Clinton in Laurens County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Davison McDowell Douglas

1869-1931

— Minister, Educator, Humanitarian —

Davison McDowell Douglas Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008

1. Davison McDowell Douglas Marker

Inscription.
This building -- dedicated as a memorial to alumni killed in World War II and the Korean War -- is named Douglas House in memory of that beloved servant of God, the Reverend Davison McDowell Douglas, B.A., B.D., M.A., D.D., LL.D., who served faithfully and effectively as President of Presbyterian College from 1911-1927.

His Works Live After Him to Glorify God

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Education.

Location. 34° 27.883′ N, 81° 52.583′ W. Marker is in Clinton, South Carolina, in Laurens County. Memorial is on Presbyterian College Road west of South Adair Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is to the left of the Douglas Hall's front entrance. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Clinton SC 29325, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jacobs Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Presbyterian College Armed Forces Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mrs. Lillian G. Brown (about 300 feet away); American Flag Pole (about 300 feet away); The Reverend William Plumer Jacobs (about 700 feet away); Malcolm A. MacDonald (approx. 0.4 miles

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away); James Ferdinand Jacobs (approx. 0.4 miles away); William Plumer Jacobs, D.D., LL.D. (approx. 0.4 miles away); Eugene Blakely Sloan (approx. 0.4 miles away); Clinton Veterans Monument (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clinton.

Also see . . .
1. Presbyterian College. Official website of Presbyterian College. (Submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

2. Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District. The Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District comprises the historic cores of Presbyterian College and the Thornwell Home and School for Children, together with the adjacent residential streets. (Submitted on October 14, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

Additional commentary.
1. Davison McDowell Douglas
Davison McDowell Douglas, D.D., has been a prominent figure in the Presbyterian Church of the South for a number of years, and comes of a family that has supplied many stanch Presbyterians to South Carolina. For the past eight years Doctor Douglas has been

Douglas Hall - Front Elevation image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008

2. Douglas Hall - Front Elevation

This two-story brick building was constructed ca. 1965. It features a colossal Tuscan portico and pediment.

president and active head of the Presbyterian College of South Carolina at Clinton. He was born at Blackstock in Fairfield County, this state, June 20, 1869, a son of Rev. James and Margaret (McDowell) Douglas. His great-grandfather, Alexander Douglas, was born in Ulster, Ireland, and came to America in 1790, settling soon afterward at a place six miles west of Winnsboro, South Carolina. At his death he was buried in the Lebanon Presbyterian Cemetery near his old home. More than a century and a quarter has passed since he came to South Carolina, and through several generations the Douglas name has furnished stalwart men and high minded women to their various spheres of duty and responsibility. Doctor Douglas' grandparents were John and Grace Jane (Brice) Douglas, also natives of South Carolina. Rev. James Douglas, his father, was born in Fairfield County March 10, 1827, and died August 21, 1904. He graduated with first honors from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1849, and later graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary. For a number of years he was president of York Female College of this state, and did active duty as a pastor of various churches in Fairfield County for a quarter of a century. His wife was a daughter of Davison and Catherine (McCrea) McDowell. Her maternal grandfather, Thomas McCrea, was a native of South Carolina and went with the South Carolina troops

Douglas Hall - Front Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Brian Scott, September 27, 2008

3. Douglas Hall - Front Entrance

as a soldier in the war of the Revolution. This revolutionary patriot married Catherine DuBois thus introducing a strain of Huguenot Mood into the family. The DuBois family came from France in 1678.

Davison McDowell Douglas was liberally educated, graduating A.B. from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1805 and studying for the ministry in Louisville Theological Seminary during 1895-96 and in 1899 receiving his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. The University of South Carolina gave him his Master of Arts degree in 1900, and during the following year he was a student in Princeton University and Theological Seminary, while in 1904-06 he did post-graduate work in Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore.

Doctor Douglas, who was awarded his Doctor of Divinity degree by Davidson College in 1912, was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry in 1915, and during the following four years was pastor at Brevard and Davidson River, North Carolina. From 1904 to 1911 he was pastor of the Maryland Avenue Church in the City of Baltimore. Doctor Douglas came to his present work as president of the Presbyterian College of South Carolina in June, 1911.

September 16, 1903, he married Miss Lydia A. Welch, daughter of James H. and Elizabeth (Moffat) Welch. Her father was a manufacturer at Beaver, Pennsylvania. Doctor and Mrs. Douglas have two daughters,

Douglas Hall - Main Lounge image. Click for full size.

Presbyterian College by Nancy Griffith, circa 1970

4. Douglas Hall - Main Lounge

Elizabeth Moffat and Margaret McDowell Douglas. (Source: History of South Carolina by Yates Snowden, pg 31.)

— Submitted October 14, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

Davison McDowell Douglas<br>(1869-1931) image. Click for full size.

5. Davison McDowell Douglas
(1869-1931)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2019. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,055 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 1, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 4, 5. submitted on October 14, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.