Cane Ridge Meeting House

Date: 1791 to 1921
Location: Paris, Bourbon, Kentucky, United States

Cane Ridge Meeting House

Paris, Kentucky

The Cane Ridge Meeting House was built in 1791 in Paris, Kentucky. A group of Scottish-Irish Presbyterians from North Carolina had settled there the year before. They had decided to simply call themselves 'Christians' and devote themselves religiously to the word in the Bible (as opposed to the tenets of a specific religion).

When Barton Stone came along in 1796 he accumulated a large gathering of people. His services would generally begin on a Friday or Saturday and continue until Monday.

"The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery", was a document signed at Cane Ridge in 1804 and resulted in the birth of a movement seeking unity among Christians along non-sectarian lines.

The congregation slowly dwindled in the early twentieth century. The historic church was enshrined in 1957 is thought to be a 'building of national significance' and a tribute to the outstanding faith and inspiration of Barton Stone. It is now known as the "Cane Ridge Meeting House Shrine."

The Cane Ridge Shrine

Note: There are approximately eighty people buried in the Cane Ridge Meeting House Cemetery. It was the only cemetery on the Ridge at first and may have been used before 1790. Barton Stone was the only 'founder' of the Church buried there; his remains returned from Illinois where he was visiting family. Modern technology has been used to determine placement of the caskets.