Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel (Lexington, Kentucky)

Last updated
Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel
Old Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel, Lexington Kentucky.jpg
USA Kentucky location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location251 E. 3rd St., Lexington, Kentucky
Coordinates 38°02′49″N84°29′21″W / 38.04694°N 84.48917°W / 38.04694; -84.48917
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1832, 1867
Built byG.D. Wilgus
ArchitectJohn McMurtry
Architectural styleGothic Revival, Carpenter's Gothic
NRHP reference No. 76000869 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 24, 1976

The Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel (also known as the Old Episcopal Burying Ground (OEBG)) is located at 251 East Third Street, in Lexington, Kentucky. The land was purchased in 1832 by Christ Church as a burial ground for its parishioners. The cemetery became extremely important during the 1833 cholera epidemic, during which one-third of the congregation died.

Contents

The burial ground also contains a small chapel that was built around 1867 and is thought to have been designed by notable Lexington architect John McMurtry. The small Carpenter Gothic chapel later became a sexton's cottage.

In 1976, the burying ground and former chapel were added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1] [2]

The only person of color buried in the OEBG, is Rev. London Ferrill, a former enslaved man who came to Kentucky in 1811 after the death of his enslaver. In 1821, he was ordained by the Elkhorn Baptist Association. Rev. Ferrell ministered to the black population of Lexington at the First African Church, now the First African Baptist Church. It was founded by Rev. Peter Durrett, also known as "Uncle Peter" and "Old Captain", an enslaved man of Rev. Joseph Craig, who came to Kentucky with the Baptist members of The Travelling Church from Upper Spotsylvania, Virginia in 1781.

The cemetery is not regularly open to the public, but private tours can be given by appointment.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old North Church</span> Historic church in Massachusetts, United States

The Old North Church, is an Episcopal mission church located in the North End neighborhood of Boston. The church, which was built in 1723, is the oldest standing church building in Boston and a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black church</span> Christian congregations in the U.S. that minister predominantly to African Americans

The black church is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are also led by African Americans, as well as these churches' collective traditions and members. The term "black church" may also refer to individual congregations, including in traditionally white-led denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capon Chapel</span> Historic church in West Virginia, U.S.

Capon Chapel, also historically known as Capon Baptist Chapel and Capon Chapel Church, is a mid-19th century United Methodist church located near to the town of Capon Bridge, West Virginia, in the United States. Capon Chapel is one of the oldest existing log churches in Hampshire County, along with Mount Bethel Church and Old Pine Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)</span> Church in Wilmington, Delaware

Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New Sweden. The church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. The church is considered part of First State National Historical Park. The church, which is often visited by tourists, remains open for tours and religious activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Temple AME Church (Cincinnati, Ohio)</span> Church in Ohio, US

The Allen Temple AME Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, US, is the mother church of the Third Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest operating black church in Cincinnati and the largest church of the Third Episcopal District of the AME Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church (New Rochelle, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is located at the northwest corner of Huguenot Street and Division Street. This church represents the body of the majority group of New Rochelle's founding Huguenot French Calvinistic congregation that conformed to the liturgy of the established Church of England in June 1709. King George III gave Trinity its first charter in 1762. After the American Revolutionary War, Trinity became a parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery</span> Historic burial grounds in Rhode Island, US

The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair of cemeteries was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a single listing in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery (Cambridge, Maryland)</span> Historic site in Dorchester County, Maryland, US

Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery is an historic Episcopal church and cemetery located at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church Cathedral (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Church in Kentucky, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington and is located at 166 Market Street, Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1796, Christ Church Cathedral is the oldest Episcopal church in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Renovations over the years have sought to preserve the original structure, and it remains relatively unchanged. The church created what is now called the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, located nearby. It held many who died during the cholera epidemics of 1833 and 1848, but most of the remains have been moved due to flooding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First African Baptist Church (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Historic church in Kentucky, United States

First African Baptist Church is a Baptist church at 264-272 E. Short Street in Lexington, Kentucky. The congregation was founded c. 1790 by Peter Durrett and his wife, slaves who came to Kentucky with their master, Rev. Joseph Craig, in 1781 with "The Travelling Church" of Baptists from Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Peter Durrett was an enslaved Baptist preacher, who with his wife founded the First African Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky by 1790. By his death, the congregation totaled nearly 300 persons. It is the first black congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains, the first black Baptist congregation in Kentucky, and the third oldest black congregation in the United States. Its historic church was built in 1856 under the third pastor and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McMurtry (architect)</span> American architect (1812-1890)

John McMurtry was a 19th-century American builder and architect who worked in Lexington, Kentucky designing a number of notable buildings, several of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

London Ferrill, also spelled Ferrell, was a former enslaved man and carpenter from Virginia who became the second preacher of the First African Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, serving from 1823 to 1854. During his 31 years of service, Ferrill attracted and baptized many new members in the growing region; by 1850, the church had 1,820 members and was the largest of any congregation in the state, black or white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Zion Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)</span> Historic African American cemetery

Mount Zion Cemetery/Female Union Band Society Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 27th Street NW and Mill Road NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. The cemetery is actually two adjoining burial grounds: the Mount Zion Cemetery and Female Union Band Society Cemetery. Together these cemeteries occupy approximately three and a half acres of land. The property fronts Mill Road NW and overlooks Rock Creek Park to the rear. Mount Zion Cemetery, positioned to the East, is approximately 67,300 square feet in area; the Female Union Band Cemetery, situated to the West, contains approximately 66,500 square feet. Mount Zion Cemetery, founded in 1808 as The Old Methodist Burial Ground, was leased property later sold to Mount Zion United Methodist Church. Although the cemetery buried both White and Black persons since its inception, it served an almost exclusively African American population after 1849. In 1842, the Female Union Band Society purchased the western lot to establish a secular burying ground for African Americans. Both cemeteries were abandoned by 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Chapel (Millwood, Virginia)</span> Historic site in Clarke County, Virginia

Old Chapel is a historic Episcopal church building located near Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia. Old Chapel is now the oldest Episcopal church building still in use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 2014, the Chapel Rural Historic District was recognized, and which encompasses both Cunningham parish churches, discussed below, as well as approximately 700 other structures and an area of nearly 10,500 acres.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System  (#76000869)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Mrs. James Park, Jr. (November 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel / Old Episcopal Burying Ground and Chapel". National Park Service . Retrieved February 24, 2018. With five photos from 1975.

Additional sources