On a blistering summer Saturday morning, Anne Greenwalt, an MDiv student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, got in her car and drove four hours to Louisville, KY.
Her drive from outside of St. Louis was worth it because she wanted to experience part of Southern Seminary’s story —a story she actively participates in. Greenwalt and several other students from Southern Seminary, Boyce College, and others in the community arrived at the library early that morning to embark on a tour of Cave Hill Cemetery.
But what does this famous cemetery in the heart of Louisville, KY, have to do with Southern Seminary’s story? Jake Stone, Research Expert at Southern Seminary’s library and the guide for the tour, had much to say to that question.
What is Cave Hill Cemetery, and what does it have to do with Southern Seminary?
Cave Hill is one of the largest, and it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the region. It is home to many titanic citizens like Colonel Sanders and Muhammad Ali, but it is also intertwined with the history of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Our founding faculty, three of them, James Petigru Boyce, John Broadus, and Basil Manley Jr., are buried out there, and the first professor who ever died while serving on faculty George W. Riggan.
Cave Hill is a place where individuals who want to understand the history and story of Southern Seminary can actually walk and travel from plot to plot to see the twists and turns that have taken place in the history of our seminary.
Why did the library start offering tours?
As Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin puts it, as Baptists, if we don’t tell our story, no one will. Or if they do, they’ll mess it up. And so we have a responsibility to steward the history and heritage passed on to us. I have deeply loved Baptist history for a long time, and being a part of this community is a gateway into the richness of Baptist and Southern Baptist history. As the seminary’s library, we have a unique role as caretakers of the institution’s history and want to offer more about the history and story of Southern Seminary.
Understanding Southern Seminary’s legacy through the tours of Cave Hill Cemetery can serve two purposes. First, it reminds us of all of our mortality. We all do have an appointment with death, and we should strive to run the race well that Christ has set before us. Second, we need to understand that in our current moment, we’re not here by accident. Men and women who sacrificed much have gone before us. Some of the history is good, and some of it’s not so good, but all of it has fashioned us to this moment. Just like in our family histories—so it is with the seminary’s history.
Why should students and the community care about the history of Southern Seminary?
When you enroll to go to Boyce College or Southern Seminary, you enroll at an institution with a long history and story. You’re now a part of that story. If you want to be a good witness in that story, then it would be wise for you to know those who have gone before you. It gives you a greater appreciation for where you have chosen to study. Dr. Timothy George, who taught church history at Southern Seminary, said his job was to show students that something happened between Jesus Christ and their grandma, which still matters in 2024. We are recipients of what happened in 1859, and we enjoy what we enjoy here at Southern because of what’s happened in the past 165 years.
What can students expect on the tour, when is the next one, and why should someone sign up?
Our next tour will be on September 14. We do it on Saturdays, so there will be one a month in the semester. It’s usually around two hours. We’ll hit six spots. The seminary owns three plots, home to either presidents or faculty members. Then, we will show some of the other SBC history connections. For example, the first president of the Sunday School Board, which is now Lifeway, is buried at Cave Hill. I try to mix in facts and stories because history is more than just names, dates, and places. These are real people. We would not want anybody to describe us and say merely that we were born on this date and in this location, and then we died here and did one or two things. We need to understand some of the flavor and color behind these individuals.
If you want to step back in time for a moment and realize the exciting figures that have been part of this campus’s history, come out to Cave Hill and journey with us.