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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 much of the lawns and pastures throughout the state. Kentucky is well known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, local bourbon whisky distilleries, bluegrass music and college basketball.

Geography

See also: List of Kentucky counties

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 Mountains and Cumberland Plateau in the southeast, the north-central Bluegrass region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, also sometimes termed "Pennyrile" with cities such as Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, the western coal-fields area, and the far-west Jackson Purchase.

Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part exist as an enclave of another state. 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.

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

History

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.

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.

Assassination of Governor William J. Goebel

The election of William S. Taylor as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on the Republican Party ticket in 1899 was an unexpected turn of events. To date, this is the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky history. Supporters of William Goebel, his Democratic Party opponent, contested the election.

The Kentucky Senate formed a special Committee of Inquiry packed with Democratic members. It was apparent to Taylor's adherents that the committee would decide in favor of Goebel, and on January 19, 1900, a force of more than 1,500 armed civilians took possession of the Capital. For more than two weeks the United States watched as the Commonwealth of Kentucky slid towards civil war. Martial law was declared and the Kentucky militia was activated.

On January 30, 1900, Goebel, accompanied by two bodyguards, was shot by a sniper as he approached the Capital. Though mortally wounded, Goebel was sworn in as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky the next day. Goebel died on February 3, 1900 from his wounds. For nearly four months after Governor Goebel’s death, Kentucky had two officials functioning as the commonwealth’s chief executive; Taylor, who insisted he was the governor, and J. C. W. Beckham, running mate of Governor Goebel, who was sworn in when the latter died.

Governor Beckham requested federal aid in determining, who Kentucky’s chief executive was. The U.S. Supreme Court finally reached a decision on May 26, 1900 upholding the Commission’s ruling that Goebel was in fact Kentucky’s governor, and his lieutenant governor (Beckham) had followed Kentucky’s line of succession and was now Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Immediately following the court’s decision, Taylor fled to the State of Indiana and was later indicted as one of the conspirators in the assassination of Governor Goebel. Attempts to extradite him failed, and Taylor remained in Indiana until he died.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census
year 		Population
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

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:

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.

Religion

Religiously, Kentucky is mostly Protestant. The religious affiliations of the state are as follows:

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 interdominational 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. http://kentucky.gov/unbridledspirit/info.htm

Transportation

Major U.S. interstate highways servicing Kentucky include: I-24, I-65, I-64, I-71, I-75, I-264, I-265.

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.

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, and Breathitt, and the city of Louisville. The Jackson Purchase area in the far west was historically a Democratic stronghold but has moved Republican recently.

Representation

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 in thousands of high paying jobs.

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.

15 largest Kentucky cities, 2010 Projected

City Projected Population
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

County City Projected Population Difference
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
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Public
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Community colleges

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Sports

College Sports

Like many small Southern states without any major league professional sport teams, college athletics have become very important in its place. 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. * The same poll found that 87% thought that the Wildcats verse the Cardinals was the state's biggest rivalry and a plurality (38%) considered Rick Pitino the "enemy of the state".

Professional sports teams

Kentucky is home to no major league sports team but several minor league teams.

Minor league baseball

Football

Basketball

Miscellaneous topics

Kentucky is well known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, local bourbon whisky distilleries, bluegrass music, and college basketball. While 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.

Origin of name

It was once believed that the name Kentucky was derived from the Native American word meaning "dark and bloody hunting ground," which is believed to be due to the fact that many Native American tribes went there to hunt in the game-rich forests and often fought each other there. However, it is now most commonly believed that the name Kentucky can be attributed to various Native American languages with several possible meanings from "land of tomorrow" to "cane and turkey lands" to "meadow lands." This last may come from the Iroquois name for the Shawnee town Eskippathiki. The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.

State symbols

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's universities have been invloved 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 artifical 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 invinted in Henderson, KY 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, KY.
  • The University of Kentucky's men's basketball team, The UK Wildcats, are the winningest team in college basketball history.
  • Famed wildlife artist John James Audubon spent much of his career painting in Henderson, KY.
  • 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 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

References

Politics

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 087049578X).
  • WPA, Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State (1939), classic guide.

Specialized scholarly studies

External links

1792 establishments | Kentucky

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