Cane Ridge Meeting House ~
Bourbon County,Kentucky
The original structure is housed in the stone building which welcomes visitors today
www.caneridge.org
The young Presbyterian minister, Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844), arrived on the western frontier to pastor at Cane Ridge in 1796. By the end of the century, Presbyterians in Kentucky, southern Ohio, and northern Tennessee traveled to each others sacramental communion services which typically began on Friday or Saturday and continued through Monday. Joining them in increasing numbers after a meeting at Red River in Logan County in June 1801 were Methodists and Baptists as well as the unchurched.
The Revival of August 1801 at Cane Ridge was the climactic event of the Western Great Revival. It was estimated by military personnel that some 20,000 to 30,000 persons of all ages, representing various cultures and economic levels traveled on foot and on horseback, many bringing wagons with tents and camping provisions. Because of the numbers of people attending and the length of the meeting, Cane Ridge has become the metaphor of the Great Revival. Historical accounts recall the contagious fervor which characterized the meetings that continued day and night. Descriptions abound of individuals, taken by great emotion, falling to the ground, crying aloud in prayer and song, and rising to exhort and assist others in their responses to the moment. Worship continued well into the week following the serving of Communion on Sunday, in fact, until provisions for humans and horses ran out.
The sacramental gatherings of the Presbyterians, already undergoing transformation by the time of the August 1801 Cane Ridge Revival, contributed to the growing camp meeting revivals. Participation by Methodists added an emotional evangelical quality that Presbyterians had previously tried to hold in check. Baptists attended, however, many were in a parallel meeting of the South Elkhorn Baptist Association.
Birth of "The Christians"
n 1804, a small group of Presbyterian ministers from Kentucky and Ohio, including Stone, penned and signed a document, "The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery", at Cane Ridge that resulted in the birth of a movement seeking unity among Christians along non-sectarian lines. They would call themselves simply "Christians. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ (non-instrumental), and the Christian Churches (independent) of the Stone-Campbell movement trace their origins here. This movement is often noted as the first one indigenous to American soil.
Preserving the History
Cane Ridge Christian Church congregation continued until 1921 when the declining congregation disbanded. The historic old building stood in its place awaiting recognition of its proper place in cultural and religious history. The effect of the charismatic leadership of Alexander Campbell dominated the Stone-Campbell movement for many years after his death in 1866. In the 1930s the ministry of Barton Warren Stone was discovered anew. His role in the Cane Ridge Revival and the development of the Christians of the West sparked the desire to restore the Meeting House to its original appearance. This led to the organization by the Disciples of Christ of the Cane Ridge Preservation Project. After the Historic American Buildings Survey visited Cane Ridge in 1934, it was recognized by the US Dept. of the Interior as a building of national significance deemed worthy of saving. To protect it from weather, vermin, and woodpeckers, in 1957 a golden limestone superstrure around the log church was dedicated.
The Great Revival
The time was right in 1801 for the people of middle America to get their souls in order. Settlers of European and African origin, indentured and free, had conquered a frontier - at least they had rendered it manageable. Their farms, towns, and villages were bustling with productive activity. Native Americans had been driven from the land. The Kentuckians' spirit of energetic application to any emerging questions had spawned countless divisions and now it was on the verge of nurturing a semblance of unity.
Barton Warren Stone, pastor at Cane Ridge Presbyterian Church, had taken advantage of various networks of communication, especially Methodist and Presbyterian meetings, to circulate word that the Cane Ridge sacramental communion was to be "one of the greatest meetings of its kind ever known." Congregations and pastors, determined not to miss it, packed up for journeys from not only Central Kentucky but also southern Ohio and northern Tennessee.
Sacramental communion events in the months preceding the one scheduled to begin in early August at Cane Ridge had attracted thousands of people - 4,000 at Concord, 6,000 at Lexington, and 10,000 at Indian Creek in Harrison County. The atmosphere was electric. Travelers from nearby and not so nearby began arriving on Friday, August 6, amidst a downpour of rain. By Saturday a Methodist neighbor Ilai Nunn observed that his grove was a part of the setting.
Colonel Robert Patterson, who had been involved in the settlement of Kentucky practically from the beginning, described with amazement the religious phenomena taking place during the sequence of meetings. His description of the Cane Ridge Revival, taken from a letter to the Rev. Doctor John King on September 25, 1801, is memorable:
"On the first Sabbath of August, was the Sacrament of Kainridge, the congregation of Mr. Stone. - This was the largest meeting of any that I have ever seen: It continued from Friday till Wednesday. About 12,000 persons, 125 waggons, 8 carriages, 900 communicants, 300 were struck. . . "
Patterson tried, "as well as I am able," to describe the emotion. "Of all ages, from 8 years and upwards; male and female; rich and poor; the blacks; and of every denomination; those in favour of it, as well as those, at the instant in opposition to it, and railing against it, have instantaneously laid motionless on the ground. Some feel the approaching symptoms by being under deep convictions; their heart swells, their nerves relax, and in an instant they become motionless and speechless, but generally retain their senses. . . He went on to describe other manifestations which continued from "one hour to 24".
