About
Kentucky
Home > About Kentucky
Capital City: Frankfort
Economy: Mining, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.
Population: 3,960,825
Time Zone: 5-6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-5 and
-6 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the first Sunday in April
to the last Sunday in October
Governor: Ernie Fletcher, R (to Dec. 2007)
Lieut. Governor: Stephen B. Pence, R (to Dec. 2007)
Senators: Jim Bunning, R (to Jan. 2005); Mitch McConnell,
R (to Jan. 2009)
Secy. of State:C.M. “Trey” Grayson, R (to
Dec. 2007)
Treasurer: Jonathan Miller, D (to Dec. 2007)
Atty. General: Gregory D. Stumbo, D (to Dec. 2007)
Entered Union (rank): June 1, 1792 (15)
Present constitution adopted: 1891
Motto: United we stand, divided we fall
State Symbols:
tree tulip poplar (1994)
flower goldenrod
bird Kentucky cardinal
song “My Old Kentucky Home”
Nickname: Bluegrass State
Origin of name: From an Iroquoian word “Ken-tah-ten”
meaning “land of tomorrow”
10 largest cities (2000): Lexington-Fayette1, 260,512;
Louisville, 256,231; Owensboro, 54,067; Bowling Green, 49,296; Covington,
43,370; Hopkinsville, 30,089; Frankfort, 27,741; Henderson, 27,373; Richmond,
27,152; Jeffersontown, 26,633
Land area: 39,728 sq mi. (102,896 sq km)
Geographic center: In Marion Co., 3 mi. NNW of Lebanon
Number of counties: 120
Largest county by population and area: Jefferson, 692,910
(2001); Pike, 787 sq mi.
State forests: 4 (30,200 ac.)
State parks: 59
Residents: Kentuckian
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Kentucky was the first region west of the Allegheny
Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. James Harrod established
the first permanent settlement at Harrodsburg in 1774; the following
year Daniel Boone, who had explored the area in 1767, blazed the Wilderness
Trail through the Cumberland Gap and founded Boonesboro.
Politically, the Kentucky region was originally part
of Virginia, but statehood was gained in 1792. Gen. Anthony Wayne's
victory in 1794 at Fallen Timbers in Ohio marked the end of Native American
resistance in the area and secured the Kentucky frontier.
As a slaveholding state with a considerable abolitionist
population, Kentucky was caught in the middle during the Civil War,
supplying both Union and Confederate forces with thousands of troops.
Kentucky prides itself on producing some of the nation's
best tobacco, horses, and whiskey. Corn, soybeans, wheat, fruit, hogs,
cattle, and dairy products are among the agricultural items produced.
Among the manufactured items produced in the state
are motor vehicles, furniture, aluminum ware, brooms, apparel, lumber
products, machinery, textiles, and iron and steel products. Kentucky
also produces significant amounts of petroleum, natural gas, fluorspar,
clay, and stone. However, coal accounts for 85% of the total mineral
income.
Louisville is famous for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill
Downs, and the Bluegrass country around Lexington is the home of some
of the world's finest race horses. Other attractions are Mammoth Cave,
the George S. Patton, Jr., Military Museum at Fort Knox, and Old Fort
Harrod State Park.
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