The story of the rise, progress, trials and triumphs of Baptists in Kentucky is more thrilling and remarkable than the purist fiction of the wildest imagination. One hundred and fifty-two years ago there was one Baptist on Kentucky soil, Elder Squire Boone; today there are about three hundred thousand Baptists in the State of Kentucky. This, too, in spite of the fact that Kentucky’s fruitful soil has been the hot bed of almost every conceivable heresy.

      Kentucky has been in theological, as well as in profane history, a “dark and bloody ground.” She has been the storm center of religious controversy, the battle-field of jarring opinions from her earliest history. Her preachers have been trained in a stern school, being men of ward from their youth up. “Infidelity,” “Deism,” “Unitarianism,” “Hell-Redemption,” “Arianism,” “Two-Seedism,” “Campbellism,” “Hard-shellism,” “Old Landmarkism,” “Whittsittism,” “Gospel Missionism,” succeeding and overlapping one the other, for more than 125 years have divided the Baptist forces of this state and shorn them of much of their power. But our brethren farther south should not complacently refer to Kentucky Baptists as “a scrappy bunch,” forgetting the fact that Kentucky has fought the battles for the other states as well as for herself, and that but for the heroic struggles in Kentucky there would of necessity have been greater struggles in these other states. Kentucky has served as a break-water for the South against the flood of heresies that has swept down from the North.

EXPLANATION

      We take the following, which is self-explanatory, from the minutes of the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky for the year 1917 (Page 70):

”W. D. Nowlin offered the following resolution, which unanimously adopted:

“Inasmuch as we as Baptists are making history in Kentucky and inasmuch as it is very important to preserve our history, therefore be it

“Resolved, That we, the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky, in session assembled, this, the 15th day of November, 1917, request Prof. W. J. McGlothlin to prepare and publish a readable history of Kentucky Baptists from their beginning in this State to the present time.”

      Immediately following the meeting of the General Association, in which the above resolution was passed, the author turned over to Professor McGlothlin such materials as he had gathered for a history of Kentucky Baptists. Professor McGlothlin [was] expected to prepare the history, but was later called to the presidency of Furman University, which position he accepted, and which removed him from the state. On leaving the state he turned back to the author the materials for the history.

      From the minutes of the Georgetown session of the General Association, 1919 (page 35), we take the following: "On Motion W. D. Nowlin was requested to write a HIstory of Kentucky Baptists, and the Kentucky Baptist Historical Society was requested to finance the publication."

      This gives us something of the history of this History. The original resolution called for "a readable history of Kentucky Baptists from their beginning in this state to the present time." It has been the aim of the author to follow this instruction. However, it has been hard sometimes to cut down the material to a readable volume, and yet give all tha should be given to make clear a connected history of Baptists in Kentucky from the first appearance of Elder Squire Boone in January, 1770, ro 1922.

      In this history the effort has been made to givethe various movements among Kentucky Baptists in their chronological ordr, though at times there is considerable overlapping of these movements.

APPRECIATION

      The appreciation of the author is here expressed to his friends, the Rev. W. W. Landrum, D.D., the Rev. C. M. Thompson, D.D., the Rev. W. J. McGlothlin, D.D., the Rev. John T. Christian, D.D., and the Rev. J. G. Bow, D.D., for assistance and suggestions. He also extends thanks to the following who furnished old copies of papers, magazines, minutes, etc.: Hon. H. S. Robinson, Campbellsville; Mr. O. C. Fogle, Fairfield, Ill; Miss Mattie Wilson, Bardstown; Mrs. H. A. Buchanan, Burdick, Ky,; Mr. J. B. Whitaker, Russellville; the Rev. Benj. Connaway, Providence; Don Singleton, M.D., Clinton; J. N. Smith, Lewiston, Mo.; the Rev. C. O. Simpson; Clay; Mrs. F. T. Heyser, DeLand, Fla.; and the Rev. W. M. Lee, Th.D., Cochran, Ga. To Deacon J. W. Lam of the First Baptist Church, Greenville, Ky., a fine Christian gentleman, who is interested in his denomination and its history, and who gave his encouragement and financial support to his pastor, the author, in his arduous task of gathering and preparing material, is the author greatly indebted.
          Your fraternally,
          Wm. D. Nowlin
First Baptist Church
Greenville, Ky.
June 5, 1922.

=========== [William D. Nowlin, Kentucky Baptist History, 1922, pp. 5-7. Transcribed and formatted by Jim Duvall.]

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