240 Cool Facts About Kentucky

Interesting fun facts about Kentucky

Kentucky was the 15th state to join the union on 1 June 1792.
Chevrolet Corvettes are manufactured in Bowling Green.
'Blue Moon Of Kentucky' is the state bluegrass song and 'My Old Kentucky Home' the state song.
Milk is the state drink and blackberry is the state fruit.
Goldenrod is the state flower and the freshwater pearl is the state gemstone. The Northern Cardinal is the state bird.
Clogging is the state dance.
KFC (or Kentucky Fried Chicken) was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders during the Great Depression in the '30s. Sanders first started selling his homemade fried chicken from the Shell gas station he ran just outside the small Kentucky town of North Corbin. The first official KFC restaurant franchise actually opened in Utah. It's now the second-largest restaurant chain in the world.
Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest cave and was first promoted in 1816, making it the second oldest tourist attraction in the United States. Niagara Falls, New York is first.
Begun in 1819 the first commercial oil well was on the Cumberland River in McCreary County.
The first Miss America from Kentucky is Heather Renee French. She was crowned September 18, 1999.
The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant owned and operated by Colonel Sanders is located in Corbin.
Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.
Martin van Buren Bates, a captain in the 7th Kentucky Cavalry, was so tall (about 7'2”) that his feet were said to drag on the ground when he sat in the saddle. After the war he achieved the nearly impossible—he met (and married) a woman even taller than himself.
Richmond, KY could have been a contender—in fact, it was almost chosen to be the nation's capital, but it lost out to Washington, D.C. due to lack of nearby seaports.
Kaelin's restaurant in Louisville claims to have invented the cheeseburger in 1934, although a Denver drive-in called Humpty Dumpty's patented it a year later
Teacher Mary S. Wilson held the first observance of Mother’s Day in Henderson in 1887. It was made a national holiday in 1916.
The great Man o’ War won all of his horse races except one which he lost to a horse named Upset.
The first town in the United States to be named for the first president was Washington. It was named in 1780.
Pikeville annually leads the nation in per capita consumption of Pepsi-Cola.
The first American performance of a Beethoven symphony was in Lexington in 1817.
Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca are buried in the Frankfort Cemetery. Their son Isaac is buried at Blue Licks Battlefield near Carlisle, where he was killed in the last battle of the Revolutionary War fought in Kentucky.
The only monument south of the Ohio River dedicated to Union Soldiers who died in the Civil War is located in Vanceburg.
The public saw an electric light for the first time in Louisville. Thomas Edison introduced his incandescent light bulb to crowds at the Southern Exposition in 1883.
The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.
The first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville in 1856.
In the War of 1812 more than half of all Americans killed in action were Kentuckians.
Middlesboro is the only city in the United States built within a meteor crater.
The Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville is considered to be one of the best baseball museums in the world outside of Cooperstown. The huge replica bat attached to the museum itself is 120 feet tall and weighs 68,000 pounds.
Did you know that a pro baseball player will order some 120 bats a season?
Cumberland Falls is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where a person can spot a moonbow. This unique rainbow is formed from light bouncing off the moon during the night time. Every full moon (and near full moon nights), the moonbow can be seen.
The Mega Cavern is one of the more unique limestone mines in the United States. It has a number of support structures that actually qualify it as a building (largest in Kentucky). From tours to storage, the area has a number of uses throughout the year.
Black Mountain is the highest point in Kentucky at 4,145 feet above sea level. People can climb to the summit near Paducah, as long as they sign a waiver beforehand.
Daniel Boone, the legendary frontiersman, is buried in Frankfort. His grave is still a popular tourist destination.
Thomas Edison lived in Louisville, Kentucky. Edison is thought to have lived there as a young man when he came to Louisville to work as a telegrapher for the Western Union. Today the Thomas Edison House Museum is a popular tourist attraction.
Benedictine is a famous Kentucky dip made from cucumber and onion juices, cream cheese and green food coloring!
