This Lawrenceburg native was one of the first black women in Ky. to enlist during World War II. She joined Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, and was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant the next year in newly named Women's Army Corps. While . . . — — Map (db m229583) HM
Born in Hiseville (Barren Co.). Graduate of Kentucky State Univ.; later member of Board of Regents. Also studied at Indiana Univ. and Peabody Coll. As principal of Ralph J. Bunche School, Twyman led its merger with Glasgow High School to achieve . . . — — Map (db m82469) HM
This Glasgow native was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license in the U.S., 1937. That year, she also earned masters degree from Northwestern Univ. She was first African American officer in Civil Air Patrol (1941) & first . . . — — Map (db m88118) HM
First Baptist African American
Church in Florence was founded
in 1870 by the Trustees of the
Colored Baptist Association. The
congregation was active for over
100 years and was essential to
formerly enslaved people & Freedmen
in the area. . . . — — Map (db m180718) HM
Established in 1867 under Rev. Thomas Gant after members left the fellowship of First Baptist Church, Paris, Rev. Elisha Green, pastor. Current church structure of wood mold brick built in 1904. Membership includes descendants of the original . . . — — Map (db m170051) HM
Born in Millersburg, Kidd devoted much of her life to civil rights causes. Served as representative in Ky. state legislature, 1968-85, earning her nickname, “Lady of the House.” Kidd led Ky.'s ratification of 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to . . . — — Map (db m123690) HM
Sites of birthplace of Garrett A. Morgan, and Branch School, which he attended, are ¼ mile south. He invented the tri-color traffic signal, forerunner of the present type, and a gas mask worn in rescue work at Cleveland, Ohio, 1916. His mask was the . . . — — Map (db m170056) HM
The Booker T. Washington School was built in 1903 for grades 1-8. By 1931 it included a four year high school at its Central Ave & 7th ST location. All Boyd Co. schools were not integrated until 1962. In that year, Booker T. Washington closed. We . . . — — Map (db m228066) HM
In 1894 Ashland Board of Education assumed management of “Negro School,” where African American William Reynolds was principal. In 1901 a bond issue passed with support of blacks and Superintendent J.G. Crabbe. School board then funded . . . — — Map (db m127190) HM
In this block a thriving African American business district stood for over 100 years. Restaurants, barber and beauty shops, medical and dental offices, and retail shops drew patrons from Boyle and nearby counties. Until razed by urban renewal in . . . — — Map (db m49741) HM
Physician & teacher spoke here at 1887 State Assoc. of Colored Teachers Meeting advocating women's suffrage. Speech in national newspaper. — — Map (db m132656) HM
May 23, 1864, nearly 250 black men, most of them slaves, left Boyle Co. to march to Camp Nelson in Jessamine Co. to enlist in the Union army. On the way, some Danville citizens threw stones and shot pistols at the recruits. When they reached . . . — — Map (db m70996) HM
Side 1 Original site of Bate High School, built 1912 and named in honor of its founder, John William Bate. Born a slave in Louisville, Bate received an AB from Berea College in 1881 and and AM in 1891. He moved to Danville to teach in 1881 . . . — — Map (db m105414) HM
Willis Russell, a well-educated & emancipated slave of Rev. War captain Robert Craddock, relocated from Warren Co., Ky. to Danville around April 1838. He taught black children in this pre-1795 log home that he inherited when Capt. Craddock died in . . . — — Map (db m121564) HM
Stephen Collins Foster, as youth, visited here, May 1833. His uncle, Dr. Joseph S. Tomlinson, was then President of Augusta College. The musical, harmonious voices from the old Negro church on the hill floated softly over the town. “It can . . . — — Map (db m136271) HM
John Gregg Fee. Fee received degree from Augusta
College; went to Lane Theological
Seminary. Had spiritual experience
which began career as nationally
known and determined abolitionist.
A founder of Berea College who
wanted low-cost . . . — — Map (db m136344) HM
Front
Settled ca. 1800 by Rev. War veterans Thos. Carson, John Helm, & Matthew Kuykendall who received land grants for their service. These founders of Butler County served as first county surveyor, presiding justice of . . . — — Map (db m123286) HM
In 1910, Princeton High School was the only high school in the vicinity for blacks. In 1920s name was changed to Dotson High School in honor of John Dotson, a prominent black businessman in Princeton. In 1938, Federal WPA officials approved . . . — — Map (db m166066) HM
Shortly after the historic U. S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education, et. al. decision, Murray State College "with all deliberate speed," welcomed Mary Ford Holland of Kuttawa, Ky., as a student in the summer of 1955. Holland's . . . — — Map (db m179582) HM
Fort Heiman, in which you are standing, was built almost entirely by slaves from Mississippi and Alabama. Slaves, as well as white laborers pressed into Confederate service, helped to build all three forts guarding the Tennessee and Cumberland . . . — — Map (db m173046) HM
Robert Percell “H-Bomb” Ferguson started his colorful Jump Blues career as pianist & Blues shouter the “Cobra Kid”, recording with Jack “The Bear” Parker's orchestra in early 1951. He became “H-Bomb” later that year when he joined Savoy Records and . . . — — Map (db m187604) HM
In 1870, the Newport City Council purchased property for a school for African Americans, and three years later a frame house was constructed. Elizabeth Hudson was appointed first African American teacher at salary of $35 per month. Two major events . . . — — Map (db m135078) HM
Theodore Roosevelt Poston was born on July 4, 1906, in Hopkinsville. He was a graduate of Attucks High School and Tennessee A&I State College. In 1936 he began freelance writing for the New York Post and was soon hired full-time. He retired in . . . — — Map (db m105693) HM
Daniel Boone attended, Squire, Jr., Samuel, and Mary Boone baptized here. Church name changed, 1790, from Howard's Creek to Providence. William Bush, a member of Boone's second Ky. expedition, built the present stone structure of native limestone. . . . — — Map (db m30831) HM
Site of Riley family homeplace, owners of Josiah Henson, one of the characters on which Harriet Beecher Stowe based her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henson served as overseer of Amos Riley's farms, 1825-29. On learning owner planned to sell . . . — — Map (db m160204) HM
Every African-American family holds in high esteem women whose strength in the face of overwhelming odds provided hope and encouragement. Women have worked to strengthen their communities of family, neighborhood, school and church.
Teaching . . . — — Map (db m159345) HM
(side 1)
In 1864, several hundred enslaved African American men joined the Union army here. Enlisting in the army meant eventual freedom for the men and their families. Units raised in Daviess Co. took part in important operations at . . . — — Map (db m119826) HM
Dr. Clay E. Simpson, Sr., native of Notasulga, Alabama and his wife Mary E. Simpson, native of Fayette County, Kentucky, served the Owensboro community for many years. As a Family Physician, Dr. Simpson made numerous house calls and delivered . . . — — Map (db m160137) HM
In 1830, a Baptist church began in a log cabin-house, which was provided for Black worshipers by Philip Thompson. The congregation was first led by Black Baptist Minister Oliver Potts. The Black Baptist Church was founded after the Civil War & in . . . — — Map (db m160131) HM
This park was formerly known as Douglas Park in honor of Frederick Douglas, slave abolitionist. In 1973, renamed in memory of Joe N. Kendall and Joseph P. Perkins, two contemporary citizens of this community. These men gave many years of unselfish . . . — — Map (db m159342) HM
Moneta J. Sleet, Jr.
Born in Owensboro. Sleet was a graduate of Ky. State College and New York Univ. Beginning in 1955, he worked as photojournalist for Jet and Ebony magazines for 41 yrs. During the 1950s-60s, his photos . . . — — Map (db m159338) HM
The years after the Civil War saw Owensboro's African-American community grow. The more than 3,000 blacks in Daviess County dwelt mostly in the rural areas in 1860, but by 1900 most lived in Owensboro. The lure of jobs, changes in agriculture, . . . — — Map (db m159355) HM
The end of slavery in 1865 brought many challenges to Owensboro's African-American population. They struggled to find jobs, establish homes, educate their children, and find their place in the post-war world.
In 1880 a system of schools for . . . — — Map (db m159343) HM
Pleasant Point Missionary Baptist Church. Six emancipated slaves formed this congregation in 1871. Three years later it was fully organized: the church erected in 1878. Membership grew as African Americans searched for religious & cultural . . . — — Map (db m159288) HM
In 1839 African American slaves Stephen Bishop (buried here), Mat Bransford, and Nicholas Bransford, came to Mammoth Cave to work as cave guides. Cave visitors from around the world extolled their exploits as guides and cave explorers. The guides’ . . . — — Map (db m233234) HM
known as Abe, was born in Midway, Woodford County. He began his career as a Thoroughbred
trainer for Abraham Buford, Bosque Bonita Far, Woodford County where he trained McWhitter (1876-1878). Perry became assistant trainer for Leonard W. Jerome, . . . — — Map (db m169792) HM
Adamstown
This interurban African-American community
was established in 1872 when working class
and skilled laborers began purchasing land
from George M. Adams to build homes.
Adams, a native of Barbourville, Kentucky,
was a slave owner . . . — — Map (db m169874) HM
Site of office building which housed prominent African-American physicians and pharmacy. Among the doctors who practiced here between 1909 and 1930 were Obed Cooley; Nathaniel J. Ridley; J.C. Coleman; John Hunter, first African-American surgeon at . . . — — Map (db m68193) HM
In the early 19th century, Southern Thoroughbred breeders, including those in Kentucky, relied on slaves to care for, ride, and train their horses. After emancipation, many of these former slaves remained on the farms and, to a large degree, it was . . . — — Map (db m202887) HM
Thoroughbred Trainers (24)
French Brooks 1861-1943 • Harry Brown ?-1890 • Edward Caldwell 1863-1912 • General Carter 1865-1936 • Oliver D. Chambers 1842-1909 • June Collins 1860-1930 • Polk Drake 1852-1889 • