Commonwealth of Kentucky
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Bluegrass State
Motto(s): United we stand, divided we fall and Deo gratiam habeamus (Let us be grateful to God)
Official language(s)	English[1]
Demonym	Kentuckian
Capital	Frankfort
Largest city	Louisville
Largest metro area	Louisville metropolitan area
Area	Ranked 37th in the U.S.
- Total	40,409 sq mi (104,659 km2)
- Width	140 miles (225 km)
- Length	379 miles (610 km)
- % water	1.7
- Latitude	36° 30′ N to 39° 09′ N
- Longitude	81° 58′ W to 89° 34′ W
Population	Ranked 26th in the U.S.
- Total	4,369,356 (2011 est)[2]
- Density	110/sq mi  (42.5/km2) Ranked 22nd in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point	Black Mountain[3][4] 4,145 ft (1263 m)
- Mean	750 ft  (230 m)
- Lowest point	Mississippi River at Kentucky Bend[3][4] 257 ft (78 m)
Before statehood	Kentucky County, Virginia
Admission to Union	June 1, 1792 (15th)
Governor	Steve Beshear (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Jerry Abramson (D)
Legislature	General Assembly
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Mitch McConnell (R) Rand Paul (R)
U.S. House delegation	4 Republicans, 2 Democrats (list)
Time zones
- eastern half	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
- western half	Central: UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations	KY US-KY
Website	kentucky.gov

Kentucky (ⁱ/kɨnˈtʌki/), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the Upper South of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (the others being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.

Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the pastures throughout the state, because of the fertile soil. It made possible the breeding of high-quality livestock, especially thoroughbred racing horses. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park; the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States; and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, the largest free-ranging elk herd east of Montana, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing, tobacco and college basketball.

Origin of name[link]

Narrow country roads bounded by stone and wood plank fences are a fixture in the Kentucky Bluegrass region.

It is generally accepted that the historic Native American tribes who hunted in what is now Kentucky referred to the region as Catawba, or some similar variant. Some have said that the land was described in this way to Daniel Boone by a native Chief. According to The Kentucky Blue Book,^{[citation needed]} Dragging Canoe, a young Cherokee chief opposed to selling ancestral hunting grounds, warned the whites that they were purchasing a "dark and bloody ground." The origin of Kentucky's modern name (variously spelled Cane-tuck-ee, Cantucky, Kain-tuck-ee, and Kentuckee before its modern spelling was accepted)^[5] comes from an Iroquois word meaning "meadow lands", referring to the buffalo hunting grounds in Central Kentucky's savanna. Members of the Haudenosaunee, the Iroquois Confederacy, were historically based in New York and Pennsylvania. They penetrated to this area of the Ohio River Valley and drove other tribes out in order to control more hunting land. In addition to buffalo, they trapped beaver for the lucrative fur trade with the French and English, long before European-American settlement in this area.^[6]

Geography[link]

Kentucky is considered to be situated in the Upland South. It is infrequently included in the Midwest.^[7][8] A significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia.

Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast. West Virginia lies to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois and Indiana to the northwest, and Ohio to the north and northeast. Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more states.

Kentucky's northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River. The official state borders are based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792. In several places, the rivers have changed courses away from the original borders. For instance, northbound travelers on US 41 from Henderson, after crossing the Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about a half-mile (800 m) longer on the north side. Ellis Park, a thoroughbred racetrack, is located in this small piece of Kentucky. Waterworks Road is part of the only land border between Indiana and Kentucky.^[9]

Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part existing as an exclave surrounded by other states. Fulton County, in the far west corner of the state, includes Kentucky Bend. This small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River, bordered by Missouri and accessible via Tennessee, was created by the 1812 New Madrid Earthquake changing the course of the river.^[10]

Regions[link]

Kentucky's regions (click on image for color coding information.)

Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Plateau in the east, the north-central Bluegrass region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, the Western Coal Fields and the far-west Jackson Purchase. The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass—the encircling 90 miles (145 km) around Lexington—and the Outer Bluegrass—the region that contains most of the Northern portion of the state, above the Knobs. Much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. This map is a rough depiction of the regions because it relies largely on county lines; as a result, the Inner Bluegrass appears larger than it is, and the Cumberland Plateau appears slightly smaller. The latter region is more commonly known in Kentucky as the East Kentucky Coal Field. Note the singular; these regions are not the sites of coal "fields" but one continuous field with many overlapping seams; the West Kentucky Coal Field is part of the Illinois Basin.

• 

  Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass region features hundreds of horse farms

• 

  The Jackson Purchase and western Pennyrile are home to several bald cypress/tupelo swamps

• 

  The East Kentucky Coal Field is known for its rugged terrain

Climate[link]

Located within the southeastern interior portion of North America, Kentucky has a climate that can best be described as a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa). Monthly average temperatures in Kentucky range from a summer daytime high of 87 °F (31 °C) to a winter low of 23 °F (−5 °C). The average precipitation is 46 inches (1,200 mm) a year.^[11] Kentucky experiences all four seasons, usually with striking variations in the severity of summer and winter from year to year.^[12] Kentucky's highest recorded temperature was 114 °F (46 °C) at Greensburg on July 28, 1930 while the lowest recorded temperature was −34 °F (−37 °C) at Cynthiana on January 28, 1963.