Hot Brown is an iconic hot sandwich from Kentucky, inspired by the Welsh rarebit.
One of the most amazing Kentucky geographical features is the Mammoth Cave. This is the longest cave system ever discovered. The Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
Kentucky has three natural lakes and many artificial lakes. The state also boasts 90,000 miles of streams making up one of the biggest and most complex stream systems in the USA. Kentucky has many rivers, with a continuous river border on three sides and more navigable miles of water than any other state in the US apart from Alaska.
Kentucky is home to many parks. There are 45 state parks, 37,896 acres of state forest, two National Historical Parks and the Mammoth Cave National Park.
Bluegrass music officially took off thanks to Bill Monroe, born in Rosine. His unique style of playing string instruments, with quick picking and wailing, launched a new genre that is still popular in certain pockets of the United States.
Patty and Mildred Hill collaborated to write the tune to Happy Birthday. Although it took years for it to really take off, Happy Birthday is now one of the most well-known songs in the English language.
There is actually part of Kentucky that is not attached to the rest of the state. About 17 square miles are located on the Mississippi River, connected to Tennessee. This weird part of the state is due to a surveying error. Known as the Kentucky Bend, just 17 people live in the area, and it is a 40-mile drive to actually get to the rest of the state.
Anyone driving on I-75 has seen the water tower with “Florence Y’all” on it. While it has turned into an iconic feature of the city, with a local festival in its name even, it was originally meant to be an advertisement for the Florence Mall. The city prohibited advertisements that high, forcing a quick change in the text.
A lot of states have cities named Washington in honor of the first president of the United States, but Washington, Kentucky was the first.
The War of 1812 was particularly tough on the state of Kentucky. Out of the roughly 2260 American deaths, more than half of them were from the state. It is estimated that 64 percent of Americans killed in the war were Kentuckians. It is often called the United States’ “forgotten war”.
There are more miles of water for people to use in Kentucky than any other state, save for Alaska. Kentucky also has the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the continental 48 states. Kentucky features the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River and the nation’s most productive coalfield.
Roughly half of the state is covered in forests. That makes it one of the largest providers of hardwoods in the United States.

Weird facts about Kentucky

Duncan Hines is much more than a brand of cake mix. The man behind the brand, Duncan Hines, was born in Bowling Green in 1880. This famous native son built his fortune as a traveling salesman. It was during this time on the road that Duncan Hines decided to make notes about the restaurants he visited. He eventually self-published a list of his recommended restaurants that he called Adventures in Good Eating. It was this start that led him to producing food products, including cake mixes for home kitchens.
Louisville is constantly being pronounced in different ways around the world. The most common way locals say it is “looavull” or “luhvul.” Anything else is going to get weird looks.
Years ago, Fleming County picked up the nickname “Covered Bridge Capital of Kentucky“. Although most have been demolished, a handful still remains in the lightly populated county.
The locals consider Owensboro to be the BBQ Capital of the World and when it comes to barbecue, mutton is often the preferred choice of meat. Owensboro also holds an annual International BBQ festival each May, but the famous BBQ this region is known for is available any day of the week.
Every year, Louisville holds its annual Idea Festival. This unique festival held every fall draws creative thinkers of all ages. The goal of this gathering is to encourage innovation that will impact the arts, education, technology, and business. They believe that anyone can create positive change through great ideas, regardless of their position in life.
The Covington Blue Sox was a short-lived professional baseball team, lasting only two months in 1913. They were part of the then Federal League of Baseball Clubs which became a third major league competing with the established National League and the American League. Federal Park was the home field for the Blue Sox and was built in just 24 days and was the nation’s smallest professional baseball stadium.
Kentucky actually started off as a county in the state of Virginia. The residents did not feel that they were properly being represented by the state though, and in 1792, it became its own state.
The city of Lexington, Kentucky, is home to the Jif peanut butter production plant. This plant not only produces 15 different types of peanut butter, but they are also the largest peanut butter production plant in the world. They produce creamy, crunchy, and extra crunch peanut butter as well as a wonderful selection of creative peanut butter spreads, such as cinnamon peanut butter and maple peanut butter.
Kentucky Fried Chicken originated in Corbin, where Colonel Sanders developed the recipe that would launch one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world.
Governor William Goebel is the only acting governor in the United States to be assassinated. He was shot in front of the state capitol in Frankfort during a protest in 1900.
The brass plate embedded in the sidewalk at the corner of Limestone and Main Street in downtown Lexington is a memorial marker honoring Smiley Pete. The animal was known as the town dog in Lexington. He died in 1957.
Kentucky-born Alben W. Barkley was the oldest United States Vice President when he assumed office in 1949. He was 71 years old.
More than $6 billion worth of gold is held in the underground vaults of Fort Knox. This is the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world.
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington has 82 stained-glass windows including the world’s largest hand-blown one. The window measures 24 feet wide by 67 feet high and depicts the Council of Ephesus with 134 life-sized figures.
The Lost River Cave and Valley Bowling Green includes a cave with the shortest and deepest underground river in the world. It contains the largest cave opening east of the Mississippi.
The swimsuit Mark Spitz wore in the 1972 Olympic games was manufactured in Paris, Kentucky.
We don't know when the first humans arrived in Kentucky because there's no archaeological evidence of human presence in the region before 10,000 BCE.
In 1800 BCE society began to transition to agriculture from the hunter gatherer lifestyle. Mississippian and Fort Ancient cultures appeared in the region from 900 CE. Average Fort Ancient and Mississippian towns were home to around 2000 inhabitants.
17th century French explorers documented numerous Native American tribes living in the region. By the mid 18th century, however, there were no major settlements left in Kentucky. Today there are two Native American tribes recognized by the state of Kentucky: the Ridgetop Shawnee and the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky.
There are several theories about where the name Kentucky came from. It may derive from the Iroquois word 'kentake' for "meadowland", or the Wyandotte word 'ken-tah-the' translating to "land of tomorrow". There are several other possible origins from other Native American languages.
In early pioneer times, Kentucky was known as Kentucky, Kaintuckee, and Kentucky.
There is an annual horse race called the Kentucky Derby, held in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby usually takes place on the first Saturday in May. The race had run for 144 years without fail before Covid came along and saw the 2020s Derby canceled!
Lexington, Kentucky is famously known for being the horse capital of the world.
One of the best-known tunes in the world, 'Happy Birthday, was written by two Kentucky sisters! Patty and Mildred J. Hill, a teacher and a musician from Louisville, Kentucky, made up a song for Patty to use at school called 'Good Morning To All', and this eventually developed into the world-renowned birthday song 'Happy Birthday!
Patty and Mildred are buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville alongside other legendary Kentuckians, Mohammed Ali and KFC's Colonel Sanders.
Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence, Billie Ray Cyrus, and George Clooney are some of the most famous Kentuckians around today.
The old official state tree was the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus.) The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is the current official state tree. The change was made in 1976.
Cheeseburgers were first served in 1934 at Kaolin’s restaurant in Louisville.
Cumberland is the only waterfall in the world to regularly display a Moonbow. It is located just southwest of Corbin.
Fleming County is recognized as the Covered Bridge Capital of Kentucky.
Shelby County is recognized as the Saddlebred Capital of Kentucky.
The town of Corbin was the birthplace of old time movie star Arthur Lake whose real surname was Silverlake: He played the role of Dagwood in the “Blondie” films of the 1930s and ??0s. Lake’s parents were trapeze artists billed as The Flying Silverlakes.
Much of Eastern Kentucky forms part of Appalachia, a cultural region subject to many myths, misconceptions and stereotyping. The region is rich in resources but has long been associated with poverty.
