Forks of Elkhorn Baptist Church
495 Duckers Road
Midway, Kentucky 40347
859/873-1967 OR 859/879-8473 OR 866/371-5600 (Toll Free)
Todd Lester, Pastor
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the church have the name "Forks of Elkhorn" when it is no where near the Forks of Elkhorn creek?
To understand how we got the name Forks of Elkhorn when we are located nowhere near that area, we have to go back to our origins, back to 1788. This was the edge of Indian country and attacks occurred here years after the church was established. It was dangerous to live along the creeks because animals lived there, and animals attacked Indians. Many settlers chose to live on the hilltops surrounding the Forks of Elkhorn creek. When our church was established in 1788, it too was located on the safer, high country overlooking the creek.
It was common practice in that day to name churches after nearby, prominent landmarks. When the church was established, the closest, most prominent landmark close to the church's location was the Forks of Elkhorn creek.
Where was the original church building located?
Over the years, the church moved from the Major house in Two Creeks subdivision, to the original meeting house site on "Sam Mason's Farm" to the Harmony Church site across the Woodford County line on US 421, to the Duckers sites (old and new) where we are now. Each move was done for good reason, but each took us farther away from our origins and namesake.
The answer to this question is not simple because it all depends on which "original church building" about which you are asking. If you are asking about the first place the settlers gathered to hear William Hickman preach his first sermon, then you are asking about the John Major house located in Two Creeks and that still stands today. Go into the Two Creeks subdivision past the guard station, look at the hillside on the left, and see a small, two story stone building located on the Glenary Farm property.
If you are asking about the first church building constructed by the Forks of Elkhorn creek, that's a bit more difficult. We have yet to positively identify its precise location. We have a copy of the 1795 deed for the land on which the meeting house and cemetery sat, but time has erased all boundary landmarks. There is no continuous line of deeds from that time to the present. An 1832 map of the area locates the church, but the changing landscape and recent developments makes the precise location very difficult. The church house was dismantled in 1866, removing any physical trace of its location.
Most recent records indicate it was "on Sam Mason's Farm," but that doesn't narrow down the information because Mr. Mason's holdings covered a large area. Most of that area is now covered by the industrial park on US 421. We have an idea, but we are not sure.