Major weather events that have affected Kentucky include:

Lakes and rivers[link]

Lake Cumberland is the largest artificial American lake east of the Mississippi River by volume.

Kentucky's 90,000 miles (140,000 km) of streams provides one of the most expansive and complex stream systems in the nation. Kentucky has both the largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi in water volume (Lake Cumberland) and surface area (Kentucky Lake). It is the only U.S. state to be bordered on three sides by rivers—the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Big Sandy River and Tug Fork to the east.^[13] Its major internal rivers include the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, Cumberland River, Green River and Licking River.

Though it has only three major natural lakes,^[14] the state is home to many artificial lakes. Kentucky also has more navigable miles of water than any other state in the union, other than Alaska.^[15]

Natural environment and conservation[link]

Once an industrial wasteland, Louisville's reclaimed waterfront now features thousands of trees and miles of walking trails

Kentucky has an expansive park system which includes one national park, two National Recreation areas, two National Historic Parks, two national forests, two National Wildlife Refuges, 45 state parks, 37,696 acres (153 km²) of state forest, and 82 Wildlife Management Areas.

Kentucky has been part of two of the most successful wildlife reintroduction projects in United States history. In the winter of 1997, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began to re-stock elk in the state's eastern counties, which had been extinct from the area for over 150 years. As of 2009, the herd had reached the project goal of 10,000 animals, making it the largest herd east of the Mississippi River.^[16]

The state also stocked wild turkeys in the 1950s. Once extinct here, more wild turkeys thrive in Kentucky today than in any other eastern state. Hunters telechecked a record 29,006 birds taken during the 23-day season in Spring 2009.^[17]

Significant natural attractions[link]

• Cumberland Gap, chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
• Cumberland Falls, the only place in the Western Hemisphere where a "moon-bow" may be regularly seen, due to the spray of the falls.^[18]
• Mammoth Cave National Park, featuring the world's longest known cave system.^[19]
• Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
• Land Between the Lakes, a National Recreation Area managed by the United States Forest Service.
• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Whitley City.
• Black Mountain, state's highest point.^[20] Runs along the border of Harlan and Letcher counties.
• Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve, 2,639-acre (11 km²) state nature preserve on southern slope of Pine Mountain in Letcher County. Includes one of the largest concentrations of rare and endangered species in the state,^[21] as well as a 60-foot (18 m) waterfall and a Kentucky Wild River.
• Jefferson Memorial Forest, located in the southern fringes of Louisville in the Knobs region, the largest municipally run forest in the United States.^[22]
• Lake Cumberland, 1,255 miles (2,020 km) of shoreline located in South Central Kentucky.
• Natural Bridge, located in Slade, Kentucky Powell County
• Breaks Interstate Park, located in southeastern Pike County, Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia. The Breaks is commonly known as the "Grand Canyon of the South."

History[link]

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace near Hodgenville

What is now the state was inhabited by varying cultures of Native Americans from at least 1000 BC to about 1650 AD, particularly along the waterways and in areas of game. Bison roamed in the region. By the time that European and colonial explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in greater number in the mid-18th century, there were no major Native American settlements in the region. The Iroquois had controlled much of the Ohio River valley for hunting from their bases in what is now New York. The Shawnee from the northwest and Cherokee from the south also sent parties into the area regularly for hunting. As more settlers entered the area, warfare broke out because the American Indians considered the settlers to be encroaching on their traditional hunting grounds.^[23] Today the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky is a state-recognized tribe.

According to a 1790 U.S. government report, 1,500 Kentucky settlers had been killed in Indian raids since the end of the Revolutionary War.^[24] In an attempt to end such raids into the state, Clark led an expedition of 1,200 drafted men against Shawnee towns on the Wabash River in 1786, one of the first actions of the Northwest Indian War.^[25]

After the American Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County.^[26] Eventually, the residents of Kentucky County petitioned for a separation from Virginia. Ten constitutional conventions were held in the Constitution Square Courthouse in Danville between 1784 and 1792. In 1790, Kentucky's delegates accepted Virginia's terms of separation, and a state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state to be admitted to the union. Isaac Shelby, a military veteran from Virginia, was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.^[27]

Central Kentucky, the Bluegrass region, was the center of the greatest slaveholding, as planters cultivated tobacco and hemp, and also were noted for their quality livestock. During the nineteenth century, Kentucky slaveholders began to sell surplus slaves to the Deep South, with Louisville becoming a major slave market and departure port for slaves being transported downriver.

It was one of the border states during the American Civil War.^[28] Although frequently described as never having seceded, representatives from several counties met at Russellville calling themselves the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an Ordinance of Secession on November 20, 1861.^[29] They established a Confederate government of Kentucky with its capital in Bowling Green.^[30] Though Kentucky was represented by the central star on the Confederate battle flag,^[31] the Russellville Convention did not represent the majority of residents. Kentucky officially remained "neutral" throughout the war due to Union sympathies of many of the Commonwealth's citizens.