Seven states border Kentucky. Indiana and Ohio border it to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Illinois to the northwest, Tennessee to its south, Virginia to its east, and Missouri to the west. Only two states border more states than Kentucky does.
The Ohio River serves as Kentucky's northern border and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border.
The 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes took place in an enclave known as Kentucky Bend in the southwestern corner of Kentucky. These were some of the most powerful earthquakes ever to have hit North America in recorded history. After effects of these quakes included the Mississippi River running backwards!
One of the craziest fun facts about Kentucky is that one of the more secure buildings on earth is situated there! Yes, the legendary Fort Knox, also known as the United States Bullion Depository, stores over half of the United States' gold reserves and is located just south of Louisville, Kentucky. Fort Knox is so secure that it has become a byword for the highest security level imaginable.
General Motors, Fruit of the Loom and Chevrolet Corvettes all hail from Bowling Green in Warren County, Kentucky. Bowling Green is also the home of the state's second largest university, the Western Kentucky University.
It's not called the Bluegrass State for nothing! One interesting fact about Kentucky is that it is famed for its blue-tinged pastures. Bluegrass is actually green but its bluey-purple buds make large fields of grass look blue from afar. Kentucky is also famed for its bluegrass music which dates from the mid '40s. Bluegrass music is a type of folk-country music played on acoustic instruments.
Kentucky Derby pie, a rich, buttery dessert filled with chocolate chips and walnuts is a treat traditionally enjoyed on Kentucky Derby day.
Kentucky is known for its famous mint julep cocktail which is also traditionally served at the Derby.
Internet lore that would have you believe Bourbon County is among the state's 37 dry counties is actually false.
Speaking of Bourbon, this beverage takes its name from Bourbon County, where it was first distilled.
Barren County has some of the state's most fertile soil, and was even named rural America's best place to live by Progressive Farmer magazine. (Seriously.)
Frederick Vinson, who later became the 13th Chief Justice of the United States, began life in a Louisa County jailhouse.
Kentucky treasurer “Honest Dick” Tate, at least, provided us with a wee bit of historical irony, absconding in 1888 with a cool quarter-million from the state treasury.
Another Kentucky badass, Zerelda James (mom of outlaws Frank and Jesse) was actually born in a saloon—the Offutt-Cole Tavern, which still stands today at the intersection of Old Frankfort Pike and US 62 near Midway. 50 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Kentucky
D.W. Griffith, whose pro-KKK epic film “Birth of a Nation” earned him the sobriquet “Father of Hollywood” (if not of political correctness), hailed from LaGrange.
More than half of all U.S. troops killed in the War of 1812 were Kentuckians.
One of the first U.S. casualties of WWI was also Kentucky-born: Corporal James Bethel Gresham from McLean County.
Mark Spitz's star-spangled Speedos, the hit of the 1972 Olympics, were the height of Paris couture—Paris, KY, that is.
Covington's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption boasts the world's largest hand-blown stained glass window, a 67' x 24' depiction of the epically exciting Council of Ephesus
Abraham Lincoln, the most famous President in US history, was born in a one room log cabin on a farm in Hodgenville, Kentucky in 1809. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and led the country through the American Civil War.
Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederate States, was born in Fairview, Kentucky in 1808. The Confederate States were the southern states that broke away from the Union due to rising tensions mostly to do with the North/South divide over the issue of slavery.
Before the Civil War, Jefferson Davis owned a huge cotton plantation in Mississippi and owned around 113 slaves. Davis was a much less effective war leader than his adversary Abe Lincoln, and the Confederacy ultimately lost the war.
Starters in the Kentucky Derby, the oldest continuously held horse race, have had names beginning with every letter of the alphabet except for “X”.
Man o' War, one of the most famous horses ever born in Kentucky, never actually ran a race in the state.
Thunder Over Louisville, the Derby festivities' opening ceremony, has the world's largest fireworks display.