"In order to give you a more just conception of it," Patterson continued, "suppose so large a congregation assembled in the woods, ministers preaching day and night; the camp illuminated with candles, on trees, at wagons, and at the tent; persons falling down, and carried out of the crowd, by those next to them, and taken to some convenient place, where prayer is made for them, some Psalm or Hymn, suitable to the occasion, sung. If they speak, what they say is attended to, being very solemn and affecting - many are struck under such exhortations. . . Now suppose 20 of those groups around; some rejoicing, and great solemnity on every countenance, and you will form some imperfect idea of the extraordinary work!
"Indeed it is a miracle, that a wicked unthoughtful sinner, who never could, or did address himself, to an audience before, should, rise out of one of those fits and continue for the space of two hours recommending religion and Jesus Christ to sinners, as a lovely Savior, free willing, and all sufficient, and calling to sinners and inviting them to come to Christ and close in with the offer of salvation, in the most pressing an engaging manner." (Source: Extract of a Letter from Colonel Robert Patterson, of Lexington, Kentucky to the Reverend Doctor John King, September 25, 1801.)
The Revival of August 1801 at Cane Ridge was the climactic event of the Western Great Revival. It was estimated by military personnel that some 20,000 to 30,000 persons of all ages, representing various cultures and economic levels traveled on foot and on horseback, many bringing wagons with tents and camping provisions. Because of the numbers of people attending and the length of the meeting, Cane Ridge has become the metaphor of the Great Revival. Historical accounts recall the contagious fervor which characterized the meetings that continued day and night. Descriptions abound of individuals, taken by great emotion, falling to the ground, crying aloud in prayer and song, and rising to exhort and assist others in their responses to the moment. Worship continued well into the week following the serving of Communion on Sunday, in fact, until provisions for humans and horses ran out.
The sacramental gatherings of the Presbyterians, already undergoing transformation by the time of the August 1801 Cane Ridge Revival, contributed to the growing camp meeting revivals. Participation by Methodists added an emotional evangelical quality that Presbyterians had previously tried to hold in check. Baptists attended, however, many were in a parallel meeting of the South Elkhorn Baptist Association.
Birth of "The Christians"
n 1804, a small group of Presbyterian ministers from Kentucky and Ohio, including Stone, penned and signed a document, "The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery", at Cane Ridge that resulted in the birth of a movement seeking unity among Christians along non-sectarian lines. They would call themselves simply "Christians. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ (non-instrumental), and the Christian Churches (independent) of the Stone-Campbell movement trace their origins here. This movement is often noted as the first one indigenous to American soil.
Preserving the History
Cane Ridge Christian Church congregation continued until 1921 when the declining congregation disbanded. The historic old building stood in its place awaiting recognition of its proper place in cultural and religious history. The effect of the charismatic leadership of Alexander Campbell dominated the Stone-Campbell movement for many years after his death in 1866. In the 1930s the ministry of Barton Warren Stone was discovered anew. His role in the Cane Ridge Revival and the development of the Christians of the West sparked the desire to restore the Meeting House to its original appearance. This led to the organization by the Disciples of Christ of the Cane Ridge Preservation Project. After the Historic American Buildings Survey visited Cane Ridge in 1934, it was recognized by the US Dept. of the Interior as a building of national significance deemed worthy of saving. To protect it from weather, vermin, and woodpeckers, in 1957 a golden limestone superstrure around the log church was dedicated.
The Great Revival
The time was right in 1801 for the people of middle America to get their souls in order. Settlers of European and African origin, indentured and free, had conquered a frontier - at least they had rendered it manageable. Their farms, towns, and villages were bustling with productive activity. Native Americans had been driven from the land. The Kentuckians' spirit of energetic application to any emerging questions had spawned countless divisions and now it was on the verge of nurturing a semblance of unity.
Barton Warren Stone, pastor at Cane Ridge Presbyterian Church, had taken advantage of various networks of communication, especially Methodist and Presbyterian meetings, to circulate word that the Cane Ridge sacramental communion was to be "one of the greatest meetings of its kind ever known." Congregations and pastors, determined not to miss it, packed up for journeys from not only Central Kentucky but also southern Ohio and northern Tennessee.
