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The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States , although it is sometimes included, geographically, in the Midwest . In 1792, it became the fifteenth state to join the Union. Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the lawns and pastures throughout the state. Kentucky is well known for thoroughbred horses , horse racing , local bourbon whisky distilleries, bluegrass music , coal and college basketball .
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Geography
See also: List of Kentucky counties
Kentucky
Kentucky borders states of both the Midwest and the Southeast . West Virginia and Virginia lie to the east; Tennessee to the south; Missouri to the west; and Illinois , Indiana , and Ohio to the north.
The Commonwealth 's northern border is formed by the Ohio River , and the western border is formed by the Mississippi River . Other major rivers in Kentucky include the Kentucky River , Tennessee River , the Cumberland River , the Green River , and the Licking River .
Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Plateau in the east, the north-central Bluegrass region , the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau , the Western Coal Fields and the far-west Jackson Purchase .
Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have non-contiguous parts exist as an enclave of other states. Far western Kentucky includes a small part of land, Kentucky Bend , on the Mississippi River bordered by Missouri and accessible via Tennessee, created by the New Madrid Earthquake . Also there is a section of Kentucky across the Ohio connected to Indiana near Evansville .
Rural Bluegrass scene
The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass-the encircling 90 miles (145 km) around Lexington -and the Outer Bluegrass, the region that contains most of the Northern portion of the state, above the Knobs . Much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills.
Significant natural attractions
- Cumberland Gap , chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
- Cumberland Falls State Park, where a " moon-bow ", the only such phenomenon in the Western Hemisphere, may be seen in the mists of the falls.
- Mammoth Cave National Park , featuring tours of the world's longest cave.
- Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest .
- Land Between the Lakes , a National Recreation Area managed by the United States Forest Service .
- Bernheim Forest a 14,000 acre (57 km²) arboretum, forest and nature preserve located in Clermont .
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville .
- Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Whitley City .
- Trail of Tears National Historic Trail also passes through Kentucky.
- Black Mountain , state's highest point. Runs along the border of Harlan and Letcher counties.
- Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve , 2,639-acre state nature preserve on southern slope of Pine Mountain in Letcher County . Includes one of the largest concentrations of rare and endangered species in the state, as well as a 60-foot waterfall and a Kentucky Wild River.
- Jefferson Memorial Forest , located south of Louisville in the Knobs region , the largest municipally run forest in the United States .
- Green River State Park , located in Taylor County .
History
Main article: History of Kentucky See also: Kentucky in the Civil War
Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap ( George Caleb Bingham , oil on canvas, 1851-52)
Although inhabited by Native Americans in prehistoric times, when explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in the mid-1700s, there were no permanent Native American settlements in the region. Instead, the country was used as hunting grounds by Shawnees from the north and Cherokees from the south. Much of what is now Kentucky was purchased from Native Americans in the treaties of Fort Stanwix (1768) and Sycamore Shoals (1775). Thereafter, Kentucky grew rapidly as the first settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains were founded, with settlers (primarily from Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) entering the region via the Cumberland Gap and the Ohio River . The most famous of these early explorers and settlers was Daniel Boone , traditionally considered one of the founders of the state. Shawnees north of the Ohio River, however, were unhappy about the settlement of Kentucky, and allied themselves with the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Kentucky was a battleground during the war; the Battle of Blue Licks , one of the last major battles of the Revolution, was fought in Kentucky.
After the American Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County . Eventually, the residents of Kentucky County petitioned for a separation from Virginia. Ten constitutional conventions were held in the Constitution Square Courthouse in Danville between 1784 and 1792. In 1790, Kentucky's delegates accepted Virginia's terms of separation, and a state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1 , 1792 , Kentucky became the fifteenth state to be admitted to the union and Isaac Shelby , a military veteran from Virginia, was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were born in Kentucky.