In a revival of the "Lost Cause" that has exceeded the support it gained during the war, some contemporary people observe Confederate Memorial Day on Confederate President Jefferson Davis' birthday, June 3 and participate in Confederate re-enactments.^[32][33]

Designed by the Washington Monument's architect Robert Mills in 1845, the U.S. Marine Hospital in Louisville is considered the best remaining antebellum hospital in the United States

The Black Patch Tobacco Wars, a vigilante action, occurred in the area in the early 20th century. As result of the tobacco industry monopoly, tobacco farmers in the area were forced to sell their tobacco at low prices. Many local farmers and activists united to refuse to sell tobacco to the tobacco industry. A vigilante wing, the "Night Riders", terrorized farmers who sold their tobacco at the low prices demanded by the tobacco corporations. They burned several tobacco warehouses, notably in Hopkinsville and Princeton. In the later period of their operation, they were known to physically assault farmers who broke the boycott. The Governor declared martial law and deployed the Kentucky Militia to end the Black Patch Tobacco Wars.

On January 30, 1900, Governor William Goebel, flanked by two bodyguards and walking to the State Capitol in downtown Frankfort, was mortally wounded by an assassin. Goebel was contesting the election of 1899, which William S. Taylor was initially believed to have won. For several months, J. C. W. Beckham, Goebel's running mate, and Taylor fought over who was the legal governor, until the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in May in favor of Beckham. After fleeing to Indiana, Taylor was indicted as a co-conspirator in Goebel's assassination. Goebel is the only governor of a U.S. state to have been assassinated while in office.^[34]

Law and government[link]

Kentucky is one of four U.S. states to officially use the term commonwealth. The the term was used for Kentucky as it had also been used by Virginia, from which Kentucky was created. The term has no particular significance in its meaning and was chosen to emphasize the distinction from the status of royal colonies as a place governed for the general welfare of the populace.^[35] The commonwealth term was used in citizen petitions submitted between 1786 and 1792 for the creation of the state,^{[citation needed]} and in the Kentucky Constitution adopted in 1850. It was also used the title of a history of the state that was published in 1834 and was used in various places within that book in references to Virginia and Kentucky.^[36]

Kentucky is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd-numbered years (the others being Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia). Kentucky holds elections for these offices every 4 years in the years preceding Presidential election years. Thus, Kentucky held gubernatorial elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

Executive branch[link]

The governor's mansion in Frankfort, Kentucky

The executive branch is headed by the governor who serves as both head of state and head of government. The lieutenant governor may or may not have executive authority depending on whether the person is a member of the Governor's cabinet. Under the current Kentucky Constitution, the lieutenant governor assumes the duties of the governor only if the governor is incapacitated. (Prior to 1992, the lieutenant governor assumed power any time the governor was out of the state.) The governor and lieutenant governor usually run on a single ticket (also per a 1992 constitutional amendment), and are elected to four-year terms. Currently, the governor and lieutenant governor are Democrats Steve Beshear and Jerry Abramson.

Other elected constitutional offices include: the Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture. Currently, Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes serves as the Secretary of State. The commonwealth's chief prosecutor, law enforcement officer, and law officer is the attorney general. The current Kentucky attorney general is Democrat Jack Conway. The Auditor of Public Accounts is held by Democrat Crit Luallen. Democrat Todd Hollenbach is the current Treasurer. Republican James Comer is the current Commissioner of Agriculture.

Legislative branch[link]

The Kentucky State Capitol building in Frankfort

Kentucky's legislative branch consists of a bicameral body known as the Kentucky General Assembly.

The Senate is considered the upper house. It has 38 members, and is led by the President of the Senate, currently Republican David L. Williams.

The House of Representatives has 100 members, and is led by the Speaker of the House, currently Democrat Greg Stumbo.

Judicial branch[link]

The judicial branch of Kentucky is called the Kentucky Court of Justice and comprises courts of limited jurisdiction called District Courts; courts of general jurisdiction called Circuit Courts; specialty courts such as Drug Court, Family Court; an intermediate appellate court, the Kentucky Court of Appeals; and a court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court.

The Kentucky Court of Justice is headed by the Chief Justice of the Commonwealth.

Unlike federal judges, who are usually appointed, justices serving on Kentucky state courts are chosen by the state's populace in non-partisan elections.

Federal representation[link]

Kentucky's two Senators are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both Republicans. The state is divided into six Congressional Districts, represented by Republicans Ed Whitfield (1st), Brett Guthrie (2nd), Geoff Davis (4th), and Hal Rogers (5th), and Democrats John Yarmuth (3rd) and Ben Chandler (6th).

