The rural landscape of Kentucky teems with historic churches. I can count on seeing them from my windshield view, no matter what part of the state I am crossing. Some are tattered and quite literally torn by disuse and neglect. Others bear the badge of modernization – visible by the layers of siding, additions, or small seas of paved parking lots – but they still open their doors on Sundays, Wednesday nights, for funerals, and weddings. Driving slowly down a small rural road in Boyle County earlier this year, I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing at first, other than a building below the grade of the road, seemingly clinging to the side of a steep hill.
The facade of Stoney Point Church.
The form of the church is a straightforward front gable, devoid of any ornament, an expanse of white weatherboards broken only by the double panel entry doors, and a stenciled sign above the entry. Three windows provide light to the sanctuary on the long (north side) elevation.
The parsonage, connecting hyphen, and church.
The south side of the church seems to have a long arm that stretches out – a one-story, one bay wide hyphen and next to it, the three bay wide parsonage. The hyphen was added between the two buildings sometime in the 1980s.
A section of the 1876 D. G. Beers & Company map of Mercer and Boyle Counties, showing the general vicinity of the church (it is not depicted and was likely not yet constructed).
The church likely dates to the last quarter of the 19th century, sometime after 1876. At that time, this was the Danville and Lexington Turnpike, with a tollhouse to the east (close to the Garrard County line) and and farms all all around.
A contact strip from black and white photos taken in 1976.
I drove by twice, very slowly, but I couldn’t see an easy place to pull off of the road (it had been raining, so I decided not to risk my 14-year old trusty steed to dubious slopes and wet turf). So I missed the very nice stone foundation visible in the photo above, and what looks like a polygonal apse at the rear of the church – likely the location of the pulpit.
The Stoney Point Church appeared fairly well-maintained, and I imagine the stories the simple frame building has witnessed would provide a timeline of societal change in Kentucky. Alas, we remain unaware or deaf to the sentient nature of wood, so listening to the walls is not an option, and we must employ our imagination to fill in the gaps.
Interesting…the single front door…so many of the country churches seem to have paired front doors. I lay this to a door for each of the two aisles leading up to the front of the church…but I have always wondered. Any thoughts?
The two front doors were the women sat on one side and the men on the other
Fascinating – love your stories!
Getting the photo documentation is important but not as much as your safety.