[♪♪] >> EACH TIME THEY BATTLED BACK AND SAID NO WE WANT THE CAPITOL TO STAY HERE AND WE ARE WILLING TO DO OUR PART TO MAKE SURE IT DOES STAY HERE.

>> WE WILL TAKE A TRIP IN THE PAST TO EXPLORE THE FOUNDING OF KENTUCKY'S STATE CAPITOL.

>> I THINK WE WILL SEE A DIFFERENT NORTHERN KENTUCKY RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT JAMES TALYOR.

>> AND HEAR ABOUT THE MAN CREDITED WITH FOUNDING NORTHERN KENTUCKY.

>> PRODUCTION OF "KENTUCKY EDITION" IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE KET MILLENNIUM FUND.

[♪♪] >> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO SPECIAL "KENTUCKY EDITION."

I'M RENEE SHAW.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

TODAY IS OUR NATION'S 249TH BIRTHDAY...

BUT OUR STATE ISN'T THAT FAR BEHIND IN AGE.

LAST MONTH... KENTUCKY CELEBRATED 233 YEARS.

THE BLUEGRASS STATE JOINED THE UNION ON JUNE FIRST, 1792.

BUT AS OUR TOBY GIBBS TELLS... KENTUCKY'S HISTORY STARTED LONG BEFORE THAT.

>> IT'S BELIEVED HUNDREDDER GATHERERS FIRST ARRIVED IN PRESENT DAY KENTUCKY IN 10,000 TO 9500BC.

FARMING BEGAN AROUND 1800 BC AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE BEGAN GROWING WILD PLANTS AND LATER CORN, BEANS AND SQUASH.

THE CHEROKEE, SHAWNEE AND CHICKASAW.

20 TRIBES CLAIMED LAND IN KENTUCKY WHEN IT BECAME A STATE IN 1792.

THERE ARE THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE WORD KENTUCKY.

ACCORDING TO ONE IT IS AN IRQUOI WORD MEANING LAND FROM TOMORROW.

SOME BELIEVE IT MEANS RIVER BOTTOM AND OTHER THEORIES KENTUCKY MEANS HEAD OF A RIVER, LAND OF CANE AND TURKEYS AND MEADOW OR PRAIRIE.

THE BRITISH FIRST EXPLORED KENTUCKY IN THE LATE 1600'S.

IN 1750 Dr. THOMAS WALKER AND CHRISTOPHER GIFT BEGAN SURVEYING EASTERN AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY.

WALKER IS SOMETIMES CREDITED AS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO PASS THROUGH THE CUMBERLAND GAP.

DANIEL BOONE RETURNED IN 1769 AND 1773.

BOORN, JUDGE RICHARD HENDERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE TRANS VAB YEAH COMPANY ESTABLISHED BOONESBOROUGH IN THE SPRING OF 1775.

AS MORE SETTLERS ARRIVED THEY FOUNDED OTHER KENTUCKY COMMUNITIES.

JAMES HAR RECORD AND A PARTY OF 31 MEN FOUNDED HARRODS TOWN.

THE TOWN WOULD BE RENAMED HARRODSBURG.

PENNSYLVANIA FRONTIERS MAN NAMED THEIR COMMUNITY LEXINGTON IN HONOR OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLE IN LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IT BECAME A PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN 1779.

IN 1778, SETTLERS ARRIVED ON CORN ISLAND IN THE OHIO RIVER CREATING A COMMUNITY THAT WOULD BECOME LOUISVILLE.

NAMED FOR KING LOUIE THE 16TH AS FRANCE HELPED WITH THE WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN.

VIRGINIA TROOPS FOUGHT SHAWNEE TRIBES IN WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS LORD DONE MORE'S WAR NAMED AFTER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR IN 1774.

THE VICTORY OPENED THE DOOR TO MORE SETTLERS.

KENTUCKY BECAME A COLONY OF VIRGINIA SPELLED WITH THE E AT THE END RATHER THAN Y.

BATTLES OCCURRED IN KENTUCKY, THE BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS IN ROBERTSON COUNTY WAS ONE OF THE LAST BATTLES OF THE WAR.