A map showing Kentucky's six congressional districts

Judicially, Kentucky is split into two Federal court districts: the Kentucky Eastern District and the Kentucky Western District. Appeals are heard in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Law[link]

Kentucky's body of laws, known as the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), were enacted in 1942 to better organize and clarify the whole of Kentucky law.^[37] The statutes are enforced by local police, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, and constables and deputy constables. Unless they have completed a police academy elsewhere, these officers are required to complete training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training Center on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.^[38] Additionally, in 1948, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Kentucky State Police, making it the 38th state to create a force whose jurisdiction extends throughout the given state.^[39]

Kentucky is one of 36 states in the United States that sanctions the death penalty for certain crimes. Those convicted of capital crimes after March 31, 1998 are always executed by lethal injection; those convicted before this date may opt for the electric chair.^[40] Only three people have been executed in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court re-instituted the practice in 1976. The most notable execution in Kentucky, however, was that of Rainey Bethea on August 14, 1936. Bethea was publicly hanged in Owensboro for the rape and murder of Lischia Edwards.^[41] Irregularities with the execution led to this becoming the last public execution in the United States.^[42]

Kentucky has been on the front lines of the debate over displaying the Ten Commandments on public property. In the 2005 case of McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that a display of the Ten Commandments in the Whitley City courthouse of McCreary County was unconstitutional.^[43] Later that year, Judge Richard Fred Suhrheinrich, writing for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of ACLU of Kentucky v. Mercer County, wrote that a display including the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, The Star-Spangled Banner, and the national motto could be erected in the Mercer County courthouse.^[44] Still, a 2008 study found that Kentucky's Supreme Court to be the least influential high court in the nation with its decisions rarely being followed by other states.^[45]

Kentucky has also been known to have unusually high political candidacy age laws, especially compared to surrounding states. The origin of this is unknown, but it has been suggested it has to do with the commonwealth tradition.

Politics[link]

This section requires expansion.

Where politics are concerned, Kentucky historically has been very hard fought and leaned slightly toward the Democratic Party, although it was never included among the "Solid South". In 2006, 57.05% of the state's voters were officially registered as Democrats, 36.55% registered Republican, and 6.39% registered with some other political party.^[47] Despite this, the state often supports Republican candidates for federal offices.

From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the election for President of the United States. In the 2008 election, however, the state lost its bellwether status when John McCain, who won Kentucky, lost the national popular and electoral vote to Barack Obama (McCain carried Kentucky 57 to 41%). The Commonwealth supported the previous three Democratic candidates elected to the White House, all elected from Southern states: Lyndon B. Johnson (Texas) in 1964, Jimmy Carter (Georgia) in 1976, and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) in 1992 and 1996. In presidential elections, the state has become a Republican stronghold, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins in 2000, 2004 and 2008. At the state level and in most local areas, the Democratic Party is the dominant party.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics[link]

Kentucky Population Density Map.

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Kentucky was 4,369,356 on July 1, 2011, a 0.69% increase since the 2010 United States Census.^[2]

As of July 1, 2006, Kentucky has an estimated population of 4,206,074, which is an increase of 33,466, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase of 164,586, or 4.1%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 77,156 people (that is 287,222 births minus 210,066 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 59,604 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,435 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 32,169 people. As of 2004, Kentucky's population included about 95,000 foreign-born persons (2.3%). The population density of the state is 101.7 people per square mile.^[51]

Kentucky's total population has grown during every decade since records began. However, during most decades of the 20th century there was also net out-migration from Kentucky. Since 1900, rural Kentucky counties have experienced a net loss of over 1 million people from migration, while urban areas have experienced a slight net gain.^[52]

The center of population of Kentucky is located in Washington County, in the city of Willisburg.^[53]

Race and ancestry[link]

The largest ancestries in the commonwealth are: English (30.6%), German (12.7%), Irish (10.5%), and African American (7.8%).^[54][55] In the state's most urban counties of Jefferson, Oldham, Fayette, Boone, Kenton, and Campbell, German is the largest reported ancestry. Americans of Scots-Irish and English stock are present throughout the entire state. Many claim Irish ancestry because of the term "Scots-Irish". Southeastern Kentucky was populated by a large group of multiracial settlers, sometimes called Melungeons, in the early 19th century. Groups such as the Ridgetop Shawnee in the early 21st century organized as a non-profit to increase awareness of Native American descent in Kentucky. In the 2000 census, there were 20,000 people in the state who identified as Native American. In June 2011, Jerry “2 Feather” Thornton, a Cherokee, led a team in the Voyage of Native American Awareness 2011 canoe journey, to begin on the Green River in Rochester, Kentucky and travel through to the Ohio River at Henderson, Kentucky.^[56]

African Americans, who made up one-fourth of Kentucky's population prior to the Civil War, primarily in the Bluegrass region, declined in number during the twentieth century, as many moved to the industrial North in the Great Migration. Today, 44.2% of Kentucky's African-American population is in Jefferson County and 52% are in the Louisville Metro Area; 20% of the county's population is African American. Other areas with high concentrations, beside Christian and Fulton counties, are the city of Paducah, the Bluegrass, and the city of Lexington. Some mining communities in far Southeastern Kentucky have populations that are between five and 10 percent African American.

Religion[link]

Lexington Theological Seminary (then College of the Bible), 1904.

In 2000, The Association of Religion Data Archives reported^[57] that of Kentucky's 4,041,769 residents:

• 47% were not affiliated with any church
• 34% were members of Evangelical Protestant churches
  • Southern Baptist Convention (979,994 members, 24%)
  • Christian churches and churches of Christ (106,638 members, 3%)
  • Churches of Christ (58,602 members, 1%)
• 10% were Roman Catholics
• 9% belonged to mainline Protestant churches
  • United Methodist Church (208,720 members, 5%)
  • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (67,611 members, 2%)
• 0.05% were Orthodox Christians
• 1% were affiliated with other theologies.

