Nicknames: Bluegrass State

Capitol: Frankfort

Motto: United we stand, divided we fall

Song: My Old Kentucky Home words and music by: Stephen C. Foster

Flower: Goldenrod, Solidago altissima

Tree: Yellow-poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera

Bird: Cardinal

Gained Statehood: June 1, 1792

Name Origin: Iroquois Indian word

Kentucky the Bluegrass state is home to some of the finest horse country in the United States. Boasting such famous events as the Kentucky Derby one of three races in the Triple Crown, Kentucky is horse country. You will also find breathtaking scenery throughout Kentucky. From Cumberland Falls, known as Niagara Falls of the South to the Appalachian Mountains the Kentucky countryside is spectacular.

Archaeological evidence shows that Indians lived and hunted in Kentucky as long as 13,000 years ago. By the mid-1700s only a handful of native settlements survived the epidemics that were brought by Europeans to the area. These groups include the Mingo (Seneca-Iroquois), the Cherokee, and the Shawnee. Attracted by the promise of abundant land and game, settlers flocked through the Cumberland Gap or down the Ohio River to Kentucky. Early explorers of Kentucky include Dr. Thomas Walker and John Finley in the 1750s and Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton in the 1760s. Kentucky was the first region west of the Allegheny Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. James Harrod established the first permanent settlement at Harrodsburg in 1774; the following year Daniel Boone, blazed the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap and founded Boonesboro. Indian attacks continually in these pioneer settlements. The last major Indian raid in Kentucky occurred at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782. The Kentucky region was originally part of Virginia, but statehood was gained in 1792. In 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated the Native Americans during Fallen Timbers. Between 1800 and 1860, Kentucky's political leadership gave the Commonwealth influence in national circles. John Cabell Breckinridge and Richard M. Johnson both served as Vice President. John Breckinridge was the first federal cabinet level member from west of the Appalachians. Kentucky's political leadership gave the Commonwealth influence in national circles. John Cabell Breckinridge and Richard M. Johnson both served as Vice President. During the Civil War, Kentucky was caught in the middle supplying both Union and Confederate forces with thousands of troops. With the advent of World War II, Kentucky began to shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy.
Today Kentucky produces tobacco, horses, and whiskey. The principal ingredient in bourbon whisky was developed in Scott County in 1789 by the Reverend Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister. Corn,soybeans, wheat, fruit, hogs, cattle, and dairy products are among the agricultural items produced. Kentucky manufactures motor vehicles, furniture, aluminum ware, brooms, apparel, lumber products, machinery, textiles, and iron and steel products. Kentucky also produces petroleum, natural gas, fluorspar, clay, and stone. Raising and racing thoroughbreds also became a lucrative endeavor, and the Kentucky Derby grew in popularity after the first race in 1875. Kentucky produces more thoroughbred foals than any other state in the U.S.

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