AS THE POPULATION GREW, KENTUCKIANS BEGAN THINK BEING STATEHOOD.

THERE WERE NINE STAT HOOD CONVENTIONS BETWEEN 1784 AND 1790.

FINALLY A 10TH CONVENTION IN 1792, PRODUCED A CONSTITUTION THAT DELEGATES APPROVED.

KENTUCKY THEN JOINED THE UNION ON JUNE 1, 1792, AMERICA'S 15TH STATE AND THE FIRST WEST OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS.

IZE CONTACT SHELBY WAS KENTUCKY'S FIRST GOVERNOR.

FOR "KENTUCKY EDITION" I'M TOBY GIBBS.

>> THANK YOU FOR THAT TOBY GIBBS.

>> WE ALL KNOW FRANKFORT IS THE CAPITAL OF KENTUCKY...

BUT HOW DID THAT COME TO BE?

OUR EMILY SISK EXPLORED THE FOUNDING OF FRANKFORT--AND HOW IT'S REMAINED THE CAPITAL CITY.

>> THE HISTORY OF FRORTD IT'S THE STORY OF A SCRAPPY UNDERDOG.

>> THAT BEGAN AS A LAND INHABITED BY NATIVE-AMERICANS.

THEN IT BECAME THE FRONTIER.

>> IT WAS THE FARTHEST WEST FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

>> IN 1786, A REVOLUTIONARY WAR GENERAL JAMES WILKINSON PURCHASED LAND WHERE FRANKFORT SITS TODAY.

THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE GIVES HIM A MANDATE TO ESTABLISH A TOWN THAT HE NAMES FRANKFORT.

JAMES WILKINSON IS A CHARACTER IN KENTUCKY HISTORY HE WAS A ROGUE AND SCOUNDRAL AND SPIED FOR THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT.

BUT HE GOT ONE THING RIGHT AND THAT WAS ESTABLISHING THE TOWN OF FRANKFORT IN 1786.

>> A FEW YEARS LATER FRANKFORT WAS SOLD TO A WEALTHY MAN NAMED ANDREW HOLMES.

AROUND THE SAME TIME KENTUCKY WAS ESTABLISHED AS A STATE AND BEGAN LOOKING FOR THE CAPITAL CITY.

LOUISVILLE, LEXINGTON AND PETERSBURG IN WOODFORD COUNTY ALL WANTED THE TITLE BUT FRANKFORT'S LANDOWNER HAD A TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE.

>> HE MADE A BID THAT INCLUDED LOTS OF LAND THAT DOBB USED FOR THIS PURPOSE AND THE USE OF HIS HOME FOR SEVEN YEARS AS THE CAPITOL BUILDING WHILE A PERMANENT CAPITOL WAS BEING BUILT AND HE ALSO PROMISED BUILDING SUPPLIES IN THE FORM OF LOCKS AND HINGES, BOXES OF GLASS, NAILS, AND SOME CASH AS WELL.

>> AND FRANKFORT HAD OTHER ADVANTAGES LIKE ITS GEOGRAPHY.

>> IT IS BETWEEN THE GROWING COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS OF LEXINGTON AND LOUISVILLE.

>> IT ALSO WAS ALONG THE KENTUCKY RIVER WHICH MADE IT EASIER FOR COMMUNITIES UP AND DOWN THE RIVER TO SEND DELEGATES TO THE NEW LEGISLATURE.

>> SO FRANKFORT OUT BID ALL THE OTHER TOWNS AND BECAME THE CAPITAL.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CAPITOL BUILDING?

THE STRUCTURE WE KNOW TODAY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A CENTURY BUT IT'S THE FOURTH CAPITOL BUILDING IN FRANKFORT'S HISTORY.

>> THE FIRST TWO CAPITOL BUILDINGS DID NOT COME TO GOOD ENDS.

BOTH BUILDINGS WERE LOCATED ON BROADWAY IN DOWNTOWN FRANKFORT ON WHAT WAS KNOWN AS THE PUBLIC SQUARE.

>> THEY WERE REALLY DEVELOPING AT A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF REALLY RAPID DEVELOPMENT AND NOT ANY REGULATION.

>> BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND CAPITOL BUILDINGS BURNED DOWN.

THE THIRD CAPITOL BUILDING WAS USED FROM 1830-1910 WHEN THE GOVERNMENT SIZE OUTGREW THE STRUCTURE THAT LED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FOURTH AND CURRENT BUILDING.

IN THE EARLY 1800s, FRANKFORT HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST POPULATIONS IN THE STATE.

INDUSTRIES BOOMED FROM LUMBER TO THE RAILROAD TO BOURBON.

>> IF YOU VISITED FRANKFORT DURING THE MID-19TH CENTURY THE SMELL OF BOURBON AND WHISKEY BEING DISTILLED WOULD HAVE BEEN THICK IN THE AIR BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF DISTILLERIES HERE IN THE AREA.

AND YOU HAD TOBACCO AND HEMP AND HORSES AND MANUFACTURING WHICH MADE THIS A BUSTLING HUB.

AS RIVER TRAFFIC AND RAIL TRAFFIC SHIFTED TO HIGHWAYS AND OTHER WAYS OF GETTING GOODS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT AFFECTED THE WAY THAT FRANKFORT'S ECONOMY OPERATED.

>> TODAY THE CAPITAL CITY'S POPULATION IS AROUND 28,000.

WHICH MAKES SOME PEOPLE WONDER WHY IT REMAINS THE CAPITAL.

Dr. STIVERS SAYS FRANKFORT REPRESENTS THE MAJORITY OF SMALL TOWN KENTUCKIANS.

>> IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME THAT THE STATE CAPITAL IN KENTUCKY IS NOT ONE OF THE BIGGER CITIES IN THE STATE.

IT HAS SO MANY SMALL TOWNS AND FRANKFORT IS EMBLEM ATTIC OF THAT HERITAGE.

>> I'M EMILY SISK.

>> DRAW DRAWING ON MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF LEGAL EXPERTISE, DENIS FLEMING GIVES CREDENCE TO A LONG-HELD BELIEF THAT ONE OF THE NATION'S FOUNDING FATHERS AUTHORED OR INSPIRED PART OF KENTUCKY'S CONSTITUTION.

USING FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS FROM JEFFERSON AND TWO OF KENTUCKY'S EARLIEST LEADERS AND CONSTITUTION FRAMERS - GEORGE NICHOLAS AND JOHN BRECKINRIDGE... FLEMING PIECED TOGETHER JEFFERSON'S ROLE IN DRAFTING THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS AND PRINCIPLES OF HOW KENTUCKY WOULD BE GOVERNED.

I SPOKE WITH FLEMING ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK... THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE KENTUCKY CONSTITUTION... FOR OUR SEGMENT ON BOOKS AND AUTHORS, WE CALL...

TURNING THE PAGE.

>> GEORGE WAS ORIGINALLY IN THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DAKS AN ASSOCIATE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, BORN IN WILLIAMSBURG VERGE VERGE AND HE WAS A LAWYER.

HE STUDIED UNDER GEORGE BY AGENT.

HE WAS THE PREEMINENT LEGAL SCHOLAR OF HIS DAY AT THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY.

HE IS THE FELLOW AS HE STUDIED UNDER JEFFERSON WHEN A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES WITH JEFFERSON GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA THEY BEGAN TO LEARN JEFFERSON'S THINKING ON CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTS AND WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

I CAME ACROSS LETTERS WHERE HE IS WRITING JAMES MADISON WHO BECAME A PRESIDENT, COMPLIMENTING NICHOLAS SAYING NICHOLAS IS GOING TO GO TO KENTUCKY AND HELP THEM PUT TOGETHER THEIR CONSTITUTION.

WE HAD THE HARDEST TIME DEVELOPING OUR CONSTITUTION IN KENTUCKY.

WE STARTED IN 1784 WITH THE SERIES OF CONVENTIONS.

EVERY YEAR IN DANVILLE.

BUT WHEN GEORGE NICHOLAS SHOWED UP, AND I FOUND NICHOLAS AND BRECKINRIDGE IS THE FATHER OF THE SECOND CONSTITUTION BUT THEY ARE BOTH BRILLIANT.

BRECKINRIDGE HAS MORE POLITICAL AMBITION.

NICHOLAS THOUGHT HE COULD MAKE MONEY IN KENTUCKY.

AND HE WROTE HIS BROTHER KENTUCKY IS BEAUTIFUL.

YOU NEED TO COME TO LEXINGTON AND YOU WOULD LOVE IT BUT DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM SOMEBODY THAT YOU SEND.

YOU HAVE TO COME SEE IT FIRST.

SO HE GOT BACK INVOLVED IN POLITICS AND EVERYBODY IN KENTUCKY KNEW HE HAD WORKED WITH JEFFERSON ALREADY KNOWN TO BE A BIG DEAL.

BUT WHAT I RAN ACROSS IS THE PAPERS OF NICHOLAS THAT ARE UP AT THE VICARTY OF CHICAGO IN THE COLLECTION OF PAPERS.

DURIC WAS A RETIRED LAWYER AND WENT AROUND KENTUCKY AND COLLECTED HISTORICAL LETTERS AND OLD NOVELS AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS.

HE HAS THOUSANDS OF PAGES AND HE COLLECTED GEORGE NICHOLAS' PAPERS.

AS I STARTED TO SCROLL THROUGH THOSE THEY RECENTLY CAME ACROSS BOXES LABELED SPEECH BEFORE 1792 CONVENTION DANVILLE.

NOTES ON THE KENTUCKY'S CONSTITUTION.

CHECKS AND BALANCES OF POWERS.

AND AS I SCROLLED THROUGH THE BOXES, IT WAS ALL DIGITIZED YOU CAN SEE IT ON-LINE, I BEGAN TO SEE WHERE NICHOLAS WOULD HAVE A SO LITTLE QUESTION HOW WE NEED BARRIERS BETWEEN THE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT.

THAT IS THE DEFINITION IF ONE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT ASSUMES THE OTHER BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.

AND HE WOULD WRITE THIS NAME AND JEFFERSON AND A NUMBER LIKE 195.

SO I BEGAN TO WRITE THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AND CALLED THEM LET US LOOK INTO THAT.

AND THEY GOT BACK TO ME AND SAID HERE IS WHAT HE IS DOING.

HE IS NOT ONLY REFERENCING JEFFERSON BUT PAGES FROM JEFFERSON'S BOOK NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AND THE REASON WE KNOW THIS HE HAD TWO COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL THAT EDITION IN HIS PAPERS.

AND I ACTUALLY TOOK I HAVE THAT IN THE BOOK AND I PRINTED OUT A COPY OF THEM HERE.

YOU CAN SEE, THERE IN JEFFERSON'S NICHOLAS' HANDWRITING AND DOWN HERE HE REFERENCES JEFFERSON 195 AND THEY MATCHED UP AND THEY SENT ME A PAGE ON THE NOTES OF STATE OF VIRGINIA HE IS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE PUT THE CLAUSES IN THE STATE CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE IN KENTUCKY'S CONSTITUTION.

THE REASON HE WAS INTERESTED IN THESE CLAUSES WHY DID HE DO THAT WHY IS HE OBSESSED WITH THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE HE WAS AN ANTI-ROYALIST HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT EXCESSES IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH.

THE LEGISLATURE'S WILL BUT HE THOUGHT IT WAS CRITICAL TO HAVE THAT CLAUSE IN WRITING AND HE TRIED BUT FAILED TO PUT IT IN THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FEDDALLIST PAPERS THAT THEY WROTE THERE ARE TWO ESSAYS THEY HAVE NUMBERS 47 AND 48 AND WRITTEN ANONYMOUSLY IN 1787 TO SUPPORT THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

SO THE PUBLIC COULD READ AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS DOING.

BUT IN THOSE PAPERS, HE REFUTES JEFFERSON'S NOTION ABOUT HAVING A SPECIFIC SEPARATION OF POWERS CLAUSE IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND HE MENTIONED JEFFERSON BY NAME.

THOSE ARE WORDS ON PARCHMENT IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING.

