- In 1792, after Kentucky became a state, a seal was commissioned for government business. It showed …
The oldest state in the United States west of the Appalachian mountain chain is Kentucky. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries Kentucky was the Wild West—a frontier land to which thousands of settlers came by way of a narrow mountain passage called the Cumberland Gap. When the first settlers arrived, the land was part of Virginia. The state probably took its name from a Iroquois Indian word meaning “meadowland” or “prairie.” Kentucky is nicknamed the Bluegrass State after the bluish green, long-stemmed grass that grows in many parts of the state. The capital is Frankfort. GeographyKentucky is located in the south-central part of the United States. The Ohio River separates northern Kentucky from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The Big Sandy River runs between northeast Kentucky and West Virginia. Virginia borders Kentucky to the southeast, and Tennessee lies to the south. In the west the Mississippi River forms the boundary between Kentucky and Missouri. Kentucky has an area of 40,410 square miles (104,660 square kilometers). In the east are the Appalachian Mountains, including the Cumberland and Pine ranges. Black Mountain, at the Virginia border, is the state's highest point at 4,145 feet (1,263 meters). Between the eastern mountains and the Tennessee River in the west is a large area of lowlands. The westernmost part of the state is a fertile plain. It is part of the great lowland region that extends north from the Gulf of Mexico. Kentucky has cool winters and warm summers. Rainfall is generally plentiful, though it is heavier in the south than in the north. Plants and animalsMost of Kentucky was once covered with forests. By the end of the 19th century most of these forests had been cut down. Trees, shrubs, and plants of many kinds still flourish in all parts of the state, however. Pine trees grow in the eastern mountains, and maples, beeches, and magnolia are found throughout the state. Common animals in Kentucky include deer, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, opossums, and groundhogs. The elk population was wiped out when Europeans settled the land, but the animal was brought back to the state in the late 20th century. Marshes in the western part of Kentucky are home to birds such as egrets and great blue herons. People and cultureFor centuries before the arrival of Europeans, Kentucky was a hunting ground for various Native American tribes. The first white settlers came from the eastern states and were mostly English and Scottish. Many of their descendants still live in eastern Kentucky in the area known as Appalachia. This area is relatively cut off from the rest of the state by mountains. Its people are among the poorest in the United States, but they have developed one of the country's most interesting cultures. They have preserved songs, dances, and arts and crafts that are hundreds of years old. Early in the 19th century French immigrants came from New Orleans, Louisiana, and settled mostly around Louisville. Germans and others came from New England and the Middle Atlantic states. Kentucky once had a large black population, but it declined beginning in the 1830s. African Americans now make up about 7 percent of the state's population. CitiesKentucky remains a largely rural state of small towns. The only cities with populations greater than 100,000 are Lexington, in the central part of the state, and Louisville, near the Indiana border. Frankfort, the capital, is located on the Kentucky River. RecreationKentucky has one of the finest state park systems in the United States. It also has three national parks: Mammoth Cave National Park, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area are also popular attractions. The Kentucky Derby, one of the most famous horse races in the world, is run annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The first Kentucky Derby took place in 1875. Many of the horses that compete come from Kentucky farms that breed thoroughbreds. EducationThe first school in what is now Kentucky was opened in Fort Harrod in 1775. The first public school law was passed in 1838. Kentucky's oldest institution of higher learning is Transylvania University, which was founded in 1780. It originally was located in Danville but later moved to Lexington. The state's largest universities are the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, and the University of Louisville. EconomyIndustryManufacturing and service industries are the main sources of income and employment in Kentucky. The major manufactured products include motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, and electronic equipment, including computers. Kentucky is known worldwide for its bourbon whiskey, which is made from corn. Tourism is a leading industry, especially near the lakes and in the larger cities. Agriculture - Horses graze on a farm near Lexington, Kentucky.
Before 1950 Kentucky was considered an agricultural state. Since then the number of farms and employment in farming have declined. In the late 1990s about 5 percent of the workforce was involved in farming. Tobacco has long been a major cash crop. Corn, soybeans, and hay are also important. Cattle are the main livestock, and the state ranks first in the nation in the breeding of racehorses. MiningKentucky is one of the nation's top coal-producing states. Oil, natural gas, limestone, sand, gravel, and clays are also among its mineral resources. HistoryThe first people to live in what is now Kentucky were prehistoric farmers and hunters. They left burial mounds and other traces. The Shawnee and the Cherokee were among the Native American peoples who lived in the region in later centuries. Settlement and statehoodFor many years the American colonists could not expand westward because they were blocked by the Appalachian mountain ranges. This situation changed in 1750 when a group of Virginians discovered a pass through the Cumberland Mountains. This pass was named the Cumberland Gap. In the late 1760s the frontiersman Daniel Boone pushed farther west, encouraging other pioneers to enter the territory. The first permanent white settlement in Kentucky was founded by a Virginia man named James Harrod in 1774 at what is now Harrodsburg. The next year Boone led a group of people from North Carolina and founded what is now Boonesboro. Although some rivalry existed between the two colonies, they joined together in fighting against Native Americans. In the 1780s Kentuckians began to call for the separation of their territory from Virginia. Success came in 1792, when Kentucky joined the Union as the 15th state. Civil WarKentucky was a divided state during the American Civil War (1861–65). Both Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States during the war, and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, were born in the state. Many Kentuckians fought for the Confederacy, but more fought for the Union side. The state never officially withdrew from the Union. After the war, however, most Kentuckians turned their sympathies toward the South. The only major battle of the war fought in Kentucky was at Perryville. Confederate forces were defeated there by a Union army in 1862. Development of modern KentuckyThe economy of Kentucky grew steadily in the late 19th century. The introduction of tobacco farming brought much money into the state. Coal mining on a large scale began in the 1870s. Bloody clashes between miners and operators took place in the 1930s. In later decades the increasing use of machinery in the mining industry led to the loss of many jobs. Manufacturing became increasingly important to the state's economy in the late 20th century. For many years Kentucky's educational system was ranked among the poorest in the nation. The state took steps to improve its schools in the 1980s and 1990s. A law passed in 1990 called for major reforms in every part of the state's public-school system. Population (2000 census), 4,041,769. |