While remaining loyal to the Union , Kentucky was a border state during the American Civil War . The state did not secede, and was officially neutral until a new legislature took office on August 5 , 1861 with strong Union sympathies. The majority of the Commonwealth's citizens also had strong Union sympathies. On September 4, 1861, Confederate General Leonidas Polk broke Kentucky's neutrality by invading Columbus, Kentucky . As a result of the Confederate invasion, Union General Ulysses S. Grant entered Paducah, Kentucky . On September 7 , 1861 , the Kentucky State Legislature, angered by the Confederate invasion, ordered the Union flag to be raised over the state capitol in Frankfort , declaring its allegiance with the Union. In November of 1861, during the Russellville Convention , Southern sympathizers attempted to establish an alternative state government with the goal of secession but failed to displace the legitimate government in Frankfort. On August 13 , 1862 , Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith 's Army of East Tennessee invaded Kentucky and on August 28 , 1862 , Confederate General Braxton Bragg 's Army of Mississippi entered Kentucky beginning the Kentucky Campaign. Bragg's retreat following the Battle of Perryville left the state under the control of the Union Army for the remainder of the war.
On January 30 , 1900 , Governor William Goebel was mortally wounded by an assailant while in the process of contesting the election of 1899, initially assumed to be won by William S. Taylor . For several months, J. C. W. Beckham , Goebel's running mate, and Taylor fought over who was the real governor until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in May that Beckham was the rightful governor. Taylor fled to Indiana and was later indicted as a co-conspirator in Goebel's assassination .
This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it .
Demographics
| 1790 | 73,677 |
| 1800 | 220,955 |
| 1810 | 406,511 |
| 1820 | 564,317 |
| 1830 | 687,917 |
| 1840 | 779,828 |
| 1850 | 982,405 |
| 1860 | 1,155,684 |
| 1870 | 1,321,011 |
| 1880 | 1,648,690 |
| 1890 | 1,858,635 |
| 1900 | 2,147,174 |
| 1910 | 2,289,905 |
| 1920 | 2,416,630 |
| 1930 | 2,614,589 |
| 1940 | 2,845,627 |
| 1950 | 2,944,806 |
| 1960 | 3,038,156 |
| 1970 | 3,218,706 |
| 1980 | 3,660,777 |
| 1990 | 3,685,296 |
| 2000 | 4,041,769 |
Kentucky Population Density Map
As of 2005, Kentucky has an estimated population of 4,173,405, which is an increase of 31,570, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase of 131,120, or 3.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 77,156 people (that is 287,222 births minus 210,066 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 59,604 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,435 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 32,169 people.
As of 2004, Kentucky's population included about 95,000 foreign-born (2.3%).
In racial and ethnic terms, the population is: [1]
- 90.4% White
- 7.5% Black
- 0.2% Native American
- 0.9% Asian
- 0.0% Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
- 1.0% Mixed race
The Hispanics of any races number 1.9% of the population.
The five largest ancestries in the commonwealth are: American (20.9%), German (12.7%), Irish (10.5%), English (9.7%), African American (7.3%).
Blacks, who made up one-fourth of Kentucky's population prior to the American Civil War , declined in number as many moved to the industrial North in the Great Migration . Today they are mostly concentrated in the southwest (notably Christian County and the city of Paducah), the Bluegrass, and the cities of Louisville and Lexington. "American ancestry" is the largest reported ancestry group throughout most of the commonwealth in the Census and most of these people are of British or Scotch-Irish descent.
Religion
Religiously, Kentucky is mostly Protestant . The religious affiliations of the state are as follows:
- Baptist - 35%
- Other General or non affiliated Protestant - 19%
- Roman Catholic - 15%
- Methodist - 5%
- Pentecostal - 4%
- Church of Christ - 3%
- Lutheran - 2%
- Presbyterian - 2%
- Other Christian - 1%
- Jewish 0.01%
- Other Religions - <1%
- Non-religious - 14%
Religious movements were important in the early history of Kentucky. Perhaps the most famous event was the interdenominational revival in August 1801 at the Cane Ridge Meeting house in Bourbon County. As part of what is now known as the "Western Revival", thousands began meeting around a Presbyterian communion service on August 6, 1801, and ended six days later on August 12, 1801 when both humans and horses ran out of food. The service was originally scheduled for August 8, but people began arriving two days earlier on a rainy August 6. The meeting was hosted by Barton Stone. Presbyterians, Methodists and some Baptists were present, as the services attempted to be interdenominational as possible. As the days wore on, some counted as many as seven preachers preaching at the same time from tree stumps or wagons.
Economy
The total gross state product for 2003 was US$129 billion. Its per-capita personal income was US$26,575, 41st in the nation. Kentucky's agricultural outputs are horses, cattle, tobacco, dairy products, hogs, soybeans, and corn. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, chemical products, electric equipment, machinery, food processing, tobacco products, coal, and tourism.
There are 5 income tax brackets, ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent of personal income. The sales tax rate in Kentucky is 6 percent. Kentucky has a broadly based classified property tax system. All classes of property, unless exempted by the Constitution, are taxed by the state, although at widely varying rates. And many of these classes are exempted from taxation by local government. Of the classes that are subject to local taxation, three have special rates set by the General Assembly, one by the Kentucky Supreme Court and the remaining classes are subject to the full local rate, which includes the tax rate set by the local taxing bodies plus all voted levies. Real property is assessed on 100 percent of the fair market value and property taxes are due by Dec. 31. Once the primary source of state and local government revenue, property taxes now account for only about 6 percent of the Kentucky's annual General Fund revenues.
Kentucky imposes a tax on intangible personal property held by a taxpayer on Jan. 1 of each year. Intangible property consists of any property or investment which represents evidence of value or the right to value. Some types of intangible property include: money market accounts, bonds, notes, retail repurchase agreements, accounts receivable, trusts, enforceable contracts sale of real estate (land contracts), money in hand, money in safe deposit boxes, annuities, interests in estates, loans to stockholders, and commercial paper.
Historically, a major problem with Kentucky's economy has been that fact that outside the Ohio River towns and Lexington , most rural counties never developed a widespread and localized industrial economy; meaning that up until World War II most families still depended on subsistence farming for survival. This is also the reason that most rural counties have only one sizeable town and still have median household incomes that are often half the U.S. national average.
"Unbridled Spirit"
To "boost Kentucky's image, make it consistent through all the ways we reach people, and help Kentucky stand out from the crowd" the Fletcher administration launched a comprehensive branding campaign with the hope of making its $12 - $14 million advertising budget more effective. The "Unbridled Spirit" brand was the result of a $500,000 contract with New West, a Kentucky-based public relations, advertising and marketing firm to develop a viable brand and tagline. The administration has been aggressively marketing the brand in both the public and private sectors. The "Welcome to Kentucky" signs at border areas have Unbridled Spirit's symbol on them. [2]
This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it .
Transportation
Major U.S. interstate highways servicing Kentucky include: I-24 , I-65 , I-64 , I-71 , I-75 , I-264 , I-265 and I-471 .
Kentucky and Missouri are the only two states to share a boundary with no road directly connecting the two states. This is a result of the multiplexing of US Highways 51, 60, and 62 crossing the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky, and the multiplexing of US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri, rather than US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River directly from Kentucky to Missouri.
This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it .
Law and government
Currently Kentucky's governor, Ernie Fletcher , both US Senators, Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell , and five of its six US Congressman are members of the Republican Party . The Kentucky Constitution provides for three "departments" of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. Kentucky's General Assembly has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives . The executive branch is headed by the Governor . See List of Kentucky Governors . The judicial branch of Kentucky is made up of trial courts, called District and Circuit Courts; an intermediate appellate court, called the Kentucky Court of Appeals ; and a court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court . The Attorney General is Greg Stumbo .
Politics
Historically, Kentucky has been very hard fought and leaned slightly towards the Democratic Party. It was never included among the "Solid South," 59% of the state's voters are officially registered as Democrats, although that majority has slimmed substantially in recent election cycles. Kentucky has voted Republican in five of the last seven presidential elections but has supported the Democratic candidates of the South. The Commonwealth supported Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's 8 electoral votes overwhelmingly in 2004 by a margin of 20 percentage points and 59.6% of the vote. The most solidly Democratic counties are in the mountainous eastern unionized coal mining region, especially Pike, Floyd, Knott, Menifee, Letcher, Perry and Breathitt, and the cities of Lexington and Louisville. The Jackson Purchase area in the far west was historically a Democratic stronghold but has moved Republican recently. Paducah author Irvin Cobb once wrote of the purchase area: "There was no doubt about our district. Whatever might betide, she was safe and sound - a Democratic Rock of Ages ." The area was once referred to as the Gibraltar of Democracy.
Representation
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 The 7th - 13th districts are obsolete See also: Current Kentucky delegation - Past & present Kentucky delegations - Kentucky government category United States congressional districts - Congressional apportionment - Redistricting - Gerrymandering |
Important cities and towns
Kentucky's largest cities and most of the fast growing counties are concentrated in what is referred to as the Golden Triangle , which is almost entirely in the Bluegrass region , with the exception of Hardin , Meade and LaRue counties which are in the Pennyroyal region .
The largest city in Kentucky is Louisville Metro , with a 2004 census estimated population of 556,332. The Kentucky side of the Louisville CSA has a population of 1,120,039. The second largest city is Lexington with 260,512 people, with its CSA having an estimated population of 635,547 in 2005. The Northern Kentucky area (the seven Kentucky counties in the Cincinnati CSA) had an estimated population of 403,727 in 2005. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky have a combined population of 2,159,313 as of 2005, which is 51.7% of the state's total population.
The two other fast growing urban areas in Kentucky are the Bowling Green area and the "Tri Cities Region" of southeastern Kentucky, comprised of Somerset , London , and Corbin .
Although only one town in the "Tri Cities", namely Somerset, currently has more than 10,000 people, the area has been experiencing heightened population and job growth since the 1990s. Growth has been especially rapid in Laurel County, which outgrew areas such as Scott and Jessamine counties around Lexington or Shelby and Nelson Counties around Louisville. London, Kentucky is currently on pace to double its population in the 2000s from 5,692 in 2000 to 10,879 in 2010. London also landed a Wal-Mart distribution center in 1997, bringing thousands of jobs to the community.
In northeast Kentucky, the greater Ashland area is an important transportation and manufacturing center. Iron and petroleum production, as well as the transport of coal by rail and barge , have been historical pillars of the region's economy. Due to a decline in the area's industrial base, Ashland has seen a sizable reduction in its population since 1990. The population of the area has since stabilized, however, with the medical service industry taking a greater role in the local economy. The Ashland area, including the Kentucky counties of Boyd and Greenup , is a part of the Huntington -Ashland, WV - KY - OH , Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. About 20,000 of those people reside within the city limits of Ashland.
Population growth is centered along and between interstates I-65 and I-75.
15 largest Kentucky cities, 2010 Projected
| Louisville | 564,048 |
| Lexington | 275,127 |
| Owensboro | 56,149 |
| Bowling Green | 54,291 |
| Covington | 42,470 |
| Richmond | 34,472 |
| Florence | 28,296 |
| Henderson | 27,875 |
| Nicholasville | 27,675 |
| Hopkinsville | 27,249 |
| Frankfort | 26,591 |
| Jeffersontown | 25,630 |
| Paducah | 24,402 |
| Elizabethtown | 24,162 |
| Georgetown | 22,210 |
15 most populated counties, 2010 Projected
| Jefferson | Louisville | 706,050 | + 12,446 |
| Fayette | Lexington | 275,127 | + 14,615 |
| Kenton | Covington | 155,867 | + 4,404 |
| Boone | Florence | 126,552 | + 40,560 |
| Warren | Bowling Green | 105,398 | + 12,876 |
| Hardin | Elizabethtown , Radcliff | 99,724 | + 5,554 |
| Daviess | Owensboro | 94,575 | + 3,030 |
| Campbell | Newport , Fort Thomas | 85,886 | - 2,730 |
| Madison | Richmond | 84,626 | + 13,754 |
| Bullitt | Shepherdsville | 75,712 | + 14,476 |
| Christian | Hopkinsville | 67,981 | - 4,328 |
| Pike | Pikeville | 65,108 | - 3,620 |
| McCracken | Paducah | 63,882 | - 1,632 |
| Pulaski | Somerset | 62,183 | + 5,966 |
| Oldham | La Grange | 60,641 | + 14,463 |
Education
Colleges and universities
Private
Public
Community colleges
See also
- Kentucky Educational Television , the largest PBS network in the country.
Sports
College Sports
This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it .
As in many Southern states, especially those without major league professional sport teams, college athletics are very important. The following is especially strong for the state's two Division I programs, the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals , who have combined for nine NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships. (seven at UK, two at U of L).
According to Sports Illustrated ' s 50th edition Kentucky profile, 63% of Kentuckians are Kentucky Wildcats fans, while 16% are Louisville Cardinals fans. [2] The same poll found that 87% thought that the rivalry between the Wildcats and the Cardinals was the state's biggest, and a plurality (38%) considered former UK and current U of L men's basketball coach Rick Pitino the "enemy of the state."
Professional sports teams
The Purple People Bridge between Newport and Cincinnati, Ohio .
Kentucky is home to no major league sports team but several minor league teams. However, the northern part of the state lies across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio , which is home to a National Football League team, the Bengals , and a Major League Baseball team, the Reds . It is not uncommon for fans to park in the city of Newport, Kentucky , and use the Newport Southbank Pedestrian Bridge , locally known as the "Purple People Bridge" , to walk to these games in Cincinnati. Many restaurants and stores in Newport rely on business from these fans. Also, Georgetown College in Georgetown is the location for the Bengals' summer training camp.
The state is home to several minor league sports teams. The Louisville Bats of the International League are the AAA affiliate of the Reds. The Lexington Legends are a Class A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Houston Astros in the South Atlantic League .
Minor league baseball
- Louisville Bats (Triple-A International League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds )
- Lexington Legends (Single-A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Houston Astros )
- Florence Freedom (Single-A Frontier League independent)
Football
- Lexington Horsemen ( United Indoor Football )
- Louisville Fire ( arenafootball2 )
- Louisville Bulls ( Mid Continental Football League )
Basketball
- Kentucky Colonels ( American Basketball Association ) (now defunct)
Miscellaneous topics
Cuisine
Main article: Cuisine of KentuckyWhile Kentucky's pastimes are distinctly those of the South, the state's cuisine is considered to be a synergistic blend of Midwestern cuisine and Southern US cuisine . One original Kentucky dish is called the Hot Brown . It is a layered dish normally in this order: bread, tomatoes, ham, bacon, and topped with melted cheese. It was developed at the Brown Hotel in Louisville .
This section is a stub . You can help by adding to it .
Origin of name
According to The Kentucky Encyclopedia, the origin of Kentucky's name has never been definitively identified. Some possibilities include:
- a Wyandot name meaning "land of tomorrow"
- an Iroquoian name meaning "place of meadows"
- an Algonquian term for a river bottom
- a Shawnee term for the head of a river
Some theories have been debunked. Kentucky's name does not come from the combination of "cane" and "turkey," nor does it come from a native American phrase for "dark and bloody ground."
The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.