JEFFERSON DISAGREED TO THE POINT WHERE HE GOT THE CLAUSES PUT IN KENTUCKY'S CONSTITUTION THROUGH HIS GOOD FRIENDS BRECKINRIDGE AND NICHOLAS AND HE PREDICTED THE COURTS COULD USE THE CLAUSES TO PROTECT ONE BRANCH FROM THE OTHER AND THEY WEREN'T JUST WORDS ON PAPER THEY COULD BE INTERPRETED TO PROTECT THE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT AND THE PUBLIC.

>> IT IS AN INTERESTING READ.

>> FLEMING PLANS TO DONATE ALL ROYALTIES FROM THE BOOK, WITH A MATCHING GIFT, TO THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF LAW, OF WHICH HE IS AN ALUM... FOR A SCHOLARSHIP FUND.

DO YOU KNOW THE MAN CREDITED WITH FOUNDING NORTHERN KENTUCKY CITIES LIKE NEWPORT, BELLEVUE, AND DAYTON?

WELL, HIS NAME IS GENERAL JAMES TAYLOR.

WE TAKE YOU INSIDE HIS HOME NOW AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS INFLUENCE.

>> THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE WESTERN FRONTIER.

THE COUNTRY STOPPED BASICALLY AT KENTUCKY.

IT WAS THE 1790S, AND THAT WESTERN FRONTIER SOON TRANSFORMED INTO A PROSPEROUS AREA, WITH MUCH CREDIT TO GENERAL JAMES TAYLOR V WAS A WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN FROM VIRGINIA WHO HAD INHERITED THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS NORTHERN KENTUCKY.

>> HE CAME OUT HERE TO CARVE OUT OF THE WILDERNESS A CITY.

DIDN'T COME WITH THE IDEA OF OPENING A PLANTATION LIKE THEY HAD BEEN DOING IN VIRGINIA, BUT TO ACTUALLY MAKE A CITY.

>> GENERAL JAMES TAYLOR AND HIS WIFE KETURAH WERE WELL-CONNECTED IN HIGH SOCIETY.

TAYLOR WAS RELATED TO PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON, CONNECTED TO PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON AND PLENTY OF OTHERS.

HE USED HIS INFLUENCE TO CONVINCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH AN ARMY BARRACKS IN NEWPORT.

>> THEY WERE ACQUAINTED WITH GEORGE, GEORGE WASHINGTON.

SO HE WAS A VERY PROMINENT KENTUCKIAN, NOT ONLY IN KENTUCKY BUT IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> HE ESTABLISHED A FERRY THAT RAN BETWEEN NEWPORT AND CINCINNATI.

HE SET UP A ROAD THAT WENT FROM NEWPORT INTO LEXINGTON--WE NOW KNOW IS ROUTE 27.

>> TAYLOR WAS ALSO A SLAVEHOLDER.

DR. DAVID CHILDS, A PROFESSOR AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY, SAID TAYLOR MAY HAVE OWNED MORE THAN 50 ENSLAVED PEOPLE.

>> IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT OF LABOR FROM HIS ENSLAVED PEOPLE TO HELP CLEAR LAND, CUT DOWN TREES, ESTABLISH WHAT WE KNOW TODAY AS NEWPORT.

>> ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF GENERAL TAYLOR'S INFLUENCE, AND A LOCATION ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, IS THE TAYLOR MANSION...

RIGHT IN THE HEART OF NEWPORT.

>> THE TAYLOR MANSION IS PROBABLY THE OLDEST CONSTRUCTION SURVIVED CONSTRUCTION IN THIS AREA.

IT GOES BACK TO 1803, THAT'S DURING THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD.

THAT'S WAY BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

THE CIVIL WAR WAS NOT TIL THE 1860'S.

>> THE MANSION WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE LARGEST HOMES IN THE ENTIRE REGION, WITH 40 ROOMS AND 17FT CEILINGS.

THE ARCHITECT WHO DESIGNED THE HOME ALSO WORKED ON THE WHITE HOUSE.

>> WHEN HE BUILT THE TAYLOR MANSION, HE INTENTIONALLY BUILT IT TO LOOK RIGHT OVER THE RIVER.