A typical Derby crowd guzzles 120,000 mint juleps and drains 7,000 liters of bourbon.
Kentucky has the only memorial to Union soldiers killed during the Civil War to be erected south of the Ohio River. It's located in Vanceburg and pays tribute to 107 local boys who gave their lives fighting for the North.
To this day, Kentucky’s governors must swear an oath before taking office that they have never fought a duel with deadly weapons.
Frankfort was the only Union state capital to be occupied by Confederate troops.
And what goes better with a cheeseburger than a Pepsi? Pikeville, KY leads the nation in per-capita Pepsi consumption.
Unlike Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and Betty Crocker, Colonel Sanders really did exist, and he developed his “secret recipe” for fried chicken in Corbin, KY.
Duncan Hines, of cake mix fame, was the real deal, too, and he hailed from Bowling Green.
Bowling Green is also the birthplace of all little red Corvettes (as well as the rest of the colors they come in).
Post-It notes are produced nowhere else but Cynthiana, but the exact number manufactured each year is a closely guarded secret.
Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world, and also the U.S.'s second-oldest tourist attraction, right behind Niagara Falls.
Cumberland Falls in the Daniel Boone National Forest is one of the few places on earth you might be able to see a moonbow.
The nation's first commercial oil well was actually not in Texas, but was drilled in 1819 along the banks of the Cumberland River in McCreary County.
The melody of the song “Happy Birthday” was composed in 1893 by Patty and Mildred Hill, two Louisville sisters.
Mother's Day also originated in Kentucky, when Henderson schoolteacher Mary Towles Sasseen created it to honor her own mama.
The Hatfields and McCoys were real families who carried on a real feud for a quarter century after the Civil War. While Devil Anse and co. were West Virginia boys, the McCoys were all from Pike County.
Washington, KY was the first town to be named after cherry-tree chopping George, back in 1780 when he was actually still president.
Postlethwait's Tavern in Lexington hosted the nation's first performance of a Beethoven Symphony (#1, naturally) in 1817.
Saloon-smashing badass Carrie Nation was born in Garrard County.
Fort Knox holds the world's largest store of Jello. Haha, no, it's gold, of course—about $6 billion and change.
Middlesboro is the only U.S. city built inside a meteor crater.
Middlesboro is also the home of the Coal House, which was constructed from 42 tons of bituminous coal and today houses Bell County's Chamber of Commerce.
High Bridge, towering 275 feet over the Kentucky River in Jessamine County, is said to be the nation's tallest railroad bridge spanning navigable waters.
Bibb lettuce was developed by (and named for) John Bibb of Frankfort.
The world's first enamel bathtub was manufactured in Louisville in 1856.
Traffic lights were invented by Garrett Morgan, a former slave from Paris, KY.
The radio was actually invented by Murray, KY's own Nathan B. Stubblefield in 1892, three years before that copycat Marconi jumped in and claimed the patent.
Thomas Edison really lit things up at the 1893 Southern Exposition in Louisville, introducing the public to the electric light bulb.
Louisville was founded by George Rogers Clark, older brother of the Clark whose name is usually preceded by “Lewis and...”

Coolest things about Kentucky

Old Louisville is America's largest Victorian preservation district.
Students at Lexington's Transylvania University enter a lottery for the chance to spend the night in the on-campus tomb of a 19th-century botany professor.
Kentucky has more miles of running water than any other state in the lower 48.
Kentucky may not be the largest state (in fact, it's the 14th-smallest), but it's bordered by a whopping seven neighbors: Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri.
The Lost Mountain coal mine, in rural Breathitt County, has been abandoned for over 40 years, but it isn't hard to find—just look for the plumes of billowing smoke. Don't bother calling 9-1-1, though—it seems these underground coal fires are nearly impossible to put out.
The Kentucky Derby, held in Louisville, is the oldest horse race held continuously in the world. It is also the first and most famous leg of the Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May. In the United States, it is known as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports” or “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” in reference to its approximate duration.
Thomas Edison first introduced the public to the electric light bulb at the 1883 Southern Exposition, held in Louisville. According to some sources, more than 4,500 light bulbs were used to illuminate the exhibition at night, which constituted the largest display set of Thomas Edison’s recently invented incandescent lights.
Every single Post-It note originates in Cynthiana, Kentucky.
Vent Haven Museum, in Fort Mitchell, is the place where you can find the world’s largest collection of ventriloquist dummies.
At the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Frankfort, a giant sundial’s shadow touches the name of each veteran on the date of the person’s death.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was famously born in Kentucky, but so was the other commander of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis. Hodgenville and Fairview, respectively, were their birthplaces. And interestingly, they both were born in log cabins.
Kentucky has many lakes, but only three major lakes are natural. The rest were man-made throughout the years.
Kentucky has the highest population of elk in the eastern part of the United States by far. With more than 11,000 elk currently roaming the state, the number is expected to continually increase after only being reintroduced to the state in the 1990s.
Muhammad Ali (was a former heavyweight champion boxer and one of the greatest sporting figures of the 20th century) was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. The city now has a museum highlighting his life.
The World Peace Bell, which is one of the largest free-swinging bells in the world, is displayed in Newport, Kentucky.
Every Corvette in the world has been manufactured in Bowling Green since 1981. This manufacturing facility has produced over 1 million Corvettes since its startup. On June 1, 1981, the first Corvette was rolled out of the assembly line at the plant.
Georgetown, Kentucky, is home to the largest Toyota manufacturing plant in the world. This plant is the first completely American owned Toyota vehicle plant and is home to the Camry, Lexus ES 350, and Avalon. Visitors can ride a tram through the facility and see how these cars are made from start to finish.
Mammoth Cave, located in Edmonson, Hart and Barren counties, is more than 400 miles long. The system was declared a World Heritage site on October 27, 1981. It is the longest cave system in the world, pretty much doubling up second place Sac Actun in Mexico.
The Fort Knox Bullion Depository was completed in December 1936 at a cost of $560,000. The first gold was moved to the Depository by railroad in January 1937. No visitors are permitted into the facility and only one president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and one Congressional delegation in 1974 have been inside the vault.
Middlesboro has one of the most unique city origins in the United States. The city is built inside a crater created by a meteor.
Mother’s Day can trace its origins to Henderson. Back in the 1880s, a teacher named Mary Wilson is credited for recognizing her mother on that day. Since 1916, it is an official holiday.
Despite claims by others, Kaelin’s restaurant in Louisville stands by being the first to serve cheeseburgers in 1934.
Transylvania University, located in Lexington, is the oldest university that is west of the Allegheny Mountains. The school was officially chartered in 1780, and despite never growing into a huge school, it remains extremely selective.
The city of Florence was officially incorporated in 1830, but before that time it had been known by the Native American names of Polecat and Pow-Wow because this area was where Native Americans came to exchange their furs. Additionally, the area was situated at the intersection of two major country roads, earning it its first English name of Crossroads.
Covington’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption has a lot of eye-catching displays and architecture, but none bigger than their rendition of the Council of Ephesus. It is the largest hand blown glass window in the world, spanning 24 feet wide and 67 feet high. A total of 82 stained glass windows are in the church.
In 1877, the Nicholasville High Bridge officially opened as the highest railroad bridge over navigable water in North America. The High Bridge stands 275 feet high and is 1,125 feet long. The High Bridge was added to the list of National Civil Engineering Landmarks in 1985.
Man o’ War, one of the most recognized Kentucky-bred horses of all-time, never actually raced in the state of his birth.
When Kentucky became the 15th state, it was the first in the western frontier.
Vanceburg is the only city south of the Ohio River with a monument dedicated to deceased Union soldiers. Despite being south of the Mason-Dixon line, the Union had a stronghold on Lewis County.
