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8. Kentucky Historical Society

The Kentucky Historical Society and State Dinner with the Howards and Sayres

100 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY  40601
502.564.1792; http://history.ky.gov

A beautiful building located in beautiful downtown Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, the Kentucky Historical Society provides information about the geography and history of the commonwealth of Kentucky.  The facilities are maintained by the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, consisting of more than 3,300 members.  Outreach programs include more than 430 local organizations: schools, libraries, other outreach organizations, universities… The Kentucky Historical Society was formed in 1836 by a group of prominent Kentuckians intent on preserving the history of the commonwealth. It was chartered as the state society in 1838 and began to collect books and printed materials. The Society became an agency of Kentucky state government in the early 1950s.  

KHS collects, preserves, conserves, interprets and shares information, memories and materials from Kentucky’s past to assist those interested in exploring and preserving that heritage. This mission is served through:

• Museum collections, housing more than 120,000 artifacts
• Oral History collection, containing 8,000 oral history interviews
• Libraries and Special Collections housing more than 90,000 published works, 16,000 reels of microfilm, 200,000 historic photographs, 1,900 cubic feet of manuscripts and 2,000 maps.

The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal. The headquarters of KHS, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, was completed in April 1999. This 167,000-square-foot, $29-million facility in downtown Frankfort has welcomed more than a million visitors and earned many awards for excellence. 

Within the Kentucky Historical Society building, the Stewart Home School 1792 Store offers Kentucky books and crafts, as well as unique items inspired by the society’s collections and exhibitions.

You never know where you will meet old friends! Glenna Norton meets up with a long-lost friend.	A display of an early KY, Native American settlement.	Period tools that would have been utilized during the Abraham Lincoln era.
Stay back! Nancy Wolfe looking fierce.	19th Century tools used in the field to determine direction and distance.	An opportunity to experience Mary Todd Lincoln in a short play by Donna Isom. Lee Gordley and Greg Hardison and Tony Curtis all assisted with the group’s visit to the KHS. THANK YOU!

The facilities dedicate resources toward the education of citizen of all ages via “A Kentucky Journey,” a 20,000-square-foot permanent exhibit featuring 12,000 years of Kentucky history and changing exhibitions, Martin F. Schmidt Library specializing in genealogical research and Kentucky history, statewide outreach programs that touch every county of the commonwealth, and online database and research resources .

While in Frankfort, visit with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln at the Howard home.  A state dinner was provided for our group of educators that included period china with accurate (or close) pattern for each president represented.  A wonderful treat to experience the Lincolns (right-hand couple) and Mrs. Joan Howard (at left). THANK YOU to Joan, her daughter Mary, her son Don, and her entire family for providing a fabulous meal, introducing a state dinner with period china/patterns, and creating a great learning environment!! Also THANK YOU to Jim and Mary Sayre who joined the group as Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln!