The beginning of the church at Long Cane was in a fort where the settlers would go for safety. After the Cherokee and the Creek massacres people built Fort Boone which served as a haven of safety as well as a "school house" and also served as a "meeting house" where the settlers assembled for worship. In an Act, dated February 7, 1780, the church at Fort Boone was incorporated as the "Presbyterian Church called Fort Boone congregation at Long Cane settlement." Prior to this Long Cane Associate Reformed Presbyterian church was organized in 1771 as Associate Presbyterian church. A number of the congregation were from Ireland who along with about one hundred families left Newry, Ireland for America. They arrived in New York on the 28th of July on the ship John. This large body of passsengers were all part of the Rev. Clarke’s congregation from Ireland. Part of this group went to Salem, New York and the other part migrated to Long Canes section and formed the congregations of Little Run, Long Cane and Cedar Creek (later Cedar Spring) churches. Dr. Clark visited his congreation in 1771 as a result of this visit the church was organized. He also visited the church in 1779, as an order of Presbytery and again he visited in 1782. Dr. Clark spent the remainder of 1782 and the greater part of 1783 at Long Cane, Little Run (Little River) and Cedar Spring (organized in 1782. In the summer of 1783 he was called North and identified himself with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (organized in 1782); and during this time he labored as a missionary among the churches of this branch in the North.

Sometime between 1772 and 1775 Rev. William Martin came to America in 1772 from Ballymena, Ireland and who was pastor at Catholic church, Chester county, preached at Long Cane. Another supply minister Rev. William Ronaldson also preached at the church as well as at Joppa, Jefferson county, Georgia, and at Poplar Springs, Georgia. Dr. Clark preached his last sermon at Long Cane Meeting House, December 25, 1791, he died soon afterwards. A larger church replaced the same site of the original log church on land that was given by James Hutcherson survey. Following Dr. Clark’s death Long Cane had supplies for four years. The first year, the Rev. Peter McMillan (frequently written as McMullan) pastor of Due West, supplied when he was able.

In 1770, Rev. Alexander Porter, the first native-born minister of the Presbytery of the Carolinas and Georgia was born. He was born and grew up near Parsons’ Mount (named by the owner of this mount and surrounding land, James Parsons, a lawyer, of Charleston), Abbeville County. After completing his education and theological training at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania and having been licensed to preach by the Second Associate Reformed Presbytery of Pennsylvania, he returned home and began to preach at Long Cane and Cedar Spring, January 1, 1797. On March 22, 1797, a call was moderated for him, and signed by the following members: