Grant County Historical Society

Early Church History

The Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge (1791)

The Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge was founded on August 28th, 1791 and was located at the Entrance of Conrad Lane in Williamstown, Kentucky.  Several churches still in existence can trace their lineage to this old Church.  There is a cemetery near the location of the old church with many headstones.  You can find several pages of their early minutes at the link below:

Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge Minutes 1791-1818

The Williamstown Particular Baptist Church (1826)

The Williamstown Particular Baptist Church was organized on October 28th, 1826 out of what was left of the members of the Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge.  In fact, the members, though removed to Williamstown, stated in their minutes that the Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge and the Williamstown Particular Baptist Churches are one and the same.  The Church was located at the entrance of the Williamstown Cemetery but before a church building could be constructed, the members met at the Grant Seminary, located behind the present Williamstown Baptist Church.

A complete copy of the Williamstown Particular Baptist Church Minutes can be found at the Grant County Public Library.  A History of the Church, written by Betty Barnes can be found here:

Williamstown Particular Baptist Church-Betty Barnes

 

Dry Ridge Baptist Church (1817)

The Dry Ridge Baptist Church was formed on July 12th, 1817 out of the membership of the The Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge.   Though they formed a separate church, they used the same log structure that once sat at the entrance of Conrad Lane in Williamstown, Kentucky.  Some years later, after sharing the same building for a few years, The Old Baptist Church moved to Williamstown, the new County Seat, and the Dry Ridge Baptist Church (Freewill) moved to what would later become the town of Dry Ridge.
The Church’s Meeting Minutes can be found at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Forklick Particular Baptist Church (1818)

The Forklick Particular Baptist Church was organized on July 4th, 1818 in Cordova, Grant County, Kentucky by Elders Samuel Simpson and Alexander Monroe.  Though the Church was originally intended to surve as an “arm” of the Old Baptist Church on the Dry Ridge, the charter members voted to constitute their own church.  The church was open for 130 years before closing their doors.

Unfortunately, we do not know of any church minutes of the Fork Lick Particular Baptist Church but knew they were circulated as late as the 1990s.  Your help in obtaining these minutes would be most appreciated.