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The Union Mission on Lovell Street, now Washington Street East.
Early in 1911, Colonel John Q. Dickinson, a prominent Charleston
businessman, gave a $100 bill to Pat B. Withrow to start a Gospel
mission. It was upon this act of confidence and faith that "Brother
Pat," as he later became known, launched Charleston's Gospel Rescue
Mission.
Brother Pat used the $100 gift to acquire and convert a house on the
corner of Clendenin and Lovell streets in downtown Charleston where he
brought his family to live. With a few alterations, he changed what was
formerly a house of ill repute into a place to care for orphan and
abandoned children, nightly Gospel services and Sunday School.
He often proclaimed that Sunday, October 11, 1911 was the greatest day
of his life. On this afternoon, 167 people crowded into the mission's
hall. Together they launched a moving force in Charleston.
The Union Mission still exists today in Charleston.
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