>> Hello, I'm Doug Flynn, welcoming you to Kentucky Life and welcoming you back to the Waveland State historic site in Lexington.

We visited this location earlier in the season, and after seeing how much history lives here, well, we just had to come back and learn everything we could.

Known historically as the Bryan Estate, this mansion and it's outbuildings hold many keys to Kentucky's past.

We can't wait to showcase this remarkable location.

So let's head in and get started.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Waveland is a special place that has stood tall for nearly two centuries as a city continues to grow around it.

And with all that time, there are plenty of stories for these walls to tell.

Stories of wealth and triumph for some, but other tales invoke memories of pain and tragedy.

For our first story, we're going to tour this historic site and see what we can uncover under the roof of this big mansion.

>> Located in Southern Fayette County, Waveland is known today as Waveland State Historic Site, and is open to the public for tours from April to October.

The Waveland Mansion was constructed by Joseph Bryan and finished in 1848.

But the story of Waveland dates back even further to the 18th century with Joseph's father, Daniel Bryan, and grandfather, Captain William Bryan.

>> Captain William Bryan built the biggest fort in Kentucky in the 1770s, and it was in Northern Fayette County, called Bryan Station.

In 1780, Captain William Bryan lost his life.

Daniel Bryan inherited 400 acres in Southern Fayette County, which started Waveland Plantation.

He built a stone house that was inside the footprint of our Waveland Mansion today.

Now, in 1844, Daniel Bryan was an elderly man.

Daniel asked his son Joseph to tear down his stone house and build a mansion befitting the family wealth and prestige.

>> During his time at Waveland, Joseph Bryan operated a gunsmith shop on the property.

Joseph also allowed a church to be built, along with an operating distillery and blacksmith shop.

Eventually, he left Waveland, leaving one of his 11 children, Joseph Henry Bryan, as the owner.

>> Joseph Henry inherited 400 acres when his father died in 1887.

He wasn't interested in farming; he was only interested in raising horses.

Ultimately, it only took that man seven years to lose the family fortune.

This farm was sold at a foreclosure sale.

The Hulett family purchased the farm, and in 1956, the old widow Hulett sold the farm to the University of Kentucky.

The 13 acres surrounding the mansion >> and the mansion itself was to become the Kentucky Life Museum under the direction of Dr. Hambleton Tapp.

Now >> he was a history professor at the University of Kentucky, and he was the director and curator of this museum.

Dr. Tapp envisioned a pioneer village out here, another Williamsburg with 25 to 30 buildings.

He got as far as moving in a working general store, a blacksmith shop, and the old log cabin on our site.

But he put the call out to the commonwealth of Kentucky for us to send family treasures to him.

And they did.

Everything you see in this museum was collected by Dr. Tapp.

>> While the historic site is in possession of several artifacts throughout its rooms and halls, three big artifacts really stand out when touring the mansion, artifacts that are special to Kentucky and hold stories all their own.

>> Waveland has three iconic Kentucky artifacts.

The first, located in the family parlor, is the Mary Boone Bryan Bible.

Now that's a big family Bible.

And she inscribed about 10 pages of family history in the middle of that Bible.

It's also a first edition Collins Bible.

After the British lost their 13 colonies in the United States, they refused to send any more Bibles to us.

And an enterprising man in New Jersey named Isaac Collins printed up 3000 Bibles.

This is one of them.

The second iconic artifact is the Squire Boone chair.

Squire Boone, father of our frontiersman Daniel Boone, either made or purchased the chair before 1720 in Pennsylvania.

Captain William Bryan and Daniel Boone waited until Squire and his wife had passed away before they moved the family to Kentucky.

Captain William Bryan moved 300 Boone and Bryan relatives through the Cumberland Gap and up the wilderness road.

The Squire Boone chair was attached to a pack horse, and a little girl rode in that chair >> all the way from North Carolina to Kentucky.

Her name was Rebecca Boone Grant.

The third iconic artifact that Waveland has is called the Bryan rifle.

It is made out of curly maple and has a wonderful patch box made in brass.

This rifle was made in 1835 at the factory that Daniel Bryan operated.

In 1971, Waveland became a State Park.

So Waveland, or the Kentucky Life Museum, became Waveland State Historic Site.

We have 13 acres surrounding the beautiful majestic mansion with hiking trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, formal gardens.

And we give tours of the mansion and have all kinds of wonderful events here.

>> We could fill an entire season with the stories told inside and outside the walls of this historic mansion.

With all the artifacts to see, tales to be told, and events held throughout the year, Waveland is a standing piece of Kentucky history that offers a plethora of reasons to keep coming back.

[MUSIC] >> When Joseph Bryan constructed the big house here at Waveland, he built his office at the core with seven different doors to the room, each one pertaining to a different aspect of his life.

For example, there's one door that connects to the dining room where Bryan would serve formal dinners.

Another door leads directly from his office to the road where he would conduct business with travelers coming to see him.

>> So while I check out what's behind this door, why don't you check out our next story?

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> I've always been interested in art, but I've never been