 1899, the Town of Hodges had already been settled for more than fifty years. The first known structure within what are now the town limits was a log cabin built by General George Washington Hodges around 1822. General Hodges and his 19 siblings had been reared about a mile and a half towards Abbeville (11 miles away) by John Hodges, who had distinguished himself in the Revolution.

In 1852 the first railroad was built through town, enabling the farmers to transport their cotton crops. Soon there were two railroads, the Southern and the P&N. Cokesbury Junction, as it was known then, began to grow. At one time, there were two physicians, two banks, a drug store, about a dozen businesses - including two cotton gins, as well as taverns and hotels for the travelling salesmen and the railroad workers - and the telegraph line which followed the rails. A school was established to educate the young people of the community - first grade through high school.

In 1899, the Presbyterians of the community petitioned South Carolina Presbytery to establish a church in the community, joining the Providence Baptist Church (first organized in 1794 as the Coronaca Baptist Church and then moved to Hodges in 1875) and the Hodges Methodist Church (1868). Up until then the Presbyterians had worshipped at the Greenville Presbyterian Church in Shoals Junction (7 miles away), which recently celebrated its 225^th anniversary.

With the demise of the railroads and cotton farming, Hodges became a community of small farms and homes for people who worked in Greenwood or one of the other surrounding communities. The town itself extends from the old gazebo and town pump for a radius of about half a mile and is home to around 150 people. However, Hodges has a large surrounding area and the church draws members from Greenwood (seven miles south) to Ware Place (thirty miles north), and from Abbeville County (6 miles west) to Lake Greenwood (around 15 miles east).

The congregation is a good mixture of young and old, of connected families and others who have been drawn to the church by its warm, friendly atmosphere and its opportunities for witness and service. The church is a place where "everybody knows my name," and where each member is cared for and appreciated with each member being assigned a "Shepherd" from among the Elders.

During 1999, the church observed its Centennial with great enthusiasm. Former pastors were invited back to preach, pictures and other artifacts were collected and displayed, and old traditions - such as using the offering pouch on the end of a pole - were revived. For the December 5th Centennial Service, Tom Long, formerly of Erskine Seminary in Due West, Columbia Seminary, and Princeton Seminary, came back to preach and people came from as far away as Alabama. The more than two hundred and fifty folk in attendance were more than the sanctuary could hold. And all were treated to a wonderful dinner of Hodges home-cooked dishes.

Our Church for the past twenty years has been blessed with the ministry of The Reverend Robert P. Piehoff who retired on December 31, 2006. “Bob” as he was affectionally called by all of his extended family of faith within the Church served not only as Minister but as friend and counselor. Although a bachelor all of his life Bob was seen at every function and was a member of everyones’ family. During the twenty years at Hodges “Bob” probably spent enough hours in ICU, CCU units of hospitals in the Greenwood, Greenville area with members of the congregation and their families that he should have been entitled to his own private room. The warmth of Bob Piephoff eased the loss of loved ones for bereaved families enabling them to better understand that death is not the end but the beginning of the fufillment of the promise of God to all. In his richly deserved years of retirement we hope that he might be blessed with recording his score card on the golf course with his attained age. WE ALL shall miss you our faithful friend and Minister. God’s Speed!.

While the congregation appreciates and thanks God for its past, we look forward to the future into which God is leading us, as we seek faithfully to follow in the footsteps of Christ.