Stumptown is mentioned in The Little Colonel series in several
books, including The Little Colonel Maid of Honor and The Little
Colonel's Knight Comes Riding.
In
Maid of Honor, it is in Chapter XIV: A Second Maid of Honor, and
is where an African American wedding is held.
"...The path they
followed was a wide one, and well worn by the feet of
churchgoing negroes, for it was the shortest cut between
the Valley and Stumptown, a little group of cabins
clustered around the colored church....The bare,
unpainted little church had just been lighted when they
arrived...."
In
the Little Colonel's Knight Comes Riding, it is referred to in
several places, including The Hanging of the Mirror, when Gay
talks about being the robin who came to the rescue:
"I went over to
Stumptown bright and early -- you see I remembered the
short cut through the woods "
(she was going to find a
servant who would cook for them)
Stumptown itself is in ruins
From History & Families Oldham County, Kentucky: The First
Century 1824-1924
Pewee Valley First Baptist Church (in Stumptown)
On
April 10, 1869, Henry Smith and his wife , Susan, transferred by
deed slightly over one acre of land to Charles B. Cotton as
trustee for the African Baptist Church. The purchase price of
the lot was one hundred eight dollars. Located approximately 16
miles east of Louisville, the land was near the Pewee Valley
Railway Station on the Louisville & Frankfort Railroad.
Prior to official transfer of property, the Freedman's Bureau of
Kentucky assisted former slaves with the erection of a crudely
constructed building to serve as a church on Sunday and as a
school during the week. Men of the congregation worked
diligently to clear the wooded plot. Utilizing the felled
timber, they hewed tables and pews to finish the church
building.
During the formative years, the church function as a Union
Church. Methodist and Baptist congregations shared the
building, alternating Sundays, for their worship. After
several years of the shared arrangement, the Methodists
constructed a church building, now called Sycamore Chapel, for
their own congregation's benefit.
The
Rev. Alexander Taylor assumed leadership of the Baptist church
in 1869. The church, named Pewee Valley First Baptist Church,
grew under his guidance. Because of inadequate lighting, the
minister conducted one Sunday service in the early years. With
the acquisition of kerosene lamps, however, evening services
followed.
In
July 1878, Charles B. Cotton executed a Deed of Trust to James
Huffman, Thomas Davis, Anderson Hitt and Bartlett Frazier (could
this be the B. Frazier for whom the other black settlement
Frazier Town was named?), trustees of the church. In the late
1860s, Cotton had advanced money to trustees of the church and
had executed a bond in the amount of $275 to the Freedman's
Bureau. The bond insured that the members of the church would
complete the church structure. Not until February 12, 1890, did
Cotton render a deed to the trustees, Frazier, Hitt and Jerry
Hardin.
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