Today Kentucky is home to several seminaries. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville is the principal seminary for the Southern Baptist Convention. Louisville is also the home of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Lexington has two seminaries, Lexington Theological Seminary, and the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky. Asbury Theological Seminary is located in nearby Wilmore. In addition to seminaries, there are several colleges affiliated with denominations. Transylvania in Lexington is affiliated with the Disciples of Christ. The University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Kentucky is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. In Louisville, Bellarmine and Spalding are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. In Owensboro, Kentucky, Kentucky Wesleyan College is associated with the Methodist Church and Brescia University is associated with the Roman Catholic Church. Wilmore is home to Asbury University (a separate institution from the seminary), which is associated with the Christian College Consortium. The University of the Cumberlands, located in Williamsburg, Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Georgetown College in Georgetown and Mid-Continent University in Mayfield all have connections with the Southern Baptist Convention. Louisville is also home to the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and their printing press. Louisville is also home to a sizable Muslim^[58] and Jewish population.

Economy[link]

The best selling car in the United States, the Toyota Camry, is manufactured in Georgetown, Kentucky.

The best selling truck in the United States, the Ford F-Series, is manufactured in Louisville, Kentucky.

Early in its history Kentucky gained recognition for its excellent farming conditions. It was the site of the first commercial winery in the United States (started in present day Jessamine County in 1799) and due to the high calcium content of the soil in the Bluegrass region quickly became a major horse breeding (and later racing) area. Today Kentucky ranks 5th nationally in goat farming, 8th in beef cattle production,^[59] and 14th in corn production.^[60]

Today Kentucky's economy has expanded to importance in non agricultural terms as well, especially in auto manufacturing, energy fuel production, and medical facilities. As of 2010 24% of electricity produced in the USA depended on either enriched uranium rods coming from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (the only domestic site of low grade uranium enrichment), or from the 107,336 tons of coal extracted from the state's two coal fields (which combined produce 4% percent of the electricity in the United States).^[61] Kentucky ranks 4th among U.S. states in the number of automobiles and trucks assembled.^[62] The Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR (2004–2009), Ford Escape, Ford Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Solara, and Toyota Venza are assembled in Kentucky.

The total gross state product for 2010 was $163.3 billion, 28th in the nation.^[63] Its per-capita personal income was US$28,513, 43rd in the nation.^[64]

As of October 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 10%.^[65]

Taxation[link]

There are six income tax brackets, ranging from 2% to 6% of personal income.^[66] The sales tax rate in Kentucky is 6%.^[67] Kentucky has a broadly based classified property tax system. All classes of property, unless exempted by the Constitution, are taxed by the state, although at widely varying rates.^[68] Many of these classes are exempted from taxation by local government. Of the classes that are subject to local taxation, three have special rates set by the General Assembly, one by the Kentucky Supreme Court and the remaining classes are subject to the full local rate, which includes the tax rate set by the local taxing bodies plus all voted levies. Real property is assessed on 100% of the fair market value and property taxes are due by December 31. Once the primary source of state and local government revenue, property taxes now account for only about 6% of the Kentucky's annual General Fund revenues.^[69]

Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky imposed a tax on intangible personal property held by a taxpayer on January 1 of each year. The Kentucky intangible tax was repealed under House Bill 272.^[70] Intangible property consisted of any property or investment which represents evidence of value or the right to value. Some types of intangible property included: bonds, notes, retail repurchase agreements, accounts receivable, trusts, enforceable contracts sale of real estate (land contracts), money in hand, money in safe deposit boxes, annuities, interests in estates, loans to stockholders, and commercial paper.

"Unbridled Spirit"[link]

Kentucky state welcome sign

To boost Kentucky's image, give it a consistent reach, and help Kentucky "stand out from the crowd", former Governor Ernie Fletcher launched a comprehensive branding campaign with the hope of making its $12 – $14 million advertising budget more effective. The "Unbridled Spirit" brand was the result of a $500,000 contract with New West, a Kentucky-based public relations advertising and marketing firm to develop a viable brand and tag line. The Fletcher administration aggressively marketed the brand in both the public and private sectors. The "Welcome to Kentucky" signs at border areas have Unbridled Spirit's symbol on them.

The previous campaign was neither a failure nor a success. Kentucky's "It's that friendly" slogan hoped to draw more people into the state based on the idea of southern hospitality. Though it was meant to embrace southern values, most Kentuckians rejected it as cheesy and ineffective. It was quickly seen that it was also not an image that encouraged tourism as much as initially hoped for. Therefore it was necessary to reconfigure a slogan to embrace Kentucky as a whole while also encouraging more people to visit the Bluegrass.^[71]

Transportation[link]

Main article: Transportation in Kentucky.

Roads[link]

At 464 miles (747 km) long, Kentucky Route 80 is the longest route in Kentucky, pictured here west of Somerset.

