Kentucky in 10 objects
State history from stone tools to moonshine stills
It was throwdown time for the place “where the world meets Kentucky”—the Frazier History Museum, which preserves and presents the state’s history. Kentucky Living tasked the museum, which opened in 2004 in downtown Louisville, with highlighting 10 objects at the Frazier that represent Kentucky. The options were many, since the museum tells stories of the unique and diverse peoples, cultures and communities of the commonwealth.
A team of six Frazier staff members collaborated on this listicle and met the challenge. “We chose nine objects from our permanent collection and one on long-term loan,” says Simon Meiners, communications and research specialist at the museum. “We think they speak to the breadth of cultural practices in Kentucky history—from agriculture to livestock, immigration, industry, mining, childrearing, distilling, traditional music and civil rights.”
History belongs to everyone, Meiners says, “and we want people to see themselves in the stories we tell, and we hope they do in the objects we selected.”
1. Projectile points, stone drill bits and bird-bone fishhooks 12,000–8,000 B.C.
During the Paleoindian Period (12,000–8,000 B.C.), when the climate in Kentucky was colder and wetter, the first people began migrating south into the area. These nomadic people lived in groups of extended family members. For food, they gathered plant materials and hunted megafauna such as mastodons, mammoths and giant bison.
Projectile points from the Paleoindian Age, possibly the Cumberland Gap area; stone drill bits, possibly from the Archaic Age; and bird-bone fishhooks. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
Tools recovered from these and other periods—including stone projectile points, stone drill bits, and bird-bone fishhooks—speak to the manufacturing and agricultural practices of these indigenous Kentuckians.
2. Pumpkin salt gourd late 1700s
One of Kentucky’s natural resources is the salt licks that can be found in the eastern and central regions of the state. These salt springs drew Native Americans, animals and colonists like Daniel Boone to Kentucky.
This pumpkin gourd was used to store salt in the late 1700s. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection.
Once the salt was rendered, it was difficult to keep it dry and contained. One solution was to use a pumpkin gourd by removing the seeds, scraping the inside clean, and then reattaching the lid with a hinge to keep the salt dry and protected.
3. Sheep’s wool coat circa 1825
During the 1800s, raising sheep for wool was an essential part of self-sufficient farms in Kentucky, enabling families to spin their own yarn to produce clothing and other essentials.
This sheep’s wool cutaway coat, circa 1825, was handmade for Nathan Smith by his sisters from wool from sheep on their Adair County family farm. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
As sheep aged, they could also be eaten as mutton. The tough meat requires a slow cooking process, making it a staple in western Kentucky-style barbecue. As store-bought clothes became more prevalent after the Civil War, sheep production in Kentucky almost disappeared.
4. Bloedner Monument circa 1861
The Bloedner Monument is the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War. It commemorates the 32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment troops who died at the Battle of Rowlett’s Station in Hart County, December 17, 1861. That regiment comprised German-Americans who enlisted to demonstrate their patriotism at a time of anti-immigrant tensions.
The Bloedner Monument, carved by August Bloedner in Hart County, circa 1861, is on loan from the National Cemetery Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
August Bloedner, a private who survived the action, carved the monument. In 1867, it was relocated to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. In 2010, the National Cemetery Administration, deeming the monument too fragile to return outdoors, loaned it to the Frazier, where it will remain on display for decades to come.
5. Dynamo generator 1883
Opening in 1883, the Southern Exposition in Louisville was the closest Kentucky came to having a World’s Fair.
The four-year event helped Kentucky solidify itself in the post–Civil War American economy. Visitors saw new technology, agricultural advancements, and art and culture displays—all illuminated by the world’s largest installation of incandescent lightbulbs.
This dynamo generator was used at the Southern Exposition, 1883–87. It was invented by Foree Bain of Oldham County. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
Thomas Edison approved the purchase of several direct-current dynamos, including this one, to power the lights. After the Exposition closed in 1887, the site became home to Central Park and the Old Louisville neighborhood, where the annual St. James Court Art Show is held. This generator powered streetlamps in downtown Louisville until the conversion to alternating current.
6. Appalachian doll early 1900s
The turn of the century was a time of change in Appalachia. By the early 1900s, trains were able to reach the mountains for the first time, giving access to the region’s rich natural resources, such as coal and lumber. Still, Appalachian communities remained rural and relatively secluded from the quickly growing industrial urban areas. Families found ways to provide for themselves, creating items like this doll, made of wood and stuffed with straw, for their children to enjoy.
