"Divine Elm"

Near the walls of the fort stood the Divine Elm, a majestic tree under whose boughs 100 persons could be seated. The tree served as both council chamber and church in the development of Kentucky. On May 23, 1775, it was the site of the first legislative session held in Kentucky, presided over by Colonel Richard Henderson. Here, on May 28, 1775, the first official Christian worship service in Kentucky was conducted by the Reverend John Lyth, representing the Church of England. After the original tree fell in 1828, a replacement elm was planted on Sept. 2, 1927, near the site of the Divine Elm by the Boone Family Assn., and at its roots was placed earth from thirty-seven historic American shrines.

Kentucky · United States