Jessamine County KyArchives History - Books .....Keene 1898 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/kyfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com August 6, 2007, 1:55 am Book Title: A History Of Jessamine County, Kentucky Keene. This village is about six miles northwest from Nicholasville, on the Versailles turnpike. It was laid out in 1813 and called North Liberty, but its name was changed to "Keene," in 1848, through the influence of Thomas Jones, a hatter, who came and settled in the village about the year 1845. His native town in New Hampshire was Keene, and through his influence North Liberty was blotted out, and Keene was established. About the time of the change of the name, in boring for a well a fine stream of sulphur water was found. In those days, sulphur water, wherever found, was supposed to have valuable medicinal properties, and, during the prevalence of cholera, in Lexington, about this time, a large number of people came to Keene and lived during the panic, occasioned by this disease in Lexington and surrounding towns. Keene had several stores and a very nice hotel; and its stores do a first-class local business. It is within sight of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist church. The neighborhood surrounding Keene was settled by some of the best men who in early times came to Jessamine county. There is an old stone-mill at Keene, which was built in 1794. In the last few years it has fallen into decay. This mill was provided with a combination of horse and water power, and was erected by Manoah Singleton. The Singletons were among the best people who came to Jessamine, and were good farmers and enterprising men, and they built this stone mill, which was a fine structure in its day. It has been operated until within the last twenty years. It relied for its water power upon a large spring, which was located about a mile and a half away, upon a place formerly owned by Mr. Robert Young, and sold by him to Mr. Andrew Hampton. This spring rises up in the valley, and runs down into a large cave, which was a habitation for the Indians before the advent of the white man in this, section of Kentucky. This spring reappears some distance from Keene, and this and the water that flowed from other small streams in the neighborhood, supplied the power for the operation of the mill at Keene. In the early days, when steam was unknown, mill-sites were very valuable. When the hunters and pioneers first came to Kentucky, in crossing streams they would mark mill-sites, and in their notes state that at such and such a place was a good mill-site, and the lands that were contiguous to such sites were always considered of great value, and were promptly taken up by the settlers, or by their representatives. Surveyors in these days would laugh at the preservation of the water and its use in the operation of these mills, but in the days of our forefathers, it was either water power or horse power, and horse power was extremely slow and ineffectual, and, as it sometimes required a mill-race to run a mile and a half to get the proper fall, opportunities were promptly and energetically-seized wherever a proper fall of water could be secured by dams to operate these country mills. Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. One of the oldest churches in Jessamine county is Mt. Pleasant Baptist church, near Keene. It is located in a fine neighborhood, in the midst of rich lands, which were settled about 1790 by some of the most enterprising and best-educated people who came to Jessamine county at that period of its history. From time to time there had been preaching in this locality by the Baptists who were connected with the South Elkhorn church, which was over the Fayette line, but in 1801 at the request of one hundred members of the South Elkhorn church who were living in the neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant, application was made to organize a new congregation, and Rev. John Shackleford, Absalom Bainbridge, and John Kellar were authorized to investigate and constitute a church at this point. The South. Elkhorn church still exists, but is not so prosperous as its daughter, Mt. Pleasant. The rules of the church which were adopted at this time were very peculiar, and were headed, "Rules of the Church While Sitting on Business": 1st. It is agreed that no motion be attended to without the person making such motion addresses the Moderator standing, and this proposition be seconded. 2nd. That no member speak while the church is on business except to the Moderator, and then in a mild and Christian manner. 3rd. That no member speak in church meeting to the same matter more than twice without leave of the Moderator. 4th. That no member leave his seat in time of business. 5th. The Moderator shall call to order, whenever these rules are violated. Any member called to order has a right to a voice of the church, if he chooses. Among the first members were the Williamses, the Woods, the Hugheses, the Smiths, the Singletons, the Haydons, the Hamptons, the Sales, the Mosbys, the Barclays, the Holloways and the Proctors. From its commencement Mt. Pleasant has always been one of the most prosperous of the Baptist churches in the Bluegrass section. The neighborhood, settled by Baptists, has been dominated and controlled by Baptists from the time of the organization of this church down*to the present. It is an evidence of the persistence of the religious denomination in any community where once fairly planted. The first pastor was Rev. George Stokes Smith. He was a man of strong individuality, great talent, and was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of 1792, and represented Fayette county in that body. He was prominent and influential, and was pastor of the church from 1803 down to 1810. In that year Edmund Waller, a nephew of Rev. G. S. Smith, was called as pastor of the church, and remained with it until June, 1843. He was a man of great power, great earnestness, and 'great consecration, and built up a very large congregation. The church book shows that the deacons in memory of Mr. Waller draped the pulpit in mourning for him who had been the true and faithful pastor of the church for thirty-two years, and the first Sabbath of July in that year was directed to be set apart as a day of fasting and prayer. Edmund Waller, who was the father of John L. Waller, was born at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., in 1775. He was the son of Wm. E. Wallet and brother of Wm. Smith Waller, the Lexington banker. His mother was a sister of George Stokes Smith. He was buried a few miles from Mt. Pleasant in one direction, while his uncle Smith is buried three miles south. He served the church longer than any other pastor. The church has had twenty-one pastors, the minister being the Rev. E. W. Argabrite, and under his ministration the church bids fair to have many years of continued usefulness. Additional Comments: Extracted from: A HISTORY OF JESSAMINE COUNTY, KENTUCKY, FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO 1898. By BENNETT H. YOUNG, PRESIDENT POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY; MEMBER FILSON CLUB; MEMBER CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1890; AUTHOR HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF KENTUCKY, OF "BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS, ETC, ETC. S. M. DUNCAN, ASSOCIATE AUTHOR. Every brave and good life out of the past is a treasure which cannot be measured in money, and should be preserved with faithfullest care. LOUISVILLE, KY.: COURIER-JOURNAL JOB PRINTING CO., 1898. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/jessamine/history/1898/ahistory/keene273gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/