Cane Ridge, Kentucky facts for kids
Cane Ridge is a historic place in Bourbon County, Kentucky, near Paris. It's famous for a huge religious gathering in 1801 called the Cane Ridge Revival. Thousands of people came to this event, which became a very important part of the Second Great Awakening. This was a time when many people in the United States became more interested in religion, especially in the frontier areas.
The revival was led by eighteen Presbyterian ministers. Many Methodist and Baptist preachers also helped. During the meeting, some people showed strong spiritual reactions, like speaking in unknown languages or having intense emotional experiences. These actions later became more common in the Pentecostal movement in the 20th century.
The name "Cane Ridge" came from the explorer Daniel Boone. He noticed a type of bamboo growing there. The Cane Ridge Meeting House, built in 1791, is thought to be the largest log building with only one room in North America. The burial ground nearby also has a large section with unmarked graves. After the 1801 revival, a Christian church group met at this site for many years. In 1804, this group left the Presbyterian Church. Barton W. Stone was their minister and a key leader of the Christian Church. He loved this place so much that his remains were buried there years after he died.
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The Restoration Movement
The Cane Ridge Revival, led by Barton Stone, helped start what is known as the Restoration Movement. This movement aimed to restore Christianity to its original form, as described in the Bible. In 1804, Barton Stone and several other ministers left the Presbyterian Church and formed the Christian Church.
Another important part of the Restoration Movement was led by Alexander Campbell, whose followers were called the Disciples of Christ. In 1832, Stone and Campbell decided to work together to further the Restoration Movement. Later, other groups like the Churches of Christ and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada also developed from this movement.
The Historic Meetinghouse
The Christian Church used a log building as their meeting house. Over the years, it was updated many times. By the 1920s, the church group stopped meeting there regularly, and the building was no longer used. Later, people interested in history, especially from the Disciples of Christ, worked to fix up the building. They built a stone structure around it to protect it.
Inside the meetinghouse, there was a special gallery for enslaved people. This gallery was removed by the congregation in the 1820s because they supported ending slavery. When people started restoring the building in the 1930s, they found the original cherry-wood railing for this gallery in a local barn, where it had been used for over a hundred years. They put it back in its original place. This was one of the earliest known restorations of such a feature in the United States.
The meetinghouse is still used as a church today. You can also arrange for a guided tour with a curator.
Barton Warren Stone Museum
The Barton Warren Stone Museum is located at Cane Ridge. It displays items related to the church group, Barton W. Stone and his family, and the Stone-Campbell movement. The museum also has old farm tools and household items. It is open only during the summer months. The museum also has offices for the Cane Ridge Preservation Projects and a book shop.
Images for kids
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Interior of the original meeting house at Cane Ridge, Kentucky
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The original Cane Ridge Meeting House within the Stone Memorial Building
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Grave of Barton Stone
