Huguenot Homecoming
Commemorating Huguenots
About 80Huguenot descendants, friends, and guests gathered Sunday, August 2, 2026 to celebrate the262nd Anniversary of the French Huguenots. The service is held bi-annually and sponsored by Willington Presbyterian Church and Willington on the Way. The gathering was held in the newly renovated auditorium, Howe Hall, at the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe in McCormick County. School President Dr. Tim Keown welcomed everyone and provided a brief oversight of the School’s program and attendance.
The Rev. Scott Crane of Willington Presbyterian Church opened the service with prayer. Michael Dorn, elder in the Willington Presbyterian Church and WOTW Board member, called for descendants to stand as he recognized them by their French root name. Attendees were also provided a leaflet with directions to local historical cemeteries, and invited to visit Willington on the Way’s Bookshop and History Center.
Ms. Elizabeth Gay of the SC Huguenot Society spoke on Revolutionary Huguenots 250: The Huguenot Heritage of Marion. Ms. Gay also called attention to a banner commemorating the 250th anniversary of our country’s Declaration of Independence, secured by the SC Historical Society, with artwork of Ft. Charlotte provided by local historian, Bob Edmonds.
Jamie Strickland, WPC pianist, provided music for the service. A pot luck lunch followed in the school’s cafeteria.
Visit Willington on the Way’s History Center to learn more about the French Huguenots who traveled to America to escape religious persecution with two groups settling in our area and naming their new home “New Bordeaux. “
— Jean Able, WOTW History Center Volunteer and WPChurch member
From left are Michael Dorn, Chairman of Commemoration activities; Dr. Timothy Keown, President of the Governor’s School for Agriculture; and Elizabeth Gay, speaker and Executive Director of the SC Huguenot Society in Charleston.
The banner in the background, representing the Biblical burning bush, is the symbol of the Huguenots, or French Protestants, who fled France during the 1700s. Their motto is “Flagror non consumor” (I am burned, but not consumed).
Picture and caption courtesy of Charles Morgan.