>> THIS HOUSE WAS BUILT FOR LIVING AND FOR ENTERTAINING.

>> TAYLOR ENTERTAINED MANY AT THE MANSION UNTIL HE DIED IN 1848.

>> HE ACTUALLY DIES UPSTAIRS AT THE MANSION AFTER HAVING CAST A VOTE FOR HIS COUSIN, ZACHARY TAYLOR, IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF 1848.

>> YEARS LATER, IT BECAME KNOWN THAT THE TAYLOR MANSION WAS A STATION IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

WHILE IT'S STILL NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS, HISTORIANS HAVE CLUES.

RESIDENTS MAY HAVE SIGNALED WITH A LANTERN FROM THE ROOF OF THE HOME, OR USED FERRY BOATS TO GET ENSLAVED INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE RIVER.

>> NOBODY WOULD QUESTION THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE ENSLAVED PEOPLE OF THE MOST PROMINENT FAMILY IN THE AREA, ONE OF THE RICHEST FAMILIES IN THE COUNTRY.

>> IF YOU SEE A LANTERN IN THE SKY IN THE TOP OF THIS BUILDING, THAT TELLS YOU THAT IT COULD BE SAFE TO CROSS HERE AND GET CROSSED TO FREEDOM.

>> WHILE THE LEGACY OF GENERAL JAMES TAYLOR V IS COMPLICATED, MARRED BY ENSLAVEMENT AND MIXED WITH WEALTH, NORTHERN KENTUCKIANS STILL FEEL HIS IMPACT.

>> I THINK WE WOULD SEE A VERY DIFFERENT NORTHERN KENTUCKY RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT JAMES TAYLOR.

WITHOUT THAT VISION FOR ENVISIONING A CITY, IF HE TURNED IT INTO A FARM OR A PLANTATION, WE MIGHT NEVER HAVE SEEN THE TYPE OF BUILD THAT WE HAVE SEEN.

>> FOR KENTUCKY EDITION, I'M EMILY SISK.

>> THANKS TO EMILY.

>> GENERAL TAYLOR'S MANSION HAS BEEN PRIVATELY OWNED FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES.

THE CURRENT OWNERS PLAN TO OPEN THE RESTORED HOME FOR TOURS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE COMING MONTHS.

>> SEVERAL MUSEUMS AND HUMANITIES GROUPS IN THE STATE HAVE JOINED FORCES TO TRY TO PRESERVE KENTUCKY'S HISTORY.

THE EASTERN KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COMMISSION GATHERED FOR ITS FIRST CONFERENCE IN MOREHEAD... AT A TIME WHEN MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES ARE FACING FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS.

>> I GOT A PHONE CALL FROM A GENTLEMAN DUSTIN, AND HE JUST WANTED TO VISIT THE MUSEUM.

HE SAID I WANT TO MEET YOU.

GET SHARE IDEAS AND I SAID SURE.

SO WE SETUP A MEETING AND THEY WANTED TO GET THE MUSEUMS AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES CONNECTED TOGETHER SOMETHING WE'VE NEEDED FOR MANY YEARS.

I'M IN AND THAT IS A FANTASTIC IDEA.

>> TODAY IS OUR INAUGURAL CONFERENCE OF THE EASTERN KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COMMISSION.

10 YEARS AGO WE EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY AND WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW.

AND WE HAVE SEVERAL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS OVER EASTERN KENTUCKY THAT ARE 60 OUT OF ORGANIZATIONS OUT OF 40 COUNTIES THAT WE TRY TO COVER AND SEVERAL ARE HERE TODAY.

NOT ALL OF THEM.

WE HAVE BATH, CARTER COUNTY,S TELL COUNTY, MASON, ASHLAND TO THEY WILL A FEW ALL THESE ORGANIZATIONS HUMANITIES, HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, MUSEUMS AND DIRECTORS ARE HERE, SCHOLARS, HISTORIANS YOU NAME IT THEY ARE HERE TODAY AND WE FEEL LIKE IT IS A VALUABLE THING TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE AND BRING AWARENESS OF IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND WITH THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE, NETWORKING TODAY AS WE SEE WORKING TOGETHER POOLING RESOURCES AND IDEAS AND DIFFERENT THINGS OF THAT NATURE WE CAN SEE US BECOME A GREATER FORCE THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN.

>> WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER WITH THE FEAR OF THOSE BUDGET CUTS.

IT HASN'T AFFECTED OUR MUSEUM DIRECTLY SO FAR SO WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THAT.

BUT I KNOW THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL BE HURTING.

YES, HAVING THESE FRIENDSHIPS AND HELPING EACH OTHER REACH OUT TO GRANTS AND POTENTIAL FUNDING IS VERY IMPORTANT.

SOMETHING LIKE THIS COMMISSION WHERE THERE'S ALL NEW FRIENDS THAT I'VE MADE TODAY, I THINK WILL BE BENEFICIAL.

DUSTIN TOLD ME WE'RE HOPING IF YOU DO THE PROGRAM HEY THIS WILL BE A GREAT PROGRAM AT YOUR MUSEUM AS WELL.

OR I HAVE A TRAVELING EXHIBIT AND IT WILL WORK WONDERFULLY.

THIS IS BENEFICIAL TO EVERYBODY.

>> A LOT OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS ARE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THEREFORE THEY BASICALLY RUN ON FUNDS AND DONATIONS FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES AND FROM PRIVATE CORPORATE DONORS WHAT HAVE YOU.

AND WE ARE JUST WORKING TOGETHER TO POOL OUR RESOURCES FOR GRANT WRITING, NETWORKING, THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE IN THE KNOW OF THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW.

AND HOPING TO ENSURE THE LONGEVITY OF OUR HISTORY AND OUR CULTURE.

>> MY HOPE AFTER TODAY IS THAT EVERYONE THAT ATTENDED KNOWS WE ARE NOT ALONE WE ARE AN ARMY AFTER TODAY.

WE HAVE PEOPLE TO TURN TO WHEN WE HAVE QUESTIONS, WHEN WE HAVE PROBLEMS WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE.

>> WE HAVE TRAVELED 32 OUT OF 40 COUNTIES IN THE LAST 10 MONTHS AND EVERY COMMUNITY HAS A PERSONAL STORY.

EVERY COMMUNITY HAS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN BRING TO THIS REGION.

JUST RESOURCES ALTOGETHER THAT WE CAN POOL FROM ONE ANOTHER AND WE CAN MAKE THIS REGION BIGGER AND BETTER THAN WHAT WE ARE TODAY.

>> THE EASTERN KENTUCKY HUMANITIES COMMISSION PLANS ON RECRUITING MORE GROUPS TO ITS CAUSE THIS SUMMER.

>> YOU CAN SEE KENTUCKY HISTORY... EVERY TIME YOU HIT THE ROAD.

THAT'S THANKS TO 2,400 HISTORICAL MARKERS IN ALL 120 KENTUCKY COUNTIES.

IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS THAT'S NOW 76 YEARS OLD.

>> THE WHOLE POINT OF KENTUCKY'S HISTORICAL MARKER PROGRAM IS TO CREATE ON-THE-GROUND EDUCATIONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH HISTORY WHERE IT HAPPENED.

AND SO OFTEN PEOPLE WILL TELL ME AND I'VE HEARD THIS THROUGHOUT MY LIFE, PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK HISTORY HAPPENED ELSEWHERE.

IT'S ALWAYS SURPRISING WHEN THEY DISCOVER THAT HISTORY HAPPENS RIGHT HERE AS WELL.

AND THAT'S REALLY THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THIS STATE PROGRAM, IS TO GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THAT KENTUCKY HAS VERY MUCH BEEN A LEADER IN A LOT OF NOT ONLY STATE DEVELOPMENTS, BUT NATIONAL HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS AS WELL.

KENTUCKY IS BLESSED TO HAVE ONE OF THE OLDEST AND LARGEST STATE MARKER PROGRAMS IN THE NATION.

THE EARLIEST MARKERS ON THE LANDSCAPE THAT WE MANAGE DATE TO AROUND 1936, BUT THOSE WERE PUT UP BY A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION IN THE LEXINGTON AREA IN 1949.