State symbols
See also: Flag of Kentucky
2001 commemorative quarter
- State bird : Kentucky Cardinal
- State flower : Goldenrod
- State tree : Tulip Poplar (formerly the Kentucky coffeetree )
- State horse : Thoroughbred
- State fish : Kentucky Bass
- State wild animal : Gray Squirrel
- State butterfly : Viceroy Butterfly
- State gemstone : Freshwater Pearl
- State fossil : Brachiopod
- State song : " My Old Kentucky Home " by Stephen Foster ( 1853 )
- State bluegrass song : "Blue Moon of Kentucky" by Bill Monroe ( 1947 )
- State drink : Milk
- State honey festival: Clarkson Honeyfest
- State motto : "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
- State slogan : "Unbridled Spirit"
- State dance : Clogging
Interesting facts about Kentucky
See also: List of famous Kentuckians- Both the president of the Union ( Abraham Lincoln ) and the Confederacy ( Jefferson Davis ) during the Civil War were born in Kentucky.
- Kentucky has more navigatable shoreline than any other state in the union, other than Alaska. This is thanks to Kentucky's intricate system of lakes and rivers, as well as being home to Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, and Lake Cumberland, all of which rank in the top 20 in size area of US lakes.
- Kentucky has more farms per square mile than any other U.S. state. Despite being the 14th smallest state in land area, Kentucky still ranks 5th in the total number of farms.
- Kentucky's universities have been involved in several important medical breakthroughs. In 2006 researchers at the University of Louisville developed the first Human Papilloma Virus vaccine. U of L also transplanted the first self-contained artificial heart in the world in 2001, and did the first ever hand transplant in the U.S. in 1999.
- Kentuckian Franklin Sousley is one of six soldiers in the picture "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima"
- The Purple People Bridge connecting Newport and Cincinnati is the longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world. In 2007, the Big Four Bridge in Louisville will be converted into the world's second longest pedstrian only bridge, meaning Kentucky will be home to the two longest pedestrian only bridges in the world and the only two in the United States connecting two states.
- The Old Louisville neighborhood is the largest historic preservation district in the U.S. featuring Victorian architecture and is also the first place the public viewed Thomas Edison 's light bulb . It is also the fourth largest historic preservation district overall in the U.S.
- Garrett Morgan , born to former slaves in Paris, Kentucky , developed a concept of the gas mask.
- The roll-top desk was invented in Henderson by the original owners of Alles Brothers Furniture.
- The first public library open to African Americans was the Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.
- Rainey Bethea was the last condemned prisoner to be publicly executed in the United States. The sentence was carried out on August 14 , 1936 in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators in Owensboro .
- Bourbon whiskey was first produced in Kentucky, purportedly by Baptist minister Elijah Craig .
- Mother's Day was originally celebrated in Henderson .
- The University of Kentucky 's men's basketball team, The Kentucky Wildcats , are the winningest team in college basketball history. The Wildcats:
- Have won more games than any other team.
- Have won more national championships than any other team but the UCLA Bruins .
- Played in the game that set the all time record for attendance at a basketball game.
- Hold the record for all-time winning percentage.
- Famed wildlife artist John James Audubon , who operated a general store in Louisville for about two years, spent much of his career painting in Henderson .
- The World Peace Bell , located in Newport , is the largest free-swinging bell in existence.
- Several U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Kentucky in honor of the state. The USS Paducah and USS Louisville also served as naval vessels. Also, in honor of their massive and record-breaking contributions to scrap drives in World War II, the small town of Stearns got a ship named after itself.
- William Goebel became the only governor of a US state to be assassinated when he was shot by a sniper as he walked to the State Capitol in Frankfort.
- Kentucky ranks 4th among U.S. states in the number of automobiles and trucks assembled. The Chevrolet Corvette , Ford Expedition , Ford Explorer , all Ford F-series trucks, and the Toyota Camry are all assembled in Kentucky.
- Paris, Kentucky native George Snyder is credited as inventing the first modern fishing reel.
- The Eastern Kentucky Coal Fields are recognized as being one of the most productive in the nation. This area is famously known for the Hatfield-McCoy feud . A major trail spans the historical sites of the feud through West Virginia and Kentucky.
