Portal:Kentucky
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The Kentucky Portal The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States, normally included in the group of Southern states, but sometimes included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states established as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 it became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th largest state in terms of land area, and ranks 26th in population. 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. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, the most miles of navigable waterways and streams in the Lower 48, the two largest man made lakes east of the Mississippi River, the highest per capita number of deer, turkey, and elk in the US, and the most productive coalfield in the US. Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing (including the best selling car, truck, and SUV in the US market), and college basketball. Selected article Early visitors to Kentucky brought their slaves with them in the 1750s and 1760s. As permanent settlers started arriving in the late 1770s, they held slaves in the station (fort) based settlements. Settlers, often from Virginia, continued to rely on slave labor as they established more permanent farms. Selected picture Selected city In 1814, John Gano, Richard Gano, and Thomas Carneal purchased 150 acres (0.6 km2) on the west side of the Licking River at its confluence with the Ohio River, referred to as “the Point,” from Thomas Kennedy for $50,000. The men named their new riverfront enterprise the “Covington Company,” in honor of their friend, General Leonard Covington, an American officer who once trained troops in the area and was killed in the War of 1812. Fueled in part by the European revolutions of the mid-1800s, many Europeans, particularly Germans, immigrated to Covington. At this time, the primary commercial district and gathering place was on Main Street near Sixth Street, the area now known as “Mainstrasse.” Sixth Street was laid out with a wide width that allowed the city, in 1861, to establish a public market in the center of the street with traffic lanes on either side. The nearby Mutter Gottes Kirche (Mother of God Church), built in 1871, was the center of another German-speaking neighborhood. Did you know...
Kentucky Official Symbols
More State Symbols...On this day in Kentucky history...Selected attraction The property includes a 240-acre (0.97 km²) arboretum containing over 1,900 labeled species and cultivars of trees, shrubs, and other plants. The arboretum includes over 185 cultivars of American holly species. Other major collections include maples, crab apples, conifers (including dwarf conifers), oaks, buckeyes, ginkgoes, ornamental pears, and dogwoods. Specific attractions within the arboretum include the sun and shade trail, quiet garden, and garden pavilion. Selected biography Thomas Hines was said to resemble noted actor John Wilkes Booth, who would gain some fame immediately after Robert E. Lee surrendered. Hines was five feet nine inches tall, and weighed a mere 140 pounds. With his slim build, he was said to not be particularly menacing in appearance, and a friend said he had a voice like a "refined woman". He had a fondness not only for women, but music and horses as well. Union agents saw Hines as the man they most needed to apprehend, but except for his time at the Ohio State Penitentiary in late 1863, he was never captured. During his time in the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Thomas Hines was a witness to the assassination of fellow Judge John Milton Elliott on March 26, 1879, while the two were leaving the Kentucky State House. A judge from Henry County, Kentucky, Colonel Thomas Buford, shot Elliott with a double-barreled shotgun filled with twelve buckshot after Hines had turned and walked six feet away from Elliott. Quotes“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” -- Abraham Lincoln “I was brought up to believe that Scotch whisky would need a tax preference to survive in competition with Kentucky bourbon.” -- Hugo Black “Tough girls come from New York. Sweet girls, they're from Georgia. But us Kentucky girls, we have fire and ice in our blood. We can ride horses, be a debutante, throw left hooks, and drink with the boys, all the while making sweet tea, darlin'. And if we have an opinion, you know you're gonna hear it.” -- Ashley Judd Kentucky listsSister portals/WikiProjects
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