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STAFF REPORT
The Interior Journal

Marker recognizes donation of lands for courthouse and Presbyterian church

STANFORD — The Lincoln County Historical Society unveiled and dedicated an historic marker Sunday afternoon.

The dedication took place in the Old Presbyterian Section of Buffalo Springs Cemetery at 3 p.m.

A crowd of approximately 50 gathered in the old part of the cemetery to witness the unveiling of the marker, which recognizes the allocation of lands by Benjamin Logan for the building of a county courthouse and a house of worship.

On one side of the marker it reads, “In February 1781, it was ordered that court be adjourned from Harrodsburg to St. Asaph’s. Benjamin Logan offered ten acres adjacent to Buffalo Springs for a court house and other public buildings.” In April of the same year, the court appointed a contract to build the first courthouse in Lincoln County and a prison.

Several years later, Logan donated more land for what would become the location of the first Stanford Presbyterian Church. The second side of the marker relates to that offer and reads, “In 1802, Benjamin Logan granted and gave a three and one-half acre tract to the elders representing the Buffalo Springs Presbyterian Society for the purpose of worship.”

Jane Vanhook, Lincoln County Historical Society president, welcomed the crowd to the dedication and introduced the day’s speakers.

Irene Jaggers, past president of the Society, related as she addressed the crowd that the historic marker project has been in the works since 2007. She stated that “there have been many obstacles to overcome,” referring to the completion of the project, and she expressed her sincere appreciation for all the hard work dedicated to seeing the project through to completion.

Following Jaggers’ remarks, Nell Davis, who played a part in the historical marker project, unveiled the new marker.

John David Friend, chairman of the Society’s Buffalo Springs Cemetery project committee, also provided an update as to what improvements have been made to the cemetery over the past several years. He noted that 30 new section markers had been installed in the older-designated sections of the cemetery and “that the Presbyterian Section, of the cemetery, had been designated a Pioneer Cemetery by the Kentucky Historical Society.” A marker was placed, approximately one year ago, denoting the Pioneer Cemetery accreditation.

During his remarks, Friend also reported that further work is needed in the Old Presbyterian Section at Buffalo Springs in regards to the cleaning and repairing of stones, painting of fences, etc. Volunteers from the Society gathered last Thursday to begin the process of safely cleaning the stones in the section, however, Friend said, “there is much more to be done.”

If you would like to make a donation to complete these projects, please send your donation to: Lincoln County Historical Society, PO Box 570, Stanford, KY 40484.

Dr. Shea Lair, representing the Stanford Presbyterian Church, closed the ceremony with a prayer. Following the prayer, light refreshments were served.

Before the crowd dispersed, several special thank you’s were given to those who helped make the marker project a success, including: individuals and businesses who contributed to the project; the Society’s Buffalo Springs Cemetery Project Committee (John David Friend, chairman, Wanda Barrett, Wayne Berry, the Late Nancy Hill, and Irene Jaggers) for their hard work to ensure that the project was completed properly; the Buffalo Springs Cemetery Board, for their support of the project; Nell Davis, Jane Berry, and Irene Jaggers, for their diligent work on ensuring the wording was correct on the historical marker; Martha Francis, past president of the Lincoln County Historical Society; and David and Tonya Watts, current caretakers of Buffalo Springs Cemetery, for ensuring that the cemetery is always kept in pristine condition.