Kentucky is served by five major interstate highways (I-75, I-71, I-64, I-65, I-24), nine parkways, and three bypasses and spurs. The parkways were originally toll roads, but on November 22, 2006, Governor Ernie Fletcher ended the toll charges on the William H. Natcher Parkway and the Audubon Parkway, the last two parkways in Kentucky to charge tolls for access.^[72] The related toll booths have been demolished.^[73]

Ending the tolls some seven months ahead of schedule was generally agreed to have been a positive economic development for transportation in Kentucky. In June 2007, a law went into effect raising the speed limit on rural portions of Kentucky Interstates from 65 to 70 miles per hour (105 to 110 km/h).^[74]

Greyhound provides bus service to most major towns in the state.

Rails[link]

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Ashland, South Portsmouth, Maysville and Fulton. The Cardinal (trains 50 and 51) is the line that offers Amtrak service to Ashland, South Shore, Maysville and South Portsmouth. The City of New Orleans (trains 58 and 59) serve Fulton. The Northern Kentucky area is served by the Cardinal at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. The Museum Center is just across the Ohio River in Cincinnati.

As of 2004, there were approximately 2,640 miles (4,250 km) of railways in Kentucky, with about 65% of those being operated by CSX Transportation. Coal was by far the most common cargo, accounting for 76% of cargo loaded and 61% of cargo delivered.^[75]

Bardstown features a tourist attraction known as My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Run along a 20-mile (30 km) stretch of rail purchased from CSX in 1987, guests are served a four-course meal as they make a two-and-a-half hour round-trip between Bardstown and Limestone Springs.^[76] The Kentucky Railway Museum is located in nearby New Haven.^[77]

Other areas in Kentucky are reclaiming old railways in rail trail projects. One such project is Louisville's Big Four Bridge. If completed, the Big Four Bridge rail trail will contain the second longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world.^[78] The longest pedestrian-only bridge is also found in Kentucky—the Newport Southbank Bridge, popularly known as the "Purple People Bridge", connecting Newport to Cincinnati, Ohio.^[79]

Air[link]

Kentucky's primary airports include Louisville International Airport (Standiford Field), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), and Blue Grass Airport in Lexington. Louisville International Airport is home to UPS's Worldport, its international air-sorting hub.^[80] There are also a number of regional airports scattered across the state.

On August 27, 2006, Kentucky's Blue Grass Airport in Lexington was the site of a crash that killed 47 passengers and 2 crew members aboard a Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet designated Comair Flight 191, or Delta Air Lines Flight 5191, sometimes mistakenly identified by the press as Comair Flight 5191.^[81] The lone survivor was the flight's first officer, James Polehinke, who doctors determined to be brain damaged and unable to recall the crash at all.^[82]

Water[link]

A barge hauling coal in the Louisville and Portland Canal, the only manmade section of the Ohio River

As the state is bounded by two of the largest rivers in North America, water transportation has historically played a major role in Kentucky's economy. Louisville was a major port for steamships in the nineteenth century. Today, most barge traffic on Kentucky waterways consists of coal that is shipped from both the Eastern and Western Coalfields, about half of which is used locally to power many power plants located directly off the Ohio River, with the rest being exported to other countries, most notably Japan.

Many of the largest ports in the United States are located in or adjacent to Kentucky, including:

• Huntington/Tri-State (includes Ashland, KY), largest inland port and 7th largest overall
• Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, 5th largest inland port and 43rd overall
• Louisville-Southern Indiana, 7th largest inland port and 55th overall

As a state, Kentucky ranks 10th overall in port tonnage.^[83][84]

The only natural obstacle along the entire length of the Ohio River is the Falls of the Ohio, located just west of Downtown Louisville.

Subdivisions and settlements[link]

Counties[link]

Kentucky is subdivided into 120 counties, the largest being Pike County at 787.6 square miles (2,040 km²), and the most populous being Jefferson County (which coincides with the Louisville Metro governmental area) with 741,096 residents as of 2010.^[85]

County government, under the Kentucky Constitution of 1891, is vested in the County Judge/Executive, (formerly called the County Judge) who serves as the executive head of the county, and a legislature called a Fiscal Court. Despite the unusual name, the Fiscal Court no longer has judicial functions.

Consolidated city-county governments[link]

Kentucky's two most populous counties, Jefferson and Fayette, have their governments consolidated with the governments of their largest cities. Louisville-Jefferson County Government (Louisville Metro) and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (Lexington Metro) are unique in that their city councils and county Fiscal Court structures have been merged into a single entity with a single chief executive, the Metro Mayor and Urban County Mayor, respectively. Although the counties still exist as subdivisions of the state, in reference the names Louisville and Lexington are used to refer to the entire area coextensive with the former cities and counties. Somewhat incongruously, when entering Lexington-Fayette the highway signs read "Fayette County" while most signs leading into Louisville-Jefferson simply read "Welcome to Louisville Metro."

