John Prater, and
perhaps his father, Archibald Prater, built this home in the early
1800's. Legendary stories relate that Archibald lived here himself, but
they are questionable. This was a two-story home with chimneys on both
ends. We are told it had no dogtrot or breezeway. This old cabin was
taken down several years ago, and the Burning Fork Community Church was
built on the site. One half of the original cabin was moved to Lexington,
Kentucky, and rebuilt by David Prater. The other half was stored in the
old Prater barn and was inherited by Thomas Keith, who donated the logs to
the Pioneer Village. This cabin became, for a short time, the Pioneer
Village Church/Chapel and was designated non-denominational, although
legend tells us it was a stopover for the early Methodist Circuit riding
preachers, and services were held in it, as there were very few church
buildings in existence at that time.
BACK to view other cabins
Magoffin County Historical
Society
