On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state admitted to the United States.
Originally a part of colonial Virginia, Kentucky’s residents petitioned to break away and form their own state, winning Congressional approval in 1791. The first settlement, Fort Harrod (now Harrodsburg), was established in 1774. Another early settlement, Fort Boonesborough, was established in 1775 by famed frontiersman Daniel Boone while his group carved a path for colonists through the Cumberland Gap.
From these frontier beginnings, Kentucky emerged as a key crossroads in American history, particularly during the Civil War. The commonwealth was the birthplace of numerous prominent figures, including Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, who would later lead opposing sides of the conflict.
After initially declaring neutrality at the outset of the Civil War, Kentucky ultimately remained in the Union while dividing its loyalties between Union and Confederate sympathizers, often pitting brother against brother once the fighting arrived. As a result, the commonwealth has monuments on its National Register for both the Union and Confederate dead.
Kentucky is also the only state to have an acting governor be assassinated. In 1900, after a hotly contested election involving thousands of disputed ballots, the General Assembly called the election for William Goebel, who only a few years earlier had been involved in a fatal duel.
During Goebel’s march to the Old State Capitol for his swearing-in ceremony, several shots rang out from the crowd, one critically striking him in the chest. Although officially sworn in the next day, Goebel died four days later. Though unrelated to Goebel’s assassination, Kentucky elected officials still must vow in their oath of office that they’ve never accepted or challenged anyone to a duel.
“The Speaker and I actually have to take the oath twice, first when the election is over and again when constitutional officers are sworn in,” said Kentucky Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade, who represents the 80th District and serves as 2025-26 CSG South Chair. “It’s certainly a unique part of being an elected official here.”
If there’s a word synonymous with Kentucky, it’s horses. The commonwealth is home to more than a quarter of a million horses throughout the year. And the city of Lexington, home to two racing parks and orbited by hundreds of horse farms, is known as the “Horse Capital of the World.” Additionally, Louisville has Churchill Downs, which is home to the nation’s oldest repeating sporting event, the Kentucky Derby, which draws more than 150,000 visitors each year. Thoroughbreds aren’t the only horses, however, as the state dominates in Saddlebreds, Quarter Horses, and other breeds.
“Horses are a huge economic driver here,” Meade said. “The Derby and its surrounding activities, like Thunder Over Louisville, which is one of the world’s biggest fireworks shows, go on for several weeks. And it doesn’t stop there. We also have Keeneland, Turfway, Kentucky Downs and other tracks that race year-round. And then you have all the other people — the trainers, owners, veterinarians, and those in the feed and ag industry — who support the industry. So, I’d say it’s difficult to overestimate just how much horses mean to Kentucky.”
The same geological conditions that make for growing strong horses — namely, nutrient-rich, limestone-derived soil — also contribute to another famous Kentucky hallmark and growing economic engine: bourbon.
The commonwealth produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, and the city of Bardstown, home to a number of major distilleries, including Heaven Hill, Willett and Barton Brands, is known as the “Bourbon Capital of the World.”
“One thing I always tell people that they find funny is that there are more barrels of bourbon in our state than people,” Meade said, adding that the commonwealth has more than 11 million barrels aging in its warehouses and just shy of five million residents. “While a lot of people have tried, no one’s going to be able to match the taste of Kentucky bourbon – and the big issue is the water. Our climate and our limestone-filtered water just does something for bourbon that can’t be replicated elsewhere.”
And that special something translates to a huge tourism draw. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a promotion sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers Association, now features more than 40 distilleries on its path throughout the commonwealth and draws nearly three million visitors each year.
Beyond bourbon, Kentucky’s unique geology has shaped another world-renowned attraction: Mammoth Cave National Park. Carved by water through layers of limestone over millions of years, Mammoth Cave is the world’s largest known cave system, offering visitors the chance to explore vast underground passages and a unique diversity of plant and animal life.
“There’s more than 400 miles of Mammoth Cave that’s been mapped,” Meade said. “But I don’t even know if that comes close to how many miles of caves actually exist there that have yet to be explored and mapped.”
Thanks to its many lakes and woodland areas, Kentucky is also a big recreational ground for boating, fishing and hunting. The commonwealth boasts more than 1,900 miles of navigable water — more than any other state save for Alaska — in part owing to its long, meandering waterways, such as Lake Cumberland. Another is the Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area, nestled between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, which are two of the commonwealth’s largest bodies of water.
“At the right time of year, the fishing is excellent there, mostly for largemouth and smallmouth bass,” Meade said. “The best times are spring, when the bass are spawning, and then again in the fall when water temperatures fall lower. You can still catch fish on the hot days, but that’s when you really have to know how to fish for them.”