Stuffed with straw and wearing a human hair wig, this early 1900s doll was handmade in Appalachian Kentucky. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
7. Canary cage early 1900s
The phrase “canary in the coal mine” comes from a practice that began in 1897 and was common in Kentucky into the 1980s. Canaries are an ideal “sentinel species,” thanks to their natural biology. When a bird is exposed to poisonous and odorless gases, its agitated reaction alerts coal miners to get themselves—and the bird—to safety.
Canary in a coal mine: miners’ canary cage dating from the early 1900s. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
The lives of many miners depended on birdcages like this one, which was used in the coal mines of Kentucky and/or West Virginia.
8. Moonshine still 1950s
Moonshine, whiskey distilled in secret by the light of the moon, has a long tradition in the hills and mountains of Kentucky. Distilled illegally to avoid paying tax on the product, moonshine has been produced since the late 1790s when the federal government decided to tax distillers to pay for the Revolutionary War.
This moonshine still was punched out by federal agent William “Big Six” Henderson, Breckinridge County, circa 1950. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
The trouble with moonshine was to keep it hidden from the revenuer, like the notorious “Big Six” Henderson, whose job it was to bust up these illegal stills.
9. Dress worn by Lily May Ledford 1960s
Powell County native Lily May Ledford became a Chicago radio star in the 1930s and then led the first all-woman string band in music history. The Coon Creek Girls’ successes included recordings, concerts, television appearances and, famously, a command performance at the White House in 1939.
Lily May Ledford dress, Fayette County, circa 1960. Ledford led the first all-woman string band in music history. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
Invited by the President Franklin Roosevelt family in honor of the visiting king and queen of Great Britain, Ledford and the Coon Creek Girls performed before opera star Marian Anderson. Ledford also was active in sharing Kentucky’s folk and traditional music with international audiences until the 1980s.
10. Georgia Davis Powers suit circa 2000
In the 1960s, most public accommodations throughout the state remained segregated by race. Protests, demonstrations, marches and sit-ins were held across the commonwealth.
The March on Frankfort in 1964 was perhaps the largest demonstration, where 10,000 people, including Martin Luther King Jr., marched in favor of a bill banning segregation in public accommodations.
Civil rights champion Georgia Davis Powers of Jefferson County wore this silver suit, circa 2000. Photo: Frazier History Museum Collection
Four years later, Georgia Davis Powers of Louisville, who had helped organize the march, became the first African American in the Kentucky State Senate. She held the seat for 21 years.
Cool counties
Every once in a while, a project tickles your imagination—for Kentucky’s largest history museum, it was a project that shares the collective cool of Kentucky with hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the Frazier.
Titled 120: Cool KY Counties it is not only a new exhibit opening in early 2024, but it’s also an ongoing project with people representing each of the state’s 120 counties, highlighting some of the stories that make each spectacular. The exciting twist is that the folks who live in those counties are curating the stories.
From a presidential turkey pardoning that was inspired in Clark County to Christian County’s contribution to McDonald’s biscuits, 120: Cool KY Counties will inspire museum visitors to explore the entire commonwealth. To learn more about the project and discover what’s cool about your Kentucky county, visit fraziermuseum.org to sign up for Frazier Weekly.
Museum in a pocket
The Frazier History Museum has created a free mobile app designed to help expand the museum’s content beyond its walls.
Frazier+, curated by the museum’s education team, provides engaging and educational Kentucky history content. Users can explore the museum’s collection of videos, photos and texts to either heighten their in-person experience or learn from the comfort of their couch or classroom.
The Frazier team has created more than 50 video and audio segments for the app that help tell incredible stories of Kentucky’s people, places and objects—from Bourbon County inventor and lifesaver Garrett Morgan to explorer Tori Murden’s bravery to the connection between the Bourbon Act and Star Wars.
Download the free app for Android and iOS devices through the App Store and Google Play.
Contributors from The Frazier History Museum: AMANDA BRIEDE, senior curator of exhibitions; ANDY TREINEN, president & CEO; MICK SULLIVAN, curator of guest experience; RACHEL PLATT, VP of mission; SIMON MEINERS, communications & research specialist; TISH BOYER, registrar & manager of collections engagement.
