70 Fun Facts About Kentucky

What is the capital of Kentucky?

With about 28,600 people it is only the state's 13th-largest city and the fourth-smallest state capital in the country.

Kentucky's capital city takes its name from what 1780 incident?

The crossing was called Frank's Ford in his memory, and the name wore down to Frankfort.

Kentucky was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792, as which state in order?

It had been part of a neighbouring state; Congress approved statehood two weeks before it approved Vermont's petition.

Before statehood, Kentucky was part of which state?

Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville between 1784 and 1792 before separation finally went through.

Kentucky's nickname, the Bluegrass State, refers to a grass that was what?

The nickname has never actually been made official by the General Assembly, and no grass has been named the state grass.

What is Kentucky's official English-language state motto?

It has been on the state seal since 1792, and in 2002 Kentucky added a Latin motto, Deo gratiam habeamus, meaning let us be grateful to God.

The two men on Kentucky's state seal, one in buckskin and one in formal dress, shake hands to symbolise what?

Popular legend says they are Daniel Boone and Henry Clay, but officially they stand for all such figures.

Kentucky's flag has a navy field with the state seal above sprigs of which state flower?

The flag was designed by Jesse Cox Burgess, an art teacher in Frankfort, and adopted in 1918.

What is Kentucky's state bird?

Adopted in 1926, it was the state's second official emblem, after the seal had stood alone for more than 130 years.

Kentucky is one of only four US states that officially call themselves what?

The others are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia; the term carries no special legal meaning.

How many counties does Kentucky have?

Only Texas and Georgia have more; the largest by area is Pike County and the most populous is Jefferson, which is coextensive with Louisville Metro.

Kentucky's northern border is defined by which river?

The state is the only one bordered by rivers on three sides: the Ohio, the Mississippi and the Big Sandy with its Tug Fork.

How many states border Kentucky?

Only Missouri and Tennessee, with eight each, touch more.

The Kentucky Bend, surrounded by Missouri and Tennessee, exists because of what?

Reaching it by road means driving through Tennessee; the 2020 census counted nine residents.

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is notable as the world's what?

More than 426 miles have been surveyed, over 1.5 times the length of the runner-up, an underwater system in Mexico.

In 1842-43 the owner of Mammoth Cave ran what inside the cave, believing its vapours would heal patients?

Enslaved guide Stephen Bishop had already mapped much of the cave, becoming the first person to cross its Bottomless Pit.

Cumberland Falls in Kentucky claims to be the only place in the Western Hemisphere where what is regularly seen?

The lunar rainbow forms in the falls' mist on clear nights around a full moon, helped by the shape of the gorge.

Kentucky produces roughly what share of the world's bourbon?

The number of barrels ageing in the state, more than 5.7 million, exceeds its human population.

By US law, bourbon must be made from a grain mixture that is at least what percentage corn?

It also has to be aged in new charred oak containers, and Congress declared it a distinctive product of the United States in 1964.

Maker's Mark bourbon, made in Loretto, Kentucky, is instantly recognisable by what feature of its bottle?

The first run was bottled in 1958 and the red dipped seal is a registered trademark.

The Kentucky Derby is run on the first Saturday of which month?

It is the first leg of the Triple Crown and, unlike the older Preakness and Belmont, has been run every single year since it began.

The Kentucky Derby is nicknamed the Run for the Roses because of what?

The garland holds 554 red roses; the nickname was popularised in 1925 by columnist Bill Corum.

Which drink is the traditional beverage of the Kentucky Derby?

It is bourbon, mint and sugar syrup over crushed ice, classically served in a frosted silver cup.

Which horse set the still-standing Kentucky Derby record of 1:59.4 in 1973?

He ran each successive quarter-mile faster than the last, something no other Triple Crown race winner has done.

Churchill Downs has hosted the Kentucky Derby since the track opened in which year?

With the infield open on Derby day the Louisville track holds roughly 170,000 people.