Cities and towns[link]

The Louisville Metro government area has a 2010 population of 741,096. Under United States Census Bureau methodology, the population of Louisville was 566,503. The latter figure is the population of the so-called "balance"—the parts of Jefferson County that were either unincorporated or within the City of Louisville before the formation of the merged government in 2003. In 2010, the Louisville Combined Statistical Area (CSA) has a population of 1,451,564; including 1,061,031 in Kentucky, which is nearly one-fourth of the state's population. Since 2000, over one-third of the state's population growth has occurred in the Louisville CSA. In addition, the top 28 wealthiest places in Kentucky are in Jefferson County and seven of the 15 wealthiest counties in the state are located in the Louisville CSA.^[86]

The second largest city is Lexington with a 2010 census population of 295,803 and its CSA, which includes the Frankfort and Richmond statistical areas, having a population of 687,173. The Northern Kentucky area (the seven Kentucky counties in the Cincinnati MSA) had a population of 425,483 in 2010. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky have a combined population of 2,173,687 as of 2010, which is 50.1% of the state's total population.

The two other fast growing urban areas in Kentucky are the Bowling Green area and the "Tri Cities Region" of southeastern Kentucky, comprising Somerset, London and Corbin.

Although only one town in the "Tri Cities", namely Somerset, currently has more than 10,000 people, the area has been experiencing heightened population and job growth since the 1990s. Growth has been especially rapid in Laurel County, which outgrew areas such as Scott and Jessamine counties around Lexington or Shelby and Nelson Counties around Louisville. London significantly grew in population in the 2000s, from 5,692 in 2000 to 7,993 in 2010. London also landed a Wal-Mart distribution center in 1997, bringing thousands of jobs to the community.

In northeast Kentucky, the greater Ashland area is an important transportation, manufacturing, and medical center. Iron and petroleum production, as well as the transport of coal by rail and barge, have been historical pillars of the region's economy. Due to a decline in the area's industrial base, Ashland has seen a sizable reduction in its population since 1990. The population of the area has since stabilized, however, with the medical service industry taking a greater role in the local economy. The Ashland area, including the counties of Boyd and Greenup, are part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. More than 21,000 of those people (as of 2010) reside within the city limits of Ashland.

The largest county in Kentucky by area is Pike, which contains Pikeville and suburb Coal Run Village . The county and surrounding area is the most populated region in the state that is not part of a Micropolitan Statistical Area or a Metropolitan Statistical Area containing nearly 200,000 people in five counties: Floyd County, Martin County, Letcher County, and neighboring Mingo County, West Virginia. Pike County contains slightly over 68,000 people.

Only three U.S. states have capitals with smaller populations than Kentucky's Frankfort (pop. 25,527), those being Augusta, Maine (pop. 18,560), Pierre, South Dakota (pop. 13,876), and Montpelier, Vermont (pop. 8,035).

Education[link]

The University of Kentucky is Kentucky's flagship university

The University of Louisville is Kentucky's urban research university

Kentucky maintains eight public four-year universities. There are two general tiers: major research institutions (the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville) and regional universities, which encompasses the remaining 6 schools. The regional schools have specific target counties that many of their programs are targeted towards (such as Forestry at Eastern Kentucky University or Cave Management at Western Kentucky University), however most of their curriculum varies little from any other public university. "UK" and "U of L" have the highest academic rankings and admissions standards although the regional schools aren't without their national recognized departments - examples being Western Kentucky University's nationally ranked Journalism Department or Morehead State offering one of the nation's only Space Science degrees. "UK" is the flagship and land grant of the system and has agriculture extension services in every county. The two research schools split duties related to the medical field, "UK" handles all medical outreach programs in the eastern half of the state while "U of L" does all medical outreach in the state's western half.

The state's sixteen public two-year colleges have been governed by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System since the passage of the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997, commonly referred to as House Bill 1.^[87] Prior to the passage of House Bill 1, most of these colleges were under the control of the University of Kentucky.

Transylvania University, located in Lexington, is the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded in 1780. Transylvania is a liberal arts university, consistently ranked in the top tier in the country.

Berea College, located at the extreme southern edge of the Bluegrass below the Cumberland Plateau, was the first coeducational college in the South to admit both black and white students, doing so from its very establishment in 1855.^[88] This policy was successfully challenged in the United States Supreme Court in the case of Berea College v. Kentucky in 1908.^[89] This decision effectively segregated Berea until the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Kentucky has been the site of much educational reform over the past two decades. In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the state's education system was unconstitutional.^[90] The response of the General Assembly was passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) the following year. Years later, Kentucky has shown progress, but most agree that further reform is needed.^[91]

Culture[link]

Old Louisville is the largest Victorian Historic neighborhood in the United States.

Although Kentucky's culture is generally considered to be Southern, it is unique in that it is also influenced by the Midwest and Southern Appalachia in certain areas of the state. The state is known for bourbon and whiskey distilling, tobacco, horse racing, and college basketball. Kentucky is more similar to the Upland South in terms of ancestry which is predominantly American.^[92] Nevertheless, during the 19th century, Kentucky did receive a substantial number of German immigrants, who settled mostly in the Midwest, along the Ohio River primarily in Louisville, Covington and Newport.^[93] Only Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia have higher German ancestry percentages than Kentucky among Census-defined Southern states, although Kentucky's percentage is closer to Arkansas and Virginia's than the previously named state's percentages. Scottish Americans, English Americans and Scotch-Irish Americans have heavily influenced Kentucky culture, and are present in every part of the state.^[94] Kentucky was a slave state, and blacks once comprised over one-quarter of its population. However, it lacked the cotton plantation system and never had the same high percentage of African Americans as most other slave states. With less than 8% of its current population being black, Kentucky is rarely included in modern-day definitions of the Black Belt, despite a relatively significant rural African American population in the Central and Western areas of the state.^[95][96][97] Kentucky adopted the Jim Crow system of racial segregation in most public spheres after the Civil War, but the state never disenfranchised African American citizens to the level of the Deep South states, and it peacefully integrated its schools after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education verdict, later adopting the first state civil rights act in the South in 1966.^[98]

