Presbyterian Church

Boyle County, KY
Marker Number 754

Marker Text: One of three founded, 1784, by Reverend David Rice; earliest of this denomination west of Alleghenies. Here worshipped: James G. Birney, whose presidential candidacy in 1844 caused defeat of Henry Clay; John C. Breckinridge, whose 1860 candidacy resulted in election of Lincoln; Samuel D. Burchard, whose "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" defeated James G. Blaine in 1884.

Location: At 500 W. Main Street, Danville, KY in front of the church also on U.S. Routes 127 and 150. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 1964.

Marker along Main Street with the church on the right.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have not posted a marker for Sunday related to a church for a while. I thought this marker I photographed in Danville, Kentucky about the Presbyterian Church was a good one for today. Though not for the reason you might think. Of course, this Presbyterian Church is an historic church, but mostly because of its unusual text related to presidential elections. Three individuals who had worshipped in this church were significantly involved in the presidential elections of 1844, 1860 and 1884. With this being a presidential election year, I thought this marker made for an interesting addition.

Monument over Rev. Rice’s grave site next to the church, part of church seen in background.

  The Danville Presbyterian Church was organized around 1784 along with others in around Danville, KY by the Rev. David Rice who is buried near the church in the same grave yard as Dr. Ephraim McDowell.

  The Danville Presbyterian congregation moved to this location at the corner of Main and Fifth Streets in 1831. A more complete history of this church can be read at their web site, Danville Presbyterian Church. My attention today will be on the three other men mentioned on the marker related to presidential elections.

Earliest Church

Lincoln County, KY
Marker Number 1234

Marker Text: The Stanford Presbyterian Church, founded 1788 on this site, on Old Wilderness Trail. Land given by Mary Briggs, sister of Gen. Benjamin Logan. Church moved to its present site, 1838; land given by Logan, one of founders. In 1797, David Rice, father of Presbyterianism in Kentucky, preached here. The original log church now part of this library building.

Location: On Main St. in front of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House and Museum, Stanford, Kentucky (U.S. Routes 27 & 150). Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 1969.

  I have not posted a marker about a church for a few months and today's marker is about a church I came across in Stanford, Kentucky last May. As you can see from the photos below this marker is next to a building as a part of the Lincoln County History Museum and within the walls of this building are the original log walls of what is probably Kentucky's oldest remaining church building. I was told that the Stanford Presbyterian congregation does conduct worship at this site about once a year to remind the congregation of its early roots in the community.

  The first recorded evidence of a congregation of Presbyterians in Stanford, Kentucky is from the minutes of Transylvania Presbytery meeting at Paint Lick in 1788. By order of the Presbytery, the Rev. McConnell was commissioned to preach two Sundays each month in the vicinity of the Stanford Courthouse for the congregation there.

Dr. Ephraim McDowell 1771-1830/McDowell-Crawford Surgery

Marker Number 2281
Boyle County, KY

Marker Text: Burial site of Ephraim McDowell, the “father of modern surgery.” His family moved here from Va. in 1784. He studied medicine in Va. and Scotland before practicing in Danville. In 1802, he married Sarah Shelby, dau. of Ky.’s first gov. Was also a founder & early trustee of Centre College.
(Reverse) McDowell-Crawford Surgery- Dec. 25, 1809, McDowell performed world’s 1st successful abdominal operation when he took a 22-pound ovarian cyst from Jane Todd Crawford of Green County. With no anesthesia, she sang hymns during the ordeal. She recovered in 25 days & lived until 1842. McDowell died in 1830 and is buried in the Presbyterian churchyard.

Location: West Main St. at McDowell Park, Danville west of the Presbyterian Church and in front of the location of Dr. McDowell's grave. Presented by Ephraim McDowell Health and erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2008.

  Since November, I have been covering historic markers related to the family of Dr. Ephraim McDowell. When Ephraim was about 12 years old, he moved with his family to the Danville, KY area from Rockbridge County, Virginia around 1783, when Ephraim's father, Samuel McDowell was appointed as one of the judges for the first Kentucky court and later played an important role in the framing of Kentucky's constitution and statehood. Links to other markers are included in this post.

Old Providence Church

Marker No. A-31
Augusta County, VA

Marker Text: Two and a half miles northwest. As early as 1748, a log meeting house stood there. In 1793 a stone church (still standing) was built. In 1859 it was succeeded by a brick church, which gave way to the present building in 1918. In the graveyard rest ancestors of Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper, and fourteen Revolutionary soldiers.

