Louisville, where we introduce you to the people, places and things that make up Kentucky's largest city.

This week, we take you to Historic Locust Grove.

It is known as the place where Louisville begins.

That's because this 55 acre farm dates back to 1790 and was once home to Louisville's founder, George Rogers Clark.

Today, it is a National Historic Landmark and a Louisville Metro Park.

Here's a look back at the beginnings of historic Locust Grove.

>> If these walls could talk, imagine the stories they would tell.

Of the statesmen.

Explorers.

Warriors who, since the 1790s, made this home a stop as they traveled Kentucky, then America's western frontier.

Of the many men, women, children free and enslaved who became part of Kentucky's history and heritage while they called Locust Grove their home.

What is the magic of Locust Grove that keeps visitors coming even today, more than 200 years after its construction?

While other houses of that era have long since vanished.

The answer begins with the power of a famous name, George Rogers Clark.

In May 1778, Clark brought a band of settlers and soldiers down the river and built a fort on Corn Island, the first American settlement at the falls of the Ohio.

While the Ohio River was a major thoroughfare for many of the earliest European explorers, as well as for traders and pioneers, all of them had to stop at the falls, sometimes waiting weeks for the water to rise high enough to navigate the rapids.

What was first just a stopping place, soon became a settlement and eventually would grow into a city called Louisville.

It was during the early years of the Revolutionary War, when Clark was just 25 years old, that he returned to Kentucky not only to settle, but also to conquer those western lands for Virginia.

Following a series of military victories at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes against the British in the Northwest Territory in February of 1779, Clark and his force of about 180 fighters marched to capture Vincennes, now Indiana, for the second time.

The weather was miserable.

The land was flooded, making a show of his disregard for the elements, Clark cajoled his troops along by singing and joking and making it clear that deserters would be shot.

Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton and his British army, hunkered down against the harsh winter, were taken by surprise and surrendered the fort after a two day siege.

That battle was instrumental in claiming the Northwest Territory, the land that would become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and prompted London to abandon its planned western invasion of the Ohio River Valley.

If not for George Rogers Clark, the Ohio River might still mark our nation's border.

Native Americans had used this area for hunting and for burial grounds for thousands of years, and now fought fiercely for the freedom to freely traverse the river and its fertile valley.

In the midst of violent conflict.

Clark, appointed by the new federal government, negotiated successful peace treaties and came to be respected by both sides for his peacemaking skills.

But for all his accomplishments, General Clark's later years were hard.

He never was repaid for the expenses he incurred in the war.

He was plagued by ill health and slanders about his conduct in the field.

Without a family of his own, Clark often visited Locust Grove, the home of his sister Lucy and her husband William Cron, once his surveying partner.

Cron, born in Ireland, had been commissioned as a captain in the eighth Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War.

He crossed the Delaware River with George Washington after wintering at Valley Forge.

He was taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston in 1780, where he first encountered members of the Clark family, and was later freed on parole.

Look closely at his portrait and you will see the insignia of the society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal organization of a select group of revolutionary officers, including the man who would be our first president, George Washington.

Cron retired from the military as a major and settled in Louisville in 1784.

An active member of the Louisville community, he married Lucy Clark in 1789 and the next year began purchasing the land on which Locust Grove was soon built.

>> Jessica Dawkins is the president and CEO of Historic Locust Grove.

Welcome.

And it was very interesting to hear some of the history of historic Locust Grove there.

I want to start, though, talking about your history.

Okay.

Because you're just coming up on a year on the job.

>> Yes.

I was very lucky to land this position in January of 2025.

I spent about five years working in Frankfort and in southern Indiana.

But Louisville is where my heart is, so I was really excited to lead an organization that is so well loved and known by the community and as a part of our city, so I really appreciate it.

>> And you said earlier that you always knew you wanted to do something with Louisville history.

This is just part of part of you.

Why?

>> I you know, honestly, I had an epiphany as a student at Jefferson Community and Technical College.

I was a community college student, and it was one book, one History of Louisville book that just captured me.

