On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross. George Bennard* (1873-1958). This famous gospel hymn was written in 1912 and 1913, begun during one of Bennard’s evangelistic campaigns, and completed in Michigan (according to some sources, Albion, Michigan). It was printed in leaflet form, and sung at a revival meeting at Pokagon, Michigan, and then at the Chicago Evangelistic Institute, with which Bennard was connected. It was then published in Heart and Life Songs, for the Church, Sunday School, Home and Campmeeting (1915), edited by Bennard and two others, Iva D. Vennard and Joseph H. Smith. It is often known as ‘The Old Rugged Cross’, the phrase that is repeated throughout the hymn, and...