Trinity Episcopal Church

About this property

Trinity Episcopal Church in Danville, Kentucky, was one of the first churches organized in the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky. Trinity Church is the oldest in-use church structure in Danville and the oldest continuously used Episcopal church building in the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington as well as the second oldest in Kentucky. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The origin of the Episcopal church in Kentucky dates to 1796 when Christ Church in Lexington was organized. It wasn't until 1809, however, that the parish was formally established when the first vestry was elected. In 1822 a second Episcopal church was established in Louisville, it too being named Christ Church. The building, which is now Christ Church Cathedral, was completed in 1824. In 1829 Reverend George T. Chapman, rector of Lexington's Christ Church from 1820 to 1830, proposed the formation of a Diocese. In working towards this goal, Reverend Chapman visited Danville and organized a congregation. The group of local citizens who were instrumental in the formation of the new church were mostly physicians, lawyers, bankers, merchants, and landowners. Members of the committee formed to erect a church building included Dr. Ephraim McDowell and his wife, Sarah Shelby McDowell, daughter of Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky. Another influential member and largest contributor to the church was James Birney, a wealthy merchant, who was the father of James G. Birney, the prominent abolitionist. The new church building, completed in late 1830 or early 1831, was built by Robert Russel Jr., a local brick maker and mason. Russel, a native of Virginia, settled in Danville in 1805. He built almost all of the early brick buildings in Danville, including Old Centre in 1820. Russel's fees must have been modest for the vestry minutes indicate that it was decided to begin construction as soon as $1,500 had been subscribed. The new building was consecrated on June 3, 1831, by the Reverend William Meade, then assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, who was to become one of the most influential leaders of the Episcopal Church. The new Kentucky Diocese, having at this time no bishop of its own, had invited him to visit Kentucky to perform such functions as ordaining new clergy, confirming laymen, and consecrating churches. The first rector of the parish was the Reverend Gideon McMilan. In addition to his duties as rector of Trinity Church, Reverend McMillan regularly traveled throughout the surrounding area on horseback, establishing missions in Harrodsburg and Lancaster. Reverend McMillan's service to the church was short lived, for he fell victim to the cholera epidemic of 1833, after ministering to the needs of the community. He was buried along the south wall of the church, which is now covered by the chancel.

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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.

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