In the Bishop’s Journal (October 14, 1956), Bishop Marmion wrote:
“We drove on to Brandenburg where I dedicated the new church building for Holy Trinity Church, and preached, assisted by the Rev, Messrs. Rennenberg and Steilberg. This building is a beauty.”
“Holy Trinity Memorial Chapel, Grahamton, stands today as a living memorial to the faith and devotion of a consecrated layman, Mr. A. Magill Robinson. It also meets the challenges as to whether or not the Episcopal Church can effectively work in a distinctly rural field.
Shortly after the Civil War, Mr. Robinson, having purchased a cotton mill at Grahamton, in Meade County, moved there with his family. His daughter, “Miss Lizzie,” of blessed memory, said: “I had prepared to go to Vassar but the disturbed conditions of post-war days sent me to Grahamton instead.” As soon as his home was established, Mr. Robinson began to gather together a nucleus for a Sunday School, which met at his home for many months. Soon the residence was unable to accommodate those who would come and larger quarters were needed. The only available place was the second floor of a sawmill. Here Holy Trinity Mission was organized and in June, 1869, Bishop Cummins, then the Assistant Bishop of Kentucky, visited the new Mission and baptized many people, the record states forty-three. The following year, Bishop Smith made a visitation, confirming a class of seven.
In 1896 Mr. Robinson sold the mill and, his home in Grahamton having burned, removed to Louisville. This did not daunt his missionary spirit and, despite the difficulty of travel, he visited his Sunday School each month until his death in 1904. By this time 210 persons had been baptized and 83 confirmed.
With the death of Mr. Robinson the Mission seemed to be entirely forgotten. No visitations were made and all Diocesan contact with Meade County seems to have been severed. (It will be remembered that Bishop Dudley and Mr. Robinson died at the same time and Bishop Woodcock had not come.)
In the fall of 1909, the Rev. Arthur Gorter, then the Rector of St. John’s Church, Louisville, was called to Meade County, near Rock Haven, for a sick Communion, and later a baptism. He discovered the “lost Mission” and immediately took steps to revive the work. The conditions then seemed to demand that the work be centered at Garnettsville, about four miles from Grahamton, and with the assistance of Bishop Woodcock an old store building was purchased. This Father Gorter remolded into a serviceable chapel which was dedicate to the first English martyr, St. Alban. Here Father Gorter labored for many years, baptizing 153 candidates and presenting 98 for confirmation. For nineteen years, Father Gorter gave himself unstintingly to this work and became virtually the “patron saint” of Meade County.
On March 1, 1928, Father Gorter having died the previous month, the Rev. W. F. Rennenberg, took charge of the work until someone especially fitted for rural work could be found. By this time, the Paducah Owensboro Highway had been surveyed and construction of a concrete road was imminent. It became apparent to the Bishop and Board of Missions that, due to its more ready accessibility, the work should again be consecrated in Grahamton. The school house now became the place of worship.
Father Gorter had labored unsuccessfully to secure a site for a Church at Grahamton. At times the goal seemed almost reached. So near, in fact, that he had received an altar, pews, and other church furnishings as gifts from interested friends near and far. But again and again disappointment as to a site was his reward. In the fall of 1928, Mrs. C. W. McCord, the owner of the mill, offered a site for a Church. In due time the lot was selected and a deed of gift recorded. In the fall of 1930, Bishop Woodcock dedicated a lovely little frame Church calling it “Holy Trinity Memorial Chapel,” it being a memorial to the layman and the priest who had given their best to the work. “Miss Lizzie” was present at the dedication and when she saw the site, she said: “How did you come to choose this location? This was the place my father loved the best, It was his flower garden!”
The building was made possible through the efforts of Bishop Woodcock, the unflagging interest of Miss Henrietta Bullitt, a large gift of money from the Diocesan Girl’s Friendly Society, a gift from the American Church Building Fund Commission and the offerings of the people themselves. Bronze tablets memorialize Father Gorter and Mr. Robinson. The sterling silver communion service is a memorial to Mr. Robinson. The brass processional cross is a memorial to “Miss Lizzie.” The credence shelf is a memorial to Mr. Ellam, who was of great service in assisting Mr. Robinson in the work,
The establishment of Otter Creek Park had caused the removal of a great many of our people but still we carry on with high hope for the future. To date there have been 400 baptisms and 222 confirmations in this rural Mission. We have a communicant list of approximately 80. We look forward to the time when “the man trained in rural work” will come to this field so that these devoted people may have more regular visitation than is possible under the present arrangement.