Sacramental communion events in the months preceding the one scheduled to begin in early August at Cane Ridge had attracted thousands of people - 4,000 at Concord, 6,000 at Lexington, and 10,000 at Indian Creek in Harrison County. The atmosphere was electric. Travelers from nearby and not so nearby began arriving on Friday, August 6, amidst a downpour of rain. By Saturday a Methodist neighbor Ilai Nunn observed that his grove was a part of the setting.
Colonel Robert Patterson, who had been involved in the settlement of Kentucky practically from the beginning, described with amazement the religious phenomena taking place during the sequence of meetings. His description of the Cane Ridge Revival, taken from a letter to the Rev. Doctor John King on September 25, 1801, is memorable:
"On the first Sabbath of August, was the Sacrament of Kainridge, the congregation of Mr. Stone. - This was the largest meeting of any that I have ever seen: It continued from Friday till Wednesday. About 12,000 persons, 125 waggons, 8 carriages, 900 communicants, 300 were struck. . . "
Patterson tried, "as well as I am able," to describe the emotion. "Of all ages, from 8 years and upwards; male and female; rich and poor; the blacks; and of every denomination; those in favour of it, as well as those, at the instant in opposition to it, and railing against it, have instantaneously laid motionless on the ground. Some feel the approaching symptoms by being under deep convictions; their heart swells, their nerves relax, and in an instant they become motionless and speechless, but generally retain their senses. . . He went on to describe other manifestations which continued from "one hour to 24".
"In order to give you a more just conception of it," Patterson continued, "suppose so large a congregation assembled in the woods, ministers preaching day and night; the camp illuminated with candles, on trees, at wagons, and at the tent; persons falling down, and carried out of the crowd, by those next to them, and taken to some convenient place, where prayer is made for them, some Psalm or Hymn, suitable to the occasion, sung. If they speak, what they say is attended to, being very solemn and affecting - many are struck under such exhortations. . . Now suppose 20 of those groups around; some rejoicing, and great solemnity on every countenance, and you will form some imperfect idea of the extraordinary work!
"Indeed it is a miracle, that a wicked unthoughtful sinner, who never could, or did address himself, to an audience before, should, rise out of one of those fits and continue for the space of two hours recommending religion and Jesus Christ to sinners, as a lovely Savior, free willing, and all sufficient, and calling to sinners and inviting them to come to Christ and close in with the offer of salvation, in the most pressing an engaging manner." (Source: Extract of a Letter from Colonel Robert Patterson, of Lexington, Kentucky to the Reverend Doctor John King, September 25, 1801.)
Members Who Migrated To DeWitt County, Illinois Carried On
The Tradition
Old Union Church and the Bowles Family
DeWitt County, Illinois
(An excerpt from "The Disciples of Christ History" by Haynes)
Transcribed by ©K. Torp, June 2006
The Old Union Church, located about 10 miles west of *Clinton was constituted Oct. 13, 1831 (Second Sunday). It was formed with 17 charter members under the spreading branches of a large white oak tree whose decaying stump still marks the spot (in 1910). This and the gravestones of the cemetery which grew around the house of worship are silent sentinels of faded joys and departed glories.
Hugh Bowles was leader there. He was a product of Caneridge, Ky Revival as were those associated with him in the beginning. His son, Walter P. Bowles, became the best known and most powerful preacher of his time in that section. He and Abe Lincoln were familiar friends and long before the immortal emancipator dreamed of place and fame he said to Mr. Bowles, "Wat if I could preach like you, I would rather do that than be president."
The Old Union Church served its community and generation for just 50 years to a day, and then, the railroads coming, the towns growing, it fell asleep.
* In Barnett Township
DeWitt County, Illinois
(An excerpt from "The Disciples of Christ History" by Haynes)
Transcribed by ©K. Torp, June 2006
The Old Union Church, located about 10 miles west of *Clinton was constituted Oct. 13, 1831 (Second Sunday). It was formed with 17 charter members under the spreading branches of a large white oak tree whose decaying stump still marks the spot (in 1910). This and the gravestones of the cemetery which grew around the house of worship are silent sentinels of faded joys and departed glories.
Hugh Bowles was leader there. He was a product of Caneridge, Ky Revival as were those associated with him in the beginning. His son, Walter P. Bowles, became the best known and most powerful preacher of his time in that section. He and Abe Lincoln were familiar friends and long before the immortal emancipator dreamed of place and fame he said to Mr. Bowles, "Wat if I could preach like you, I would rather do that than be president."
The Old Union Church served its community and generation for just 50 years to a day, and then, the railroads coming, the towns growing, it fell asleep.
* In Barnett Township
The Barnett Cemetery is located on private property in the middle of a cornfield. (See DeWitt co. page) The owner of the property happened to be the son of the minister of The Hallsville Church, which was founded from The Old Union Church. He loaned me stacks of old records to copy and I found baptismal records of some of our Barnetts from the 1800s.