The biggest day in horse racing, the Kentucky Derby, is preceded by the two-week Derby Festival^[99] in Louisville. Louisville also plays host to the Kentucky State Fair,^[100] the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival,^[101] and Southern gospel's annual highlight, the National Quartet Convention.^[102] Bowling Green, the state's third-largest city and home to the only assembly plant in the world that manufactures the Chevrolet Corvette,^[103] opened the National Corvette Museum in 1994.^[104] The fourth-largest city, Owensboro, gives credence to its nickname of "Barbecue Capital of the World" by hosting the annual International Bar-B-Q Festival.^[105]

Old Louisville, the largest historic preservation district in the United States featuring Victorian architecture and the third largest overall,^[106] hosts the St. James Court Art Show, the largest outdoor art show in the United States.^[107] The neighborhood was also home to the Southern Exposition (1883–1887), which featured the first public display of Thomas Edison's light bulb,^[108] and was the setting of Alice Hegan Rice's novel, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch and Fontaine Fox's comic strip, the "Toonerville Trolley.^[109]

The more rural communities are not without traditions of their own, however. Hodgenville, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, hosts the annual Lincoln Days Celebration, and will also host the kick-off for the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in February 2008. Bardstown celebrates its heritage as a major bourbon-producing region with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival.^[110] (Legend holds that Baptist minister Elijah Craig invented bourbon with his black slave in Georgetown, but some dispute this claim.)^[111] Glasgow mimics Glasgow, Scotland by hosting the Glasgow Highland Games, its own version of the Highland Games,^[112] and Sturgis hosts "Little Sturgis", a mini version of Sturgis, South Dakota's annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.^[113] The residents of tiny Benton even pay tribute to their favorite tuber, the sweet potato, by hosting Tater Day.^[114] Residents of Clarkson in Grayson County celebrate their city's ties to the honey industry by celebrating the Clarkson Honeyfest.^[115] The Clarkson Honeyfest is held the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in September, and is the "Official State Honey Festival of Kentucky."

Music[link]

The breadth of music in Kentucky is indeed wide, stretching from the Purchase to the eastern mountains.

Renfro Valley, Kentucky is home to Renfro Valley Entertainment Center and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and is known as "Kentucky's Country Music Capital," a designation given it by the Kentucky State Legislature in the late 1980s. The Renfro Valley Barn Dance was where Renfro Valley's musical heritage began, in 1939, and influential country music luminaries like Red Foley, Homer & Jethro, Lily May Ledford & the Original Coon Creek Girls, Martha Carson, and many others have performed as regular members of the shows there over the years. The Renfro Valley Gatherin' is today America's second oldest continually broadcast radio program of any kind. It is broadcast on local radio station WRVK and a syndicated network of nearly 200 other stations across the United States and Canada every week.

Contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman is a Paducah native, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Everly Brothers are closely connected with Muhlenberg County, where older brother Don was born. Kentucky was also home to Mildred and Patty Hill, the Louisville sisters credited with composing the tune to the ditty Happy Birthday to You in 1893; Loretta Lynn (Johnson County), Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys, and Billy Ray Cyrus (Flatwoods). However, its depth lies in its signature sound—Bluegrass music. Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass", was born in the small Ohio County town of Rosine, while Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, David "Stringbean" Akeman, Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones, Sonny and Bobby Osborne, and Sam Bush (who has been compared to Monroe) all hail from Kentucky. The International Bluegrass Music Museum is located in Owensboro,^[116] while the annual Festival of the Bluegrass is held in Lexington.^[117]

Kentucky is also home to famed jazz musician and pioneer, Lionel Hampton (although this has been disputed in recent years).^[118] Blues legend W.C. Handy and R&B singer Wilson Pickett also spent considerable time in Kentucky. The R&B group Midnight Star and Hip-Hop group Nappy Roots were both formed in Kentucky, as were country acts The Kentucky Headhunters, Montgomery Gentry and Halfway to Hazard, The Judds, as well as Dove Award-winning Christian groups Audio Adrenaline (rock) and Bride (metal). Heavy Rock band Black Stone Cherry hails from rural Edmonton, Indie rock band My Morning Jacket with lead singer and guitarist Jim James also originated out of Louisville, on the local independent music Scene. Rock band Cage the Elephant is also from Bowling Green. The bluegrass groups Driftwood and Kentucky Rain, along with Nick Lachey of the pop band 98 Degrees are also from Kentucky.

In eastern Kentucky, old-time music carries on the tradition of ancient ballads and reels developed in historical Appalachia.