The radio is credited by some to Guglielmo Marconi, but Nathan Stubblefield of Murray actually invented it three years before the claim by the Italian.
The oldest vice president in the history of the United States is Alben Barkley, who was 71 years old when he entered office in 1949. He was born in Lowes, Kentucky.
Louisville is a city with a lot of history, including a Victorian preservation district that is the largest in the United States. The facades of those homes are still standing to this day.
On August 21, 1955 the Sutton family went to the Hopkinsville police station with a terrifying story of their encounter with alien beings. The eight adults and three children were clearly frightened as they described their encounter with small humanoid metallic beings. When news got out to the public, people began to descend on the little farm, curious to see where the aliens had visited.
Fort Boonesborough, located in Richmond, was established by Daniel Boone and his men in 1775. This fort became the second settlement in the area that was to become the state of Kentucky. Boone was a pioneer, woodsman, and explorer who became a legendary folk hero in the United States.
The town of Murray is home to the Boy Scouts of America Scouting Museum located on the campus of Murray State University.
The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held horse race in the country. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
The Bluegrass Country around Lexington is home to some of the world’s finest racehorses.
Kentucky was a popular hunting ground for the Shawnee and Cherokee Indian nations prior to being settled by white settlers.
In 1774 Harrodstown (now Harrodsburg) was established as the first permanent settlement in the Kentucky region. It was named after James Harrod who led a team of area surveyors.
Christian County is wet while Bourbon County is dry. Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.
Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival and is the world’s largest fireworks display.
More than 100 native Kentuckians have been elected governors of other states.
In 1888, “Honest Dick” Tate the state treasurer embezzled $247,000 and fled the state.
The song “Happy Birthday to You” was the creation of two Louisville sisters in 1893.
Post-It Notes are manufactured exclusively in Cynthiana. The exact number made annually of these popular notes is a trade secret.
Kentucky was the 15th state to join the Union and the first on the western frontier.
Bluegrass is not really blue–its green–but in the spring bluegrass produces bluish purple buds that when seen in large fields give a blue cast to the grass. Today Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.
There is a legend that the inspiration for Stephen Foster’s hymn like song
“My Old Kentucky Home” was written in 1852 after an unverified trip to visit relatives in Kentucky.
Joe Bowen holds the world record for stilt walking endurance. He walked 3,008 miles on stilts between Bowen, Kentucky to Los Angeles, California.
The world’s largest free-swinging bell known as the World Peace Bell is on permanent display in Newport.
High Bridge located near Nicholasville is the highest railroad bridge over navigable water in the United States.
Carrie Nation the spokesperson against rum, tobacco, pornography, and corsets was born near Lancaster in Garrard County.
Frederick Vinson who was born in Louisa is the only Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court known to be born in jail.
Pike County the world’s largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.
Kentucky is a state in the Upland South, the Northern part of the Southern United States. Also known as the Upper South, the Upland South moniker refers to its mountainous terrain and the term Upper South also acts as a political distinction from the Lower or Deep South, as defined by state lines.
Kentucky is made up of five main regions: the Cumberland Plateau, famous for its coal mining history; the Bluegrass region where Kentucky's main cities and capital are situated; the Pennyroyal Plateau; the Western Coal Fields and the Jackson Purchase.
The Bluegrass region is divided into the Inner Bluegrass and the Outer Bluegrass regions.
In 1997 the state began to repopulate Kentucky's eastern counties with elk, which had been extinct there for over 150 years. In 2009 the number of elk surpassed 10,000! Wild turkeys have also been saved from the brink of extinction and are thriving these days throughout the state.
Nicknamed the Niagara of the South, the Cumberland Falls in southeastern Kentucky is the only waterfall in the Western Hemisphere where a lunar rainbow appears with regularity. A lunar rainbow, or moonbow, is a rainbow produced by moonlight instead of sunlight!
The highest point in Kentucky is Black Mountain whose highest peak reaches 4,145 feet above sea level.

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