Location: On U.S. Route 11 (Lee Jackson Highway) at County Route 620 (Spottswood Road), 1.4 miles north of Steeles Tavern. The church is located west on Spottswood Road at intersection with Old Providence Road (VA Route 919) Erected by the Virginia Conservation Commission in 1939.

Photo taken looking south on Route 11.

  I have not posted about a church lately so today, I will cover one the remaining old church structures in Augusta County, VA. Historical Road Marker A-31 located on U.S. Route 11 between the villages of Greenville and Steeles Tavern tells briefly of the history of Old Providence Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. This marker among others in the valley points out the significance of Scots-Irish Presbyterians in the settlement of the Shenandoah Valley and their presence here for more than 250 years.

  As settlers into the Shenandoah Valley traveled south from Pennsylvania on the Great Wagon Road, German Lutherans and Scots-Irish Presbyterians were the main ethic groups to move into the valley in 1700's bringing their religion and cultural influences that still persist in the valley today.

Jane Todd Crawford

Rockbridge County, VA

Marker Text: Jane Todd, pioneer heroine of abdominal surgery, was born 12-23-1763 just west of here across Whistle Creek near Todd's Mill. She married Thomas Crawford in 1794. In 1809 she rode 50 mi. on horseback to the home of Dr. Ephraim McDowell in Danville, KY., where she underwent the world's first ovariotomy. The ordeal lasted 25 min. without anesthesia. She recovered, lived 32 more years, and died near Craysville, Indiana. The restored McDowell home is a surgical shrine.

Location: On U.S. Route 60 (West Midland Trail) at junction with VA Route 669 (Beatty Hollow) southwest of Lexington city limits, grouped with marker L-8 (New Monmouth Church and Morrison's Birthplace). Erected in 1974 by the Women's Aux. To the Sou. Medical Association.

  During the past couple of weeks I have posted markers related to the family of Dr. Ephraim McDowell who is known for his groundbreaking abdominal surgery in 1809. Dr. McDowell did not publish his medical notes related to the surgery until eight years later. In his subsequent writings, he describes the surgery in detail, but only refers to his first patient as Mrs. Crawford and gives few details about Jane Crawford. Any pioneering physician would not be very successful, if they did not have brave patients willing to take the risk to save their lives. In the years that followed, the identity of Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford was almost lost to history.

  For over 100 years, the world took little notice of Mrs. Crawford until 1911 when August Schachner began a comprehensive biographical study of Dr. McDowell. During a visit to Danville, he found the McDowell home was in a terrible state of neglect and disrepair. By May 1912, he addressed and urged the Kentucky Federation of Women's Clubs to begin efforts to rescue and restore the home and to establish a monument to the memory of Dr. Ephraim McDowell and Mrs. Crawford, whose first name he still did not know.

Mitchells Presbyterian Church

Culpeper County, VA

Marker No. F-25

Marker Text: This Gothic Revival church, built in 1879, contains an elaborate example of trompe-l'oeil fresco painting done in 1888. Joseph Dominick Phillip Oddenino, an Italian immigrant artist, painted to deceive the eye into believing that his plaster murals of Gothic arches, Renaissance-styled cornices, and embellished Corinthian columns were three dimensional. Oddenino decorated the ceilings at Mitchells Church and Hebron Lutheran Church in Madison with geometric designs.

Location: About two miles, south of U.S. Route 522 (Zachary Taylor Highway), 0.28 miles east of (State Route 615) Rapidan Road on Mitchell Road in east of the church.  Another marker by the same name with number F-25a is located on U.S. Route 522 south of Culpeper about 2 miles north of the church.  Erected by the Department of Conservation and Historic Resources in 1985.

  Time for another marker about a church building. Being a pastor I like historical markers related to churches, particularly Presbyterian ones. The Mitchells Presbyterian Church was built in 1879. What sets this church apart as an historical site, on two similar markers, relates to its style as a Carpenter (or Rural) Gothic church, which was a typical style for country structures during this period in the mid-19^th century and due to the trompe-l'oeil fresco painting done in 1888 by Joseph Dominick Phillip Oddenino.

Pikeville Collegiate Institute

Pike County, KY

Marker Number: 1533

Marker Text: Established by the Presbyterian Church. Building erected, 1889. The brick was fired on the site, using clay from nearby riverbank. Structure served as school, chapel, and community center for many years. Designated on National Register, 1974; used since then as the Center for Local Arts and History. Oldest surviving school building in Pike County, 1975.

Location: At 118 College Street at Kilgore Lane, Pikeville, KY. In front of the Pikeville City Hall. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society and the Department of Transportation in 1975.

  Many U.S. colleges had their beginnings during the 19^th and early 20^th century. As the U.S. expanded over a wider territory, many individuals became concerned about education in isolated areas, such as, the Appalachian mountains. Many different Christian denominations were concerned about the education of the children. During this period Presbyterian pastors were instrumental in starting different schools throughout the U.S. with the generous donations of other Presbyterians who supported these expressions of ministry in education. The historical marker about the “Pikeville Collegiate Institute” or also called “Pikeville College Institute or Academy” in Pikeville, KY tells the story of these efforts, which lead to the development of Pikeville College.

Providence Church

Louisa County, VA

Marker No. V-19

Marker Text: Half a mile northeast stands Providence Presbyterian church, built probably in 1749 and little altered since. John Todd, Senior, a founder of Hampden-Sydney College, was pastor for forty years (1753-1793). Hanover Presbytery met there in October, 1762.

Location: On Broad Street, Route 250, 0.4 miles northwest of Gum Spring, VA and the intersection with VA Route 522, on the right when traveling west. Marker is about 0.3 miles from the church which located at 3388 Three Chopt Road. Erected by the Virginia Conservation Commission in 1947.

  My last post concerned a Lutheran log church in Pennsylvania, so today I thought I would post a Presbyterian church in Virginia, which is a rare example of a 18^th century wood frame church. This simple structure stands amid oak and pine, much as it did 250 years ago when Indians roamed the Virginia forests and a group of Presbyterians met to read and study the Bible.

Bigler Graves, Mercer Co., PA

Marker Text: Jacob and Susan Bigler, parents of two governors, are buried here. Their son William was Governor of Pennsylvania, 1852-55; and their son John, Governor of California, 1852-56.

Location: On PA Route 58, Southeast of Greenville, PA.

Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1946. Dedicated on 11/12/1946

   One reason that I began my interest in historical road markers was the rich history and amazing facts that often lie below the surface of the information found on these markers. Frequently, a person will discover another fascinating story within another. A case in point is the Bigler Graves marker located on PA Route 58 in Mercer Co., Pennsylvania just south of Greenville. Countless people drive by this marker without noticing the simple historical information on this marker. Nowadays people are not too much interested in the simple graves of a seemingly obscure couple. This marker is located in front of an old cemetery dating back to the early years of Mercer Co. PA.

   Jacob Bigler moved his large family to Mercer County about 1822 and five years later died leaving his wife, Susan with ten children to support alone. Susan Bigler lived until 1854 and at the time of her death her son William was governor of Pennsylvania and another son, John was governor of California.

   When Mrs. Bigler died her obituary stated, “She was a strict member of the Presbyterian Church, and died in the fullest confidence of the Christian...” When, “Mr. Bigler died, leaving her in that wild unsettled region, with ten children dependent upon her alone for support. She maintained them all, maintained them in knowledge, and impressed upon their minds lessons usefulness to guide them safely and with honor through subsequent life. During the 28 years of her widowhood, she resided upon the same old farm, about nine miles from Mercer, on which she died.”

   Susan Bigler's son William moved to Clearfield, PA and made his fortune in the timber business and from 1841 to 1847 served in the Pennsylvania State Senate. In 1851 he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania and served from Jan. 20, 1852 until Jan. 16, 1855. He later was elected to serve as Pennsylvania's U.S. Senator from 1856 to 1861. He worked with others during these years attempting to develop a compromise with the southern states in hopes of avoiding the coming Civil War. After his political life, he became the president of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad.

   William's older brother, John Bigler decided to go west during California's gold rush by driving an ox team west. John Bigler became know for his bravery in aiding the sick and burying the dead in Sacramento during a cholera epidemic, though it nearly killed him. John Bigler served as California's Third Governor from 1852-1856 and was the first governor to successfully complete an entire term and the first to win re-election. A couple of legends are connected with Governor Bigler. In 1852, State Senator James W. Denver and U.S. Representative and Alta California publisher Edward C. Gilbert rowed out to Angel Island to settle a dispute over Gilbert's attacks against Governor John Bigler on the field of honor. Only Denver returned alive. Also, while governor in 1854, it is said that Bigler rescued the portrait of George Washington from the Senate Chamber during a fire, the portrait still hangs in the Senate Chambers, today. The 1854, California legislature honored Governor Bigler by naming the state's largest lake after him. In 1870, Bigler Lake was renamed “Lake Tahoe.”