The most conspicuous landmark is the “Log Cathedral,” home of the Buckhorn Lake Area Church, whose sanctuary easily seated the many children in residence during the Depression years, together with their teachers and the college staff. As mentioned in the History section, the church was completed in 1928 using local lumber, mostly oak, and local labor. Considering that there were no roads into Buckhorn during its construction and no modern equipment, it is hard to imagine how the work was accomplished. The church has a E. & G. G. Hook and Hastings pipe organ, which was brought in on mule-back in time for the church’s dedication, and is played on special occasions such as the graduation ceremonies for the Buckhorn School’s 8th grade and high school. At the high school graduation, “golden diplomas” are issued to surviving members of the class that graduated fifty years earlier.
In the narthex, the room just inside the front doors, are framed pictures of Harvey Murdoch, his first wife, Louise, his successor, Dr. Elmer Gabbard, philanthropist Edward Geer, and Luther Johnson, whom Gordon Mahy described as “Jonathan to Murdoch’s David.” There is also a display case with mementos of Witherspoon College.
The sanctuary, at the time it was built, was one of the largest enclosed spaces in eastern Kentucky. The sixty-two pews easily seat over four hundred adults, and for the high school graduations, crowds of five hundred or more squeeze in together. More would have been seated in the 1930s, when so many of those attending were children. A balcony at the front holds the choir loft, the organ, and the sound system. The balcony at the rear would easily seat a hundred, but it is no longer in use. A door at the rear of the sanctuary leads to the bell tower, where for many decades the “prayer bell” was rung at sundown, and all activity within earshot stopped while some prayed. The bell is still rung prior to Sunday services and on some evenings during the week.
For many decades the bell tower was a dwelling place for bats, who swooped occasionally over worshippers’ heads during services and left their droppings to be removed from floor and pews before each service. Attempts to remove the bats, especially after they became an endangered species, were unsuccessful until the 2010-2014 “Join Hands” capital campaign brought in workmen who were able to cleanse the bell tower and close the many chinks through which the bats had been entering. An occasional bat is still to be seen, but they are no longer a daily nuisance.
The sanctuary is lighted by eight chandeliers hanging high above the pews and providing a significant challenge when bulbs need to be replaced. In recent years a local philanthropist donated ceiling fans which mitigate the heat during the summer. There is currently neither air-conditioning nor heat in the sanctuary. The present small congregation could afford to install heat pumps, but they could not afford the accompanying bills for electricity.
In a room behind the pulpit is a library that is comprehensive in scope and not limited to religious topics. There are sections devoted to the history of Buckhorn and its surrounding communities, Kentucky, and Appalachia, a wall full of children’s books, over four hundred detective novels, and a ten-foot shelf containing nothing but fantasy and science fiction. There is also a collection of DVDs, half of which are for children. Members of the Buckhorn community may borrow books and DVDs.
Adjacent to and connected to the Log Cathedral is the Buckhorn Community Building, which provides an alternative worship site during inclement weather, a kitchen, and Sunday school rooms. As its name implies, the Community Building also serves as a site for Buckhorn City Council meetings and other civic gatherings. Both the sanctuary and the community building are usually available without charge for visitations and funerals. The Buckhorn Alumni Association meets here every other year in October.
