Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church
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Front and western side of the church
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 Location in Indiana
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | U.S. Route 52 at Little Cedar Rd., southeast of Brookville, Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1812 |
| Built by | Carter, Thomas; Winscott, Thomas |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000366 |
| Added to NRHP | March 22, 1990 |
The Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church is a very old and important church in Indiana. It was started in 1797 by early settlers who were part of the Primitive Baptist faith. The church building you see today was built in 1812.
This makes it the oldest church in Indiana that is still standing on its original spot! Because of its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Contents
A Church is Born: Early Settlers
The Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church was founded by a group of people called Primitive Baptists. They traveled all the way from Virginia through Kentucky in 1797. Elder William Tyner and his family were among these first settlers.
They created the Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church. This was the very first church in the Whitewater River Valley. Around 1805, the members built a simple church out of logs. It was located a few miles southeast of Brookville, Indiana.
Building a Permanent Home
In 1812, the community built a much larger church. This new building was made of brick and even had a balcony inside. It also had small openings, sometimes called "rifle ports," which were used for defense in those early days. This brick church is the one that still stands today. It is the oldest church building in Indiana that has stayed on its original site.
Today, the Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church is open as a historic site. You can visit and learn about its past. There is also a small cemetery nearby. Many of the first settlers of the area are buried there. Another church, the Big Cedar Baptist Church, was later formed as a branch of this original Little Cedar Grove church.
Building the Church: A Special Story
The church group had been meeting for several years. But they had not yet built a permanent church building. Then, in December 1811, a series of very strong earthquakes happened. These were known as the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes.
A Promise to Build
The church members felt that these earthquakes were a sign. They believed it was a message because they had not yet built a proper church. Reverend Allen Wiley, a traveling preacher for the church, described the scene. He said people were very scared. They called for prayer meetings and promised to do good deeds. They felt like a very important day was coming.
So, the community came together. They made a promise to a higher power. They said that if there were no more earthquakes, they would quickly build a church. After this promise, they worked fast to build the large brick church. The new church building was finished on August 1, 1812.
See also
- List of the oldest churches in the United States