THAT'S WHEN THE STATE GOVERNMENT ENTERED THE SCENE.

SO WE LIKE TO THINK THAT WE'RE IN THE 76TH YEAR OF OUR PROGRAM'S EXISTENCE.

ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF OUR PROGRAM IS THAT IT IS COMMUNITY-DRIVEN.

SO I ALWAYS SAY THAT IT IS NOT KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY STAFF WHO DECIDE WHICH TOPICS MATTER THE MOST.

RATHER, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY APPROACH US WITH TOPICS THAT THEY NOMINATE.

THEY GO THROUGH A VERY RIGOROUS NOMINATION PROCESS.

THOSE TOPICS ARE EVALUATED BY A COMMITTEE OF HISTORIANS FROM ACROSS THE STATE WHO SELECTS APPROXIMATELY 10 TO 15 TOPICS PER YEAR TO ADVANCE TO BECOME NEW STATE HISTORICAL MARKERS.

IF A TOPIC IS APPROVED, THE STATE GOVERNMENT WILL COVER THE ENTIRE COST OF THE MARKER DESIGN AND INSTALLATION.

AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD AND MEANS THAT AS LONG AS SOMEBODY APPROACHES US WITH A REALLY GOOD TOPIC, THERE WILL NOT BE ANY BARRIER TO PARTICIPATION.

IF YOU LOOK AT PREVIOUS GENERATIONS OF THIS PROGRAM, THERE WAS A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON FRONTIER HISTORY, CIVIL WAR HISTORY.

BUT IT'S REALLY GREAT WHEN PEOPLE THINK EVEN BIGGER THAN THAT, NOT JUST BATTLES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, ALTHOUGH THOSE ARE CERTAINLY SIGNIFICANT IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.

BUT TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT TOPICS LIKE KENTUCKY FOODWAYS, WHAT WERE PEOPLE EATING AND DRINKING.

TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT KENTUCKY MUSIC, CULTURE, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS EXCITED WHEN WE GET TOPICS THAT DEAL WITH THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN KENTUCKY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IN KENTUCKY, LGBTQ HISTORY IN KENTUCKY, THINGS THAT REALLY SHOW ALL THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT MAKE THE COMMONWEALTH BOTH SIGNIFICANT AND UNIQUE.

LAST YEAR WE HAD A MARKER DEDICATION IN VAN LEER, KENTUCKY, JOHNSON COUNTY ABOUT THE WEBB FAMILY.

NOW, YOU MAY NOT KNOW THE WEBB FAMILY WHEN I SAY THAT, BUT YOU WILL LIKELY KNOW SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF IT.

THE WEBB FAMILY GAVE RISE TO COUNTRY MUSIC SINGERS LIKE LORETTA LYNN AND CRYSTAL GAYLE.

AND IT'S BEEN REALLY EXCITING TO WORK WITH THAT COMMUNITY TO HELP SHARE HOW JOHNSON COUNTY HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC.

FUNDAMENTALLY, IT'S A PIECE OF METAL ON THE LANDSCAPE THAT PEOPLE OFTEN PASS GOING 50, 60, 70 MILES PER HOUR.

BUT FOR THOSE QUIET MOMENTS WHERE YOU GET TO SLOW DOWN, GET OUT OF YOUR CAR AND CONNECT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH'S PAST, I THINK THAT'S REMARKABLE.

AND I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 125 WORDS THAT I CAN FIT ON A STATE HISTORICAL MARKER.

SO I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE IT'S NOT THE END OF THE CONVERSATION.

IT'S THE BEGINNING.

AND IF IT INSPIRES YOU TO GO AND READ A LITTLE BIT MORE ON YOUR OWN, THAT'S GREAT.

>> JEFFERSON COUNTY HAS THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF HISTORICAL MARKERS, FOLLOWED BY FAYETTE COUNTY, MCCRACKEN COUNTY, AND FRANKLIN COUNTY.

>> WE HOPE YOU'LL JOIN US AGAIN MONDAY NIGHT AT 6:30 EASTERN, 5:30 CENTRAL FOR "KENTUCKY EDITION" WHERE WE INFORM, CONNECT AND INSPIRE.

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