63 Fun & Interesting Facts and Trivia About Kentucky
Heck yeah Kentucky! The second of the K states after Kansas, Kentucky is our latest entry in the Content Bash 50 Nifty States that includes Massachusetts and Alabama and Delaware and Idaho and New Hampshire and Nevada and Connecticut. The Bluegrass State has a whole lot going for it — from delicious bourbon to thoroughbred horses — since it joined the United States over 230 years ago. Here are 60+ interesting facts about Kentucky.
What is Kentucky known for?
1. The Bluegrass State! Kentucky bluegrass — also known as poa pratensis — is not actually native to Kentucky and can be found all over Europe, North Asia, and North Africa. It was brought over to the New World by the Spanish Empire and took hold stateside ever since. It’s rather ubiquitous, and Kentucky bluegrass is even use as the turf Fenway Park in Boston and Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.
2. Bourbon! Kentucky is so serious about its bourbon that there is even a 3-day tour of manufacturers and distilleries called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. These famous brands include Wild Turkey, Evan Williams, Makers Mark, and Jim Beam. In fact, 95% of all the bourbon in the world is made in Kentucky.
3. The Kentucky Derby! It’s the longest-running horse race in the United States, going all the way back to 1875. Held on the first Saturday each May, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky is the first leg of the Triple Crown and has been called “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” That’s not the extent of Kentucky’s relationship with horses, though, and it’s basically considered the horse capital of the world. Kentucky breeds 30% of all thoroughbreds in the country, a big reason why the thoroughbred has been the official state horse since 1996.
4. Kentucky Fried Chicken! The iconic brand has roots in Corbin, Kentucky, where Colonel Harland Sanders sold his first batches of fried chicken in 1930 at his Sanders Court & Café restaurant. With over 24,000 locations worldwide, the fast food chain still holds its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky.
Official Kentucky state symbols
5. Guess what the official beverage of Kentucky is? Milk! It was named as such in 2005. You’d think it would be bourbon but some dairy farmer Senator passed a bill to make milk, even though Kentucky is in middle-of-the-pack among states when it comes to milk production. However, there have been campaigns to get the official drink of Kentucky switched to bourbon. Milk is also a state symbol for Arkansas and Delaware and Louisiana and Minnesota and Mississippi and Nebraska and New York and North Carolina and North Dakota and Oklahoma and Oregon and Pennsylvania and South Dakota and Tennessee and Vermont and Virginia and also Wisconsin!
6. Clogging was more or less invented in the southern United States, so it makes sense that it’s the official dance of the state of Kentucky.
7. The brachiopod was named official fossil of Kentucky in 1986. They’re relatively common fossils collected in the state, which makes sense considering they’re not exactly extinct.
8. The tulip tree — sometimes called a yellow poplar — was named the official tree of Kentucky in 1994.
9. Kentucky is one of 17 states to name the honeybee as the official state insect, including Arkansas, Georgia, and Kansas.
10. The Appalachian dulcimer was named the official musical instrument of Kentucky in 2001. Want to learn how to play the dulcimer? Now’s your chance!
Click to buy your own dulcimer!
11. The freshwater pearl was once found all over Kentucky, and in 1986 it was named the official gemstone of the state.
12. The viceroy butterfly was named the official butterfly of Kentucky in 1990. It looks exactly like a monarch butterfly, except it has a black across the veins on the hindwings, like you can see below:
13. The blackberry has been the official fruit of Kentucky since 2004.
14. The cardinal was named the official bird of Kentucky in 1926, and its brilliant red plumage can be found all over Kentucky. It’s a pretty popular choice for a state symbol, as Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia also have this pretty bird as their state bird.
15. The Chevrolet Corvette has been made in Bowling Green, Kentucky since 1981, and it was named the official state sports car of Kentucky in 2010.
