Red River Meeting House

What later became known as the Revival of 1800 began as a traditional Presbyterian sacramental occasion at the Red River Meeting House in June of the same year. As the revival spread to the congregations of McGready's two other area congregations, several hundred people attended the meetings, held from Friday through Tuesday. McGready's other congregations were located at Muddy River, and Gasper River. The meeting was a chance for the settlers to end their relative isolation for several days and to engage with new people. In June, the sacrament was administered at Red River. This was the greatest time we had ever seen before. On Monday multitudes were struck down under awful conviction; the cries of the distressed filled the whole house. There you might see profane swearers, and sabbath breakers pricked to the heart, and crying out, "what shall we do to be saved?" There frolicers, and dancers crying for mercy. There you might see little children of ten, eleven and twelve years of age, praying and crying for redemption, in the blood of Jesus, in agonies of distress. During this sacrament, and until the Tuesday following, ten persons we believe, were savingly brought home to Christ. The Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone observed the events and wrote the following: ==History==

The first settlers of European descent in the area were Ambrose Maulding and his family in 1780. They established what became known as Maulding's Station or Maulding's Fort. The original church building in this area was built between 1789 and 1792 and is described by some as the first Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After the church building collapsed in 1856, the adjacent cemetery expanded onto the site of the original cabin. A white framed church was built nearby but was torn down in 1929 due to deterioration and disuse. A log cabin believed to resemble the original style was constructed on the site in 1959. It burned due to an unknown cause on May 2, 1992. The Red River Meeting House and Cemetery Association was formed to raise funds for a replacement pioneer church, which was constructed in May 1994. Kentucky Historical Marker 71 is erected at the intersection of U.S. Highway 431 and Route 663: "Three miles east is site of early pioneer church. Organized by 'A Society of Presbyterians,' 1789. Here the Great Revival of 1800 was conducted by the Rev. James McGready. First camp meeting held here." The adjacent cemetery contains the graves of numerous veterans of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The gravestone of William McPherson is engraved with the Twenty-third Psalm in Gaelic. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. ==Location==

The site is located three miles (5 km) east of U.S. Route 431 along Route 663 and the Red River in Logan County, Kentucky. ==Current use==

A primitive camp meeting and rendezvous is held annually on the grounds during the local Tobacco & Heritage Festival (second weekend in October). The Red River Meeting House and Cemetery Association holds its annual meeting on the grounds on the second Sunday in September. The site is privately owned, but it is open to the public from dawn to dusk and admittance is free. There are no interpretive signs or facilities. ==See also==