The Nifty Fifty: Kentucky

Kentucky is a state in the southern region of the United States with the abbreviation of KY. Kentucky became the 15th state on June 1, 1792, making the state 231 years old, as of June, 2023. The origin of the name Kentucky is disputed; pioneer George Rogers Clark claimed the name came from the American Indian word Kentake meaning meadow land, while others said that it came from a Shawnee word, meaning at the head of a river, or the Wyandot word Ken-tah-ten, meaning land of tomorrow.

Kentucky is the 37th largest state and the 26th most populous. The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort and its demonym is Kentuckian. Kentucky is bordered by the states of West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

The three previous constitutions of Kentucky used the words state and commonwealth interchangeably to refer to Kentucky, however, Kentucky’s fourth and current constitution, which was adopted in 1891, specifies that Kentucky shall be officially named the commonwealth of Kentucky. For this reason, Kentucky is legally and formally called a commonwealth, not a state, but in all other cases, it is very often called a state. There are only three other states which are officially commonwealths: Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The motto of the state of Kentucky is United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Kentucky’s nickname is the Bluegrass State, which is due to the presence of bluegrass in many lawns and pastures in the state. While bluegrass is actually green, it produces buds in the spring that are blueish purple. Bluegrass can even be found in the metropolitan areas of Lexington and Louisville.

The landscape of Kentucky is covered in grasslands, waterways, hills, and forests. Kentucky even lies in a small section of the Appalachian Mountain Range.

Kentucky is known for Kentucky Derbies, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and Mammoth Cave, which is the world’s longest known cave system. The state is also known for being the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, for being the land where Daniel Boone explored, for possessing the enclave known as the Kentucky Bend, for mass producing Chevrolet Corvettes, and for producing some of the most hardwood and coal. Kentucky contains metals such as zinc, lead, iron, copper, titanium, and rare earth elements, as well as minerals and gemstones including fluorite, barite, limestone, phosphate, pearls, diamonds, and agates.

In early April of 1796, James “Jim” Bowie was born in Logan County, Kentucky. Jim Bowie’s father fought in the American Revolution, but after being wounded, he married and moved to Georgia, and then to Kentucky, at which point Jim Bowie was born. Bowie found himself in a feud with the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, and during a particular confrontation, the Sheriff fired a shot at Bowie, which caused Bowie to carry a large hunting knife at all times; Bowie became famous for his knife and his skills in knife fighting, especially after the following confrontation, during which the sheriff lost his life. In 1828, Bowie decided to move to the state of Coahuila y Tejas (Coahuila and Texas) in the Mexican Federation, going as far as to renounce his American citizenship and to become a Mexican citizen in 1830. Bowie was elected as a commander of the Texas Rangers in 1830 with the rank of colonel, and in the year 1832, Bowie became involved in the Texas Revolution. Bowie helped lead Texas to victories during the Battle of Nacogdoches, the Battle of Concepción, and the Grass Fight. Bowie was present as a commander along with William B Travis during the Battle of the Alamo, but Bowie was ill during the battle, however, this did not prevent him from being slain along with all other defenders of the Alamo. The tomb of Jim Bowie, William B Travis, and Davy Crockett can be viewed in San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas.

One of the first traffic signals was invented by Garrett Morgan in 1923 after he witnessed a terrible crash at an intersection. Morgan’s traffic signal was manually operated with moving arms that signaled stop and go. Morgan sold the rights of his traffic signal to General Electric for $40,000.

Between September 7 and 9, 1863, the Battle of the Cumberland Gap occurred in Bell County, Kentucky, Claiborne County, Tennessee, and Lee County, Virginia. The battle was part of the campaign for Knoxville and it resulted in a victory for the United States. Three Union brigades under the command of Ambrose Burnside captured 2,300 Confederate troops and took control of the Cumberland Gap without a single casualty on either side.

One Interesting fact about Kentucky is that the city of Horse Cave is named after and located on Horse Cave, which is sometimes called Hidden River Cave, due to an underground river in the cave. The cave is only a couple feet south of Main Street in the center of the city.

One strange fact about Kentucky is that a law is still in effect which requires each governor of Kentucky to swear an oath that they have not taken part in a duel with deadly weapons. I wonder if you could still become the governor of Kentucky if you only ever fought your duels with weapons that were not deadly.

What fact about Kentucky most interests you?