See also
- BluegrassReport.org - Democratic Party -oriented political blog covering Kentucky politics
- Scouting in Kentucky
References
Politics
- Miller, Penny M. Kentucky Politics & Government: Do We Stand United? (1994)
- Jewell, Malcolm E. and Everett W. Cunningham, Kentucky Politics (1968)
History
Surveys and reference
- Bodley, Temple and Samuel M. Wilson. History of Kentucky 4 vols. (1928).
- Channing, Steven. Kentucky: A Bicentennial History (1977).
- Clark, Thomas Dionysius. A History of Kentucky (many editions, 1937-1992).
- Collins, Lewis. History of Kentucky (1880).
- Harrison, Lowell H. and James C. Klotter. A New History of Kentucky (1997).
- Kleber, John E. et al The Kentucky Encyclopedia (1992), standard reference history.
- Klotter, James C. Our Kentucky: A Study of the Bluegrass State (2000), high school text
- Lucas, Marion Brunson and Wright, George C. A History of Blacks in Kentucky 2 vols. (1992).
- Share, Allen J. Cities in the Commonwealth: Two Centuries of Urban Life in Kentucky (1982).
- Wallis, Frederick A. and Hambleton Tapp. A Sesqui-Centennial History of Kentucky 4 vols. (1945).
- Ward, William S., A Literary History of Kentucky (1988) ( ISBN 0-87049-578-X ).
- WPA, Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State (1939) , classic guide.
- Yater, George H. (1987). Two Hundred Years at the Fall of the Ohio: A History of Louisville and Jefferson County , 2nd edition, Filson Club, Incorporated . ISBN 0-9601072-3-1 .
Specialized scholarly studies
- Bakeless, John. Daniel Boone, Master of the Wilderness (1989)
- Blakey, George T. Hard Times and New Deal in Kentucky, 1929-1939 (1986)
- Coulter, E. Merton. The Civil War and Readjustment in Kentucky (1926)
- Davis, Alice. "Heroes: Kentucky's Artists from Statehood to the New Millennium" (2004)
- Ellis, William E. The Kentucky River (2000).
- Faragher, John Mack. Daniel Boone (1993)
- Fenton, John H. Politics in the Border States: A Study of the Patterns of Political Organization, and Political Change, Common to the Border States: Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri (1957)
- Ireland, Robert M. The County in Kentucky History (1976)
- Klotter, James C.; Lowell Harrison, James Ramage, Charles Roland, Richard Taylor, Bryan S. Bush, Tom Fugate, Dixie Hibbs, Lisa Matthews, Robert C. Moody, Marshall Myers, Stuart Sanders and Stephen McBride (2005). Jerlene Rose Kentucky's Civil War 1861-1865 . Back Home In Kentucky Inc. ISBN 0-9769231-1-4 .
- Klotter, James C. Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900-1950 (1992)
- Pearce, John Ed. Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics, 1930-1963 (1987)
- Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union (1991).
- Sonne, Niels Henry. Liberal Kentucky, 1780-1828 (1939)
- Tapp, Hambleton and James C Klotter. Kentucky Decades of Discord, 1865-1900 (1977)
- Townsend, William H. Lincoln and the Bluegrass: Slavery and Civil War in Kentucky (1955)
- Waldrep, Christopher Night Riders: Defending Community in the Black Patch, 1890-1915 (1993) tobacco wars
External
Find more information on Kentucky by searching Wikipedia's sister projects :
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
- GenealogyBuff.com - Kentucky Library of Files
- Kentucky Authors and Literature at Southern Literary Review
- Kentucky Department of Tourism
- Kentucky.gov: My New Kentucky Home
- The Kentucky Highlands Project
- Kentucky Obituary
- Kentucky State Facts
- Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit
- Kentucky Virtual Library
- Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History
- U.S. Census Bureau Kentucky QuickFacts
