Day 4: Bethany, Amish things, and Canton, Ohio

Today we visited the home, gravesite, and original church building of Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The elder Thomas Campbell was excommunicated for their too-hot-for-the-church views and booked it to the New World, settled in Washington, PA, then moved down to Bethany and built his mansion with unusual outdoor octagonal study. The Campbell-Stone restoration movement brought forth the formation of the Disciples of Christ, the Christian Church, and the churches of Christ. Curiously, Campbell did not wish to start a new denomination. He simply wished reform of the present church, according to his Declaration and Address from the mid-18th century. His son, Alexander, would carry the movement onward.

We sang for a period in the church building, which was basically a huge wooden box with much better acoustics than you would expect. We followed the historical practice of sitting with each gender on opposite sides of the aisle, proper etiquette in Campbell's time.

We also looked briefly through the Amish country of Eastern Ohio, though we didn't get to visit any actual Amish shops. When we went to Pennsylvania Amish country two years ago, we visited several homes that had little shops set up in them along the tour. This year we simply sped by it and went to an Arts-and-Crafts shop.

Coming up: The Professional Football Hall of Fame and whatever else we do in the area. Hopefully pictures, too.