16. Adopted in 1928, “My Old Kentucky Home” is the official state song of Kentucky. Written by Stephen Foster in like 1852, it also has racist lyrics so if you’re interested in hearing a non-racist version of the song, check out this take by John Prine:
17. In 2008, Kentucky also named an official bluegrass song: “Blue Moon of Kentucky” by Bill Monroe.
18. Naturally, Kentucky named bluegrass the official music of the state in 2007.
19. Kentucky even named the Georgetown pattern of Old Kentucky Blue Grass the official silverware pattern in 1996 because sure why not.
20. In 1926, the goldenrod was named the official state flower of Kentucky, one they share with Nebraska.
21. “United we stand, divided we fall” has been the official Kentucky state motto since 1942. You can find it on the Kentucky state flag.
22. Here is the official Kentucky state flag! Adopted on March 26, 1918, the current iteration was standardized in 1963.
Early history of Kentucky facts
23. As far as we know, human beings were probably living in present-day Kentucky since at least before 10,000 BCE.
24. Before the French explorers came along in the 17th century, the dominant Native American tribes living in present-day Kentucky include the Sioux, Algonquian, Yuchi, Iroquoian, and Muskogean.
25. The first white guy settled in Kentucky in 1774. A dude named James Harrod founded the first permanent European settlement in Kentucky in what is now the city of Harrodsburg.
26. Kentucky County was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia in December 1776, bordering off the western-most part of the state west of the Cumberland Mountains, with Harrodsburg as the seat of government.
27. The county militia officers of the newly-created Kentucky County included folk hero Daniel Boone.
28. On June 30, 1780, Kentucky County was dissolved and split into three counties: Lincoln, Jefferson, and Fayette.
29. Kentucky became the 15th state on June 1, 1792.
Fun, cool & weird facts about Kentucky
30. There was once blue-skinned people living in Appalachian who had methemogoblinemia, a rare genetic disorder that causes blue skin. The Fugate family were locally famous for producing offspring with blue skin, a problem only compounded by their inbreeding.
31. The United States Bullion Depository is colloquially known as Fort Knox, and holds a significant percentage of the country’s gold reserves. It’s also known for its airtight multileveled security, and you may have heard a building being compared to Fort Knox because of how difficult it is to break in.
32. After Thomas Edison invented the the incandescent lightbulb, it made its public debut at the 1883 Southern Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. More than 4,500 light bulbs were illuminated, much to the wonderment of the people who were lucky enough to see something like that for the first time.
33. If you have ever been forced to half-heartedly sing “Happy Birthday” then you have Patty and Mildred Hill to thank. They were a pair of sisters from Louisville, Kentucky who wrote a tune called “Good Morning to All” in 1893, which was basically the famous melody to the “Happy Birthday” song.
34. Middlesboro, Kentucky is actually built entirely inside a meteor crater.
35. The very first Mother’s Day was celebrated in Henderson, Kentucky by schoolteacher Mary Towles Sasseen on April 20, 1887 — more than 25 years before it became a national holiday in 1914.
36. John James Audubon, the famous naturalist and wildlife artist who created The Birds of America did a lot of his painting at his house in Henderson, Kentucky. However, in our research on this guy, we found out that he owned slaves and was opposed to abolishing slavery so fuck this guy. Apologies for this fact that is not fun, cool, or weird.
37. In 1980, this dude named Joe Bowen once walked almost 3,000 miles from California to Powell County, Kentucky — on stilts. Joe Bowen currently holds the Guinness World Record for longest distance walked on stilts.
38. There are many claims to the crown of the first-ever cheeseburger to ever be served. Kaelin’s in Louisville, Kentucky first served theirs in 1934. You can still eat there today!
Kentucky topography & geography
39. The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort, but Louisville is its largest city.
40. Other well-known cities in Kentucky include Lexington, Bowling Green, and Owensboro.
41. There are 120 counties in Kentucky. Gallatin County is the smallest, while Pike County is the biggest.
42. At just over 40,000 square miles, Kentucky is the 37th-largest state.
43. If you were to drive across the length of Kentucky from east to west, it would be 397 miles. A car ride from north to south would be 187 miles.
44. The highest elevation point in the state of Kentucky is Black Mountain, which is 4,145 feet above sea level.
45. Kentucky has about 90,000 miles of rivers and streams — more than any other state except Alaska.
46. The lowest point in Kentucky is the Mississippi River at Kentucky Bend, a mere 250 feet above sea level.
47. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) say that about 48% of Kentucky is forestland.
48. Unfortunately, 88% of the forestland in Kentucky is privately owned, according to the Kentucky EEC.
49. Kentucky borders 7 different states: Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
What are some places to visit in Kentucky?
50. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky is a must-visit for any baseball fan. Not only can you get a close-up look on how baseball bats are made, there are several exhibits on the history of baseball bat and how it’s evolved since the brand made its first bat for a slumping hitter in 1884.
51. The Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky open not long ago in 2004 but has built a substantial collection of firearms owned by notable figures like Georgie Washington and Buffalo Bill. There are also exhibits on other aspects of Kentucky culture, like bourbon. It also happens to have what’s considered one of the best collections of rare historic toy soldiers in the world.
52. Mammoth Cave National Park just west of central Kentucky is the longest known cave system in the entire world, with more than 420 miles worth of passageways. A spelunker’s dream!
53. The Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky is the only museum in the world that is dedicated to ventriloquists and ventriloquism memorabilia. It’s a mere 5 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, and houses the collection of one William S. Berger, a noted figure in the preservation of the art of ventriloquism, who amassed over 700 ventriloquist figures, as well as a ton of pictures and other artifacts of the craft.
54. Bluegrass music fans absolutely need to visit the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, which is also home to the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame. In addition to exhibits covering the history of bluegrass, they also have a calendar of performances featuring notable names in bluegrass music.
55. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Corbin, Kentucky is home to Cumberland Falls, which is 68 feet tall and the 2nd-largest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains It’s often called the Niagara of the South, and a nature lover’s dream.
What famous people are from Kentucky?
56. Illinois is fond of calling itself the Land of Lincoln, but Abraham Lincoln was born at a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky on Sinking Spring Farm in LaRue County on February 12, 1809. Bonus fun fact: Abraham Lincoln’s mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln is a distant cousin of actor Tom Hanks.
57. Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to his boxing accolades, the Louisville Lip was also a proud Muslim and civil rights advocate who once said “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”
58. Diane Sawyer, the television journalist whose remarkable career is still going after more than 50 years, was born in Glasgow, Kentucky on December 22, 1945.
59. Famous actors born in Kentucky include handsome bastards George Clooney (Lexington), Jennifer Lawrence (Indian Hills), Harry Dean Stanton (West Irvine), Michael Shannon (Lexington), and Ned Beatty (Louisville).
60. Some of our favorite musicians were born in Kentucky, like the Everly Brothers (Central City), Will Oldham (Louisville), Dwight Yoakam (Pikeville), Billy Ray Cyrus (Flatwoods), and Joan Osborne (Anchorage). And of course, Bill Monroe!
61. Duncan Hines isn’t just a well-known brand of cake mix. He was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky and was something of a food pioneer that also created restaurant guides for cross-country travelers in a time before the interstate highway system was put in place. Duncan Hines also sold his bread — and the rights to his name — to a company called Nebraska Consolidated Mills, which still holds the brand after they sold to Procter & Gamble and reacquired them.
62. Baseball players that were born in Kentucky include Mike Greenwell, Dan Uggla, Jay Buhner, Walker Buehler, and Hall of Fame 2B Pee Wee Reese.
63. Notable NBA players who were born in Kentucky include Rex Chapman, Rajon Rondo, and Allan Houston. It also includes Hall of Famers like Dave Cowens, Wes Unseld, Joe Fulks, and Cliff Hagan.
Cover Image Credit: Photo by Daniel Norris on Unsplash
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