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Kentucky
Kentucky’s nickname is the Bluegrass State. It gets this
name from the rolling meadows of the Bluegrass region in the central part of
the state. That’s where a blue-green grass called bluegrass thrives. The
fertile soils of the Bluegrass region drew Daniel Boone and other early
pioneers to Kentucky in the late 1700s.
Today, the Bluegrass region is home to tobacco
fields, thoroughbred horses, and the best farmland in Kentucky. The region has
played a key role in Kentucky’s history and culture.
Facts About Kentucky
|
|
Capital
|
Frankfort
|
Population
|
4,240,000
people
|
Rank
among states in population
|
26th
|
Major
cities
|
Lexington-Fayette,
Louisville, Owensboro
|
Area
|
40,400
square miles
105,000 square kilometers |
Rank
among states in area
|
37th
|
Statehood
|
June 1,
1792, the 15th state
|
State
nickname
|
The
Bluegrass State
|
Name
for residents
|
Kentuckians
|
State
bird
|
Cardinal
|
State
flower
|
Goldenrod
|
State
tree
|
Tulip
Tree (or Tulip Poplar)
|
Abbreviation
|
KY
|
BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH
Kentucky is in the east central United States.
The Ohio River forms Kentucky’s wavy northern border. That puts Kentucky on the
border between states in the North and states in the South.
Early pioneers spelled Kentucky many ways, including Kaintuckee
and Cantuckey. The name Kentucky comes from the Cherokee Indians.
It was their word for the land south of the Ohio River. No one is exactly sure,
but some historians believe the word means “meadowland.”
On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th
state to join the United States. Today, about 4 million people live in
Kentucky. Frankfort is the capital. Lexington-Fayette is the largest city. But
Louisville has Kentucky’s biggest metropolitan area.
MOUNTAINS, MEADOWS, AND ROLLING PLAINS
Eastern Kentucky is mountainous. The Appalachian
Mountains rise along Kentucky’s eastern border. The highest and most rugged
land is in southeastern Kentucky. Here stands the state’s highest peak, Black
Mountain. It climbs to a height of 4,145 feet (1,263 meters). Thick forests
cover much of the southeast. Big coalfields lie beneath the surface.
The Bluegrass region spreads out over central
Kentucky. The region’s grassy pastures and meadows are ideal for breeding and
raising horses. Farmers plant tobacco and many other crops in the area’s rich
soil.
Rolling hills and plains cover western Kentucky. In
the southwest, many caves and tunnels snake beneath the ground. Kentucky
reaches it lowest point in the far west. That’s where it touches the plain
along the Mississippi River.
DANIEL BOONE
In colonial times, Kentucky was an unexplored
wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains. Daniel Boone helped to change
that. From 1769 to 1771, Boone explored the Appalachians and found a narrow
passage through the mountains called the Cumberland Gap. Later, Boone helped
build the Wilderness Road through the mountains. Settlers traveling by wagon
used the road to move into Kentucky.
Today, Cumberland Gap is a national historical park
where the Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee borders meet. It has forested hills
that are crossed by lots of hiking trails.
CIVIL WAR DIVISIONS
In 1861, a group of states in the South
tried to leave the United States to form the Confederate States of America. The
American Civil War was fought to hold the Union together. Kentucky was in
between the North and the South, and its state government refused to take sides
during the war.
But Kentuckians did. Both Union president Abraham
Lincoln and Confederate president Jefferson Davis were born in Kentucky. Men
from Kentucky fought in both the Confederate and Union armies. Because some
Kentuckians sided with the Confederacy, the Confederates put a star on their
flag to represent Kentucky. But the Union flag already had a star for Kentucky.
Kentucky was on both flags!
In 1862, soldiers fought a bloody battle at
Perryville in central Kentucky. More than 7,600 men died. Today, Perryville
Battlefield State Historic Park commemorates this bloody battle.
MAMMOTH CAVE
Visitors in southeastern Kentucky often go to Mammoth
Cave National Park. The park contains cave passages that extend for hundreds of
miles, making it the longest known cave system in the world! Parts of it are
still being explored.
The cave passages are on five different levels.
They lead to a spectacular underground world of open chambers, deep shafts, and
rock and crystal formations. There are even rivers flowing through the cave!
Rare animals, such as blindfish and eyeless crayfish, make their homes here.
KENTUCKY MUSIC
Bluegrass isn’t just a kind of grass or a region of
Kentucky. It’s a style of country music that grew up in Kentucky’s Appalachian
Mountains. Bluegrass uses instruments such as banjo, fiddle, and mandolin.
Kentucky native Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys started the music in the late
1930s.
Kentucky also gave country music one of its great
performers. Singer and songwriter Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Holler, a
coal-mining village. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is one of her big hits and the
title of a film about her life.
FORT KNOX
There’s buried treasure in Kentucky! Only this gold
wasn’t hidden by pirates. It was buried by the United States government at Fort
Knox, Kentucky. This is the site of the United States Gold Depository. Deep
underground, resting on solid rock, a steel and concrete vault holds gold bars
worth billions of dollars!
The U.S. government built Fort Knox as a training
camp during World War I (1914-1918). It’s still used for training soldiers. But
usually when people think of Fort Knox, they think of gold.
ALL ABOUT HORSES
Kentucky is world-famous for horses. The Bluegrass
region is known for producing thoroughbred racing horses. Lexington is home to
the International Museum of the Horse. The city is also the site of the
Kentucky Horse Park, which hosts international competitions every year.
The Kentucky Derby is the most famous horse race in
the state. The race takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville. It’s held
every year on the first Saturday in May. More than 150,000 people attend the
race. Winning the Kentucky Derby makes a horse famous overnight!
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