Lexington, Kentucky, calls itself the capital of the world for what?

Hundreds of horse farms surround the city, plus Keeneland, the Red Mile and the Kentucky Horse Park.

Louisville, Kentucky, was named in 1780 in honour of which monarch?

French troops were helping the Americans in the Revolutionary War at the time; George Rogers Clark had founded the settlement two years earlier.

The Louisville Slugger traces its origin to an 1884 bat hand-made for which slumping Louisville Eclipse star?

Company legend says 17-year-old Bud Hillerich made the bat in his father's woodworking shop and Browning got three hits with it the next day.

Which boxer was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville in 1942?

He took up boxing at 12 after a policeman told the boy fuming over a stolen bicycle that he had better learn to fight first.

Civil War presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were both born in which state?

Lincoln's birthplace was a log cabin near Hodgenville; Davis was born in Fairview, less than a year earlier and about 100 miles away.

Kentucky's official position during the Civil War was what?

A shadow Confederate government was set up at Bowling Green, but the state stayed in the Union and Lincoln worked hard to respect its declared neutrality.

The 1862 battle that ended the Confederate campaign to take Kentucky was fought at which town?

Braxton Bragg won a tactical victory but withdrew to Tennessee, and the Union held the border state for the rest of the war.

The Cumberland Gap sits near the point where Kentucky meets which two other states?

It stands 1,631 feet up and was brought to settlers' attention in 1750 by physician-explorer Thomas Walker.

Daniel Boone founded which fortified Kentucky settlement on the Kentucky River in 1775?

He brought his family there that September; by the next spring fewer than 200 colonists remained in all of Kentucky.

The Hatfield-McCoy feud pitted the McCoys of Kentucky against the Hatfields of which neighbouring state?

The families lived on opposite banks of the Tug Fork, and one flare-up in 1878 was over the ownership of a hog.

Fort Knox holds roughly what share of the federal government's gold?

About 147 million troy ounces sit in a vault built in 1936 to move gold away from vulnerable coastal cities.

Colonel Harland Sanders first sold his fried chicken from a roadside restaurant in which Kentucky town?

The first franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken was nowhere near Kentucky: it opened in South Salt Lake, Utah, in 1952.

Louisville's Hot Brown sandwich, created in 1926, is a variation of which traditional dish?

Chef Fred K. Schmidt invented it as an alternative to late-night ham and eggs.

Kentucky's official state soft drink, Ale-8-One, is what kind of drink?

Bottled in Winchester since 1926, its name came from a naming contest: 'A Late One', meaning the latest thing.

Kentucky's fourth-largest city, Owensboro, styles itself the world capital of what?

It hosts the International Bar-B-Q Festival, and also houses the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Bill Monroe's genre took its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, itself named after what?

Monroe was born near Rosine in Ohio County and described the sound as Scottish bagpipes and old-time fiddling with a high lonesome sound.

Who recorded 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' for his first Sun Records single?

Bill Monroe wrote it in 1945 as a waltz; Paul McCartney has recorded it too.

Under what title did Patty and Mildred Hill write the melody of 'Happy Birthday to You' in 1893?

Warner Chappell collected licensing fees on the song for decades until a court threw out its copyright claim in 2015.

Country singer Loretta Lynn, the Coal Miner's Daughter, was born in which Kentucky county?

Sissy Spacek won an Oscar playing her in the 1980 film of the same name.

Which sports car has been built exclusively in Bowling Green, Kentucky, since 1981?

The state made it the official state sports car, and the National Corvette Museum sits next to the plant.

What happened at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green on the morning of February 12, 2014?

Kentucky's limestone karst landscape is riddled with such cavities; five of the eight cars were later hauled out.

Kentucky men's basketball ranks second all-time in NCAA titles behind which school?

The Wildcats have eight championships under five different coaches, from Adolph Rupp to John Calipari, and lead the nation in all-time wins.

In which league did the Kentucky Colonels play from 1967 to 1976?

Despite the record, the team was left out of the 1976 ABA-NBA merger and folded.

Berea College in Kentucky, founded in 1855, was the first college in the South to be what?

Students still work at least 10 hours a week for the college, which covers the tuition that grants do not.

Which small Kentucky city is nicknamed Quilt City and hosts the National Quilt Museum?

It joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for craft and folk art in 2013.

Kentucky's Big Bone Lick State Park is named for the fossils of which Ice Age animals?

Bison, ground sloths and musk oxen also came for the salt, and the site is often called the birthplace of American palaeontology.

Ark Encounter, the theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky, is built around a full-size replica of what?

The wooden structure is 510 feet long and is run by the same group that operates the Creation Museum 45 miles away.

Which reservoir, the largest by area east of the Mississippi, borders Land Between the Lakes opposite Barkley?

Kentucky Lake has 2,064 miles of shoreline; Lake Cumberland holds the volume record, and the state has only three major natural lakes.

Kentucky's Derby Festival kicks off with Thunder Over Louisville, which is what kind of event?

For years it was billed as North America's largest annual fireworks show; the air show was added in 1992.

The Belle of Louisville, moored on the Ohio downtown, holds what distinction?

Built in Pittsburgh in 1914 as the Idlewild, she began as a ferry between Memphis and West Memphis.

Which Kentucky-born inventor demonstrated a battery-powered wireless telephone in 1902?

The Murray farmer never managed to commercialise it and died alone in seclusion in 1928.

Garrett Morgan, born in Paris, Kentucky, in 1877, invented an early version of which everyday device?

He also invented a smoke hood he used personally in a 1916 tunnel rescue in Cleveland.

Which 1883-87 event in Old Louisville featured the first public display of Edison's light bulb?

The neighbourhood was also the setting of the novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch.

Which Kentucky town hosts a Highland Games in imitation of its Scottish namesake?

Kentucky's Glasgow also happens to be the birthplace of journalist Diane Sawyer.

Which Hollywood star was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1963?

Lawrence is from Louisville and Clooney from Lexington, so the state has a fair claim on three A-listers.

Kentucky's restocked elk herd hit its project goal in 2009 at how many animals, the most east of the Mississippi?

The state also rebuilt its wild turkey population from fewer than 900 birds in the 1950s.

Roughly what share of US Thoroughbred foals are born in Kentucky?

That is more than any other state; Keeneland's September yearling sale alone moved $360 million of horses in 2019.

Kentucky's official state fruit is which berry?

The state also has an official soft drink, an official sports car and, since 2026, an official mushroom, the bright blue indigo milkcap.

The Old Fashioned cocktail is claimed as the invention of which Louisville institution?

The same city gave the world the Hot Brown sandwich, and central Kentucky gave it beer cheese.

What nickname did Newport, Kentucky, earn for its Monmouth Street casinos?

Racketeering probes closed the casinos, and the town later reinvented itself around the $40 million Newport Aquarium in 1999.

What is the highest point in Kentucky?

It sits in Harlan County on the southern ridge of Pine Mountain, in the coalfields of the far east of the state.

Which settlement, founded by James Harrod in 1774, became Kentucky's first permanent European settlement?

It was abandoned during Dunmore's War and resettled in March 1775, months before Boone's Station and Logan's Fort.

One theory says the name Kentucky comes from an Iroquoian word meaning what?

The state took its name from the Kentucky River, a tributary of the Ohio, and the exact origin is still uncertain.

Kentucky ranks fifth among US states in farming which animal?

It also ranks eighth in beef cattle and fourteenth in corn, though tobacco was long the signature crop.

The 1811–12 earthquakes centred near the Kentucky Bend made which river flow backwards in places?

The Bend itself, home to 18 people in 2010, can only be reached by road through Tennessee.