About this property
Bracken Baptist Church (Old Minerva Church) is a historic church on CR 1235 in Minerva, Kentucky. The Bracken Baptist Church (structure), built circa 1840–1842, is an example of prostyle Greek Revival church architecture. The Bracken County Church, established in June 1793 by the Rev. Lewis Craig, leader of The Travelling Church, is the oldest constituted Baptist church in northeastern Kentucky and one of six churches included in the Bracken Association formed here in 1799. The congregation was constituted with ten members dismissed for that purpose from the Limestone/Washington Baptist Church in Mason County, KY (organized in 1785 by Elder William Wood), and presided over by Lewis Craig, who was still a member of the South Elkhorn Baptist Church in Fayette County, KY. Prior to construction of the 1840 structure, the congregation encountered several periods of discord. In 1805, it split over the issue of slavery, with both congregations sharing the same log church. In 1829–1830, the rapid rise of Campbellism eventually led to worship in the Minerva Church on alternate Sundays by Campbellist and traditional factions. The church experienced a period of decline after 1850, and by 1886 only 60 members remained. The structure was used as a community center from 1900 to 1923 and baccalaureate services for Minerva High School were held there. The church structure was sold in 1928 for $280 and was used as a tobacco barn for the next forty years. The Bracken Association re-acquired the deteriorating structure in 1981. Restoration began and the structure was added to the National Register in 1983.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Bracken Baptist Church
This page lists Bracken Baptist Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Bracken Baptist Church listed on the National Register?
Bracken Baptist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 27, 1983.
What type of historic resource is Bracken Baptist Church?
Bracken Baptist Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Bracken Baptist Church?
The period of significance for Bracken Baptist Church is recorded as the pre_contact era, specifically around 1235.
Can I research the history near Bracken Baptist Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Bracken Baptist Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Mason County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Mason County.
Explore MasonCounty ›More historic places in Kentucky
Browse all historic places in Kentucky.
View Kentuckyhistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Bracken Baptist Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.