By JENNIFER MOONSONG
Glasgow News 1
Far and wide, the reputation and recollection of evangelist and famous theologian Henry Clay Morrison left an impact. However, not everyone knows of his roots in Glasgow, Ky.
Henry Clay Morrison, who founded Morrison Camp, was a famous evangelist who was raised in Barren County.
NATIONAL HISTORIC ARCHIVE PHOTO
Morrison’s parents died when he was only a baby, and at the age of 2 he moved to Barren County where he was reared by his grandparents. At the age of 13 at a revival along Boyd’s Creek, young Morrison found his calling. He went on to become the editor of the Pentecostal Herald for over half a century, and to be the president of Asbury College. He was also the founder of Asbury Theological Seminary. Those accomplishments are well-noted, and well- recorded. But perhaps one of his greatest accomplishments happened in Barren County, between Glasgow and Temple Hill.
In the late 1800s, camp revivals became prevalent as part of a resurgence of old time religion. In 1900, on the same sight as his grandparent’s home, at the age of 43, Morrison started Morrison Camp, now known as Morrison Park. It was an annual revival that drew prominent evangelists, and one of the last remaining meeting sites of its kind.
According to commentary on the Asbury College website, Morrison had a propensity for spiritual matters and it was his calling.
An excerpt from the website is as follows:
“As a boy, Morrison was sensitive to spiritual matters and often felt under conviction for sin in his young life. He tells the story of his conversion in a chapter of his book Life Sketches and Sermons, indicating that he was saved as a teenager when a circuit-riding preacher came to their community. Soon after that Morrison felt a call to ministry. At the age of 19, he was licensed to preach and carried out his calling in his work as a circuit rider and station pastor.”
The place is still used today for special religious gatherings including Easter, celebrated in an open-air tabernacle in old-fashioned style. Morrison Park can be visited today.
The Historic Morrison Park is hope of the camp meeting and the home of Henry Clay Morrison, beloved evangelist.
(Photo courtesy of the Historic Marker Database)
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