And it was my first semester of college, and I was like, oh, I want to be a Louisville historian.

And I didn't know anybody that had that job.

And I was like, certainly it exists.

And so I tailored my entire education to be Louisville history focused.

But we don't have a Louisville history museum.

And so I knew I wanted to work in museums.

I knew, you know, I have kind of a visionary, you know, so I knew I needed to be in charge of the museum.

So I tailored my education to lead Louisville history in the community.

So not only am I a alum of our community college, but also a UofL cardinal, and my master's from Spalding is in business communications, so I thought all of those things put together would be a good way to contribute.

>> That's perfect.

And so historic Locust Grove, such an important part of Louisville history.

In fact, you bill yourselves as where Louisville begins because it really is the beginnings of this city.

>> It is home of the founder of Louisville, George Rogers Clark.

We always say it's where Louisville begins because of George, but it was actually his sister and brother in law's house, William and Lucy Krahn.

Most people pronounce it Croghan, but it's Chrome.

>> Okay, so now we know.

>> It's Kron, and William Kron and George Rogers Clark were, and many of Clark's brothers were part of the Revolutionary War in a way that doubled the size of what would become our nation.

And so the beginning of our of our country is the people that are from Locust Grove.

But we just had a scholar recently who, when I asked him the question, what is it about this place that you think that we really need to impress upon people?

And he said, this family, these two families, the Clarks and the Kranz at the time of the revolution in early America, most people were still connected to Europe and Great Britain, and Philadelphia would talk with London and South Carolina would talk with, you know, England.

But the Clarks and the Kranz were the ones that really brought the culture of Go West and explore across the mountains what would become things like manifest Destiny.

Now, we also know at this point in history that those that that exploration attitude had adverse effects on indigenous tribes and the institution of enslavement as well.

But that American spirit of pioneer and frontier, we've taken all the way to space.

And that was something I really thought was interesting, that he was like, this is where that American feeling of, of exploration comes from.

And I thought that was a very powerful perspective.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

And not to mention Lewis and Clark.

>> Yes.

George George's little brother, William Thomas Jefferson, had originally talked to George Rogers Clark earlier about going all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

And he was like, I'm a little too old for that.

Send my little brother.

Then he was a little jealous that William got to be a little more famous than he did, but a very influential family.

And Locust Grove kind of served as the, you know, kind of front door to a new city.

People would come to visit the old general presidents to everyday citizens.

So it's really a home that starts our optimism and our hospitality.

>> Yeah.

So take us back to that time of the American Revolution.

You mentioned all of the the dignitaries that have been in the home.

What did it look like and what was the feel then, and who were some of those people who have spent time there?

>> So the original plot of land, which they purchased, a good portion of it from the family of James Madison, which I always thought was interesting.

>> Yes.

>> The the Chrons and the Clarks George Rogers Clark settled in Clarksville, across across the river, but the original 700 acres was just over what would become Blankenbaker Lane all the way to the river.

And so the neighborhoods now Mockingbird Valley, Indian Hills, all of that is original Locust Grove property, all the way to the river.

Had a had a ferry that crossed.

So when you were coming to Locust Grove, you were generally coming by water.

So you would enter from River road and come up the old lane to what would be.

And Locust Grove sits on a hill.

It doesn't flood too often.

They're on top of the bluff as you're coming around the river.

So many trees Kentucky is really known for in this early time, especially our natural abundance.

The trees, the soil, the limestone, the water, the flora, the fauna.

We were very we were teeming with life and we have the most beautiful seasons.

So when you're traveling, when you're going west from the east, you can get from Pittsburgh to New Orleans by boat.

But you have to stop at the falls of the Ohio.

So Locust Grove is a natural stopping place, but also a starting point.

And so that kind of I think Louisville has really always embodied that hospitality spirit.

You know, we are always friendly with people.

It's 200 years of that kind of culture of come in and then you might leave and you might come back, you know.

Right.

You know, you live here.

>> Yes.

That's right, that's right.

Everybody comes back.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so during that time you mentioned to this was a place built by enslaved people.

>> Absolutely.

>> And that's a big part of the history there too.

How have you all embraced that and, and tried to make that a really relevant part of the story?

>> Absolutely.

Well, you know, museums haven't always done the best job telling the whole story of the people who lived and worked on a site.

It's very visceral, especially a place like Locust Grove, because there are fingerprints in the bricks on the wall that you can see.

You know, people could walk up to Locust Grove and see fingerprints like, that was a person.

We all have them.

Right?

That was probably a man who formed clay into a brick that built a home that's still open today.

So there are physical reminders.

We also have many outbuildings, a hearth, kitchen, living quarters, a spring house, wash house, things like that.

So it's important for us to tell the whole story, because the American spirit doesn't just come from the great white man with land and money.

It also comes from the resilience of people who have nothing and have worked hard to just survive to the next day.

All of that makes us American.

So being able to tell the story of enslavement is really important that we understand the impact that colonialism had.

Let's not forget the Shawnee and the Cherokee and the Chickasaw and the Miami and all of the tribes that lived and hunted on this, on these exact same spots.

So a family like the Clarks and the cranes are coming into a home, someone's home for 10,000 years and are driven out.

And then we use enslaved labor to make it beautiful and have formal gardens and food to eat.

And that's just all part of the story.

So we don't shy away from everything it takes from each perspective, but it also gives us a shared connection to the humanity.

And for me, it's our opportunity to really to do better.

When you know better, you do better.

And so we can learn so much from the past as a means to have a better future.

>> Yeah, a lot of it looks the same as it did 200 years ago, which is incredible.

So one thing you mentioned is the view.

Yes.

You all try really hard to keep the view as it was and including the inside of the home, which was, I would assume, painstakingly restored.

Yes, at some point.

So how did that process happen?

>> And so when you kind of start from the inside and go out or opposite, right.

So Locust Grove is also a Louisville Metro park, which is amazing because the 55 acres of land that we have now, I always say it belongs to you.

It belongs to the people.

My job is to just care for it.

So when you kind of zoom out and go in the vista, when you stand at a stone wall and you look at the woods and you see brick and limestone buildings with wood, shingle rooftops, there is a a feeling, a cultural landscape that really is embodied in a way that you really have to be there.

You know, I always say it's sacred ground because there's a feeling that just comes from the land itself and the outside, the bricks and the shutters, you know, we can keep the paint clean and the porch, you know, the wood taken care of.

But once you step in that door which has the original threshold, by the way, it's a 200 year old piece of wood.

It's probably even older than that because it was cut down.

Right.

So it leans to the right and you can see every right handed, right footed person that has walked through that door has worn it down.

So it's two centuries of visitors and walking in and out of the door.

But once you come in, you'll see wallpapers that were available at the time.

In some rooms there are.

It is the exact replica of the wallpaper that was there before the original paint colors that were on the wall, artifacts which would be chairs and teapots and things to the time period.

Of course, we want to embody that time period that takes you back, especially in places like the Hearth Kitchen, where people really love.

We cook in there quite a bit to have the smells and the, you know, cast iron on open fire.

That really does something for people.

I always say historic houses are missing two things smells and plants.

Homeowners would have had a lot of plants to manage air quality, but we can't have live plants in an old house today because they bring bugs.

So that's really the only thing that is missing from your historic house experience are what would the smells bring a house to life and the life within it?

You know, we just can't have any more.

>> So it is a feeling that you get when you're there, that you're experiencing this part of history.

Why is that so important in the grand scheme of things to let people know and experience history in that way?

>> History is a tool in your toolbox.

Most I think also history maybe isn't taught so well because we focus on names and dates and certain storylines.

The past is what happened, but history is how we talk about it, and the way that we talk about it is important.

But as a as an individual and especially as a citizen, as a member of a community where your job is to be a productive, engaged citizen within a city, a municipality, or a state or commonwealth or a nation.

History is a tool that allows you perspective.

And that's why all the perspectives are so important in a way that makes you question how things came to be, but also what they can be.

We learn lessons, or we should learn lessons all the time, from mistakes that have been made or successes that have been achieved.

You know, it only took a couple of kids to steal a red bike to make the greatest in the world, right?

And so Louisville is a place where special people are from, and we have a lot of really important contributions to the United States.

And I think being able to inspire a new generation of people and of citizens is really important just to make us, make us better as a whole.

>> And that brings us to the this new program that you all are putting out.

LOU of virtue.

Yeah, say it right.

You did okay, but it is all about exactly what you're talking about.

Inspiring this next generation not just to know about history, but to experience and take that into something they're going to use in the future, the future of our country and world.

Tell us about it.

>> In in my experience, I was giving field trips, you know, giving field trips to to young kids, third, fourth elementary school.

And and I would ask them and this was like 2013 or so if they could define honor.

And by the time I left that museum in 2020, they could no longer define it.

It was difficult for them to bring up the words of how to define honor or integrity, and it made me realize that there's a lot of focus on like, go vote to young people, get involved, but we don't teach them the basic virtue of what it means to be a member of a community and their basic tenets of citizenship.

You know, responsible use of resources or participating in democratic elections.

But then it became more than that.

And as as we researched the founding documents from our founding fathers, whether it's the Declaration of Independence or just letters by Benjamin Franklin, our founding documents in American ideals are rooted in virtue.

And all of them were very consciously aware that we cannot have the United States of America with a democratic republic without individual virtue.

If the people are corrupt, you could have the best government in the world.

It's not going to work.

And then you look at how we have actually acted when it comes to things like enslavement.

And I've always say our walk doesn't match our talk.

So we have these founding fathers spouting virtue, but yet enslaving people on their own properties.

And so there's a hypocrisy that we wrestle with today and that we have to reckon with.

And so I thought it was really important to, as a site of Revolutionary War history, who are connected to our founding documents and American ideals, and especially with us.

250 coming up, July 4th, 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

And two years after that is Louisville's birthday, Louisville's 250th birthday.

So in this time frame, we thought it was important to remind people how important your virtue is as an individual and that if we help create better individuals with virtuous behavior and civic engagement, that will lead to a stronger community.

>> What do you hope it looks like?

You know, ten, 20 years from now?

>> I'm really glad that you asked that question, because someone recently said to me, for someone that lives in the past, you really only talk about the future.

And that's my job as our leader, correct?

You know, I that's my job as our leader to make sure that we are focused on the future.

And to me, the future is investing in our people, the people of Kentucky and the people of Louisville are incredibly kind and resilient, and we have a great pride in where we're from, even on our worst day, you know?

So an investment in the people is really important to me.

And in the land itself.

I hope that people see Locust Grove as a center of Louisville history.

We say we're where Louisville begins.

But as I mentioned to you, we don't have a Louisville history museum.

We have a lot of really incredible museums and a lot of really incredible history.

But there's no place where someone can go and just learn about the history of Louisville.

And I want to fulfill that need for our community.

If people want to learn about how our city came to be, they should know that they have a place that they can come to to learn that story, but also in a way of what Louisville can be.

We have really great partnerships, and I think that is one of the most important things that we can do.

We partner with our fellow museum friends.

If it's bringing in artifacts that they might have in their collection to tell one certain story.

But also, I would love to partner with places that provide nature healing therapy.

Or, you know, there's always yoga in the park.

That happens a great deal, but I want to be a place that does bold initiatives in a way that make people realize they can trust us to learn about themselves and their place in the world.

>> Don't forget you can watch and share this episode anytime.

Plus, Chip Polston visited Historic Locust Grove for this season of Kentucky Life.

You can see all of it at ket.org.

And don't forget to follow us on social media!

Find out more about the holidays at Locust Grove.

You can find that on Instagram.

We're at KET.

LOU.

Thanks for spending a little time getting to know Louisville.

I hope we'll see you here next time.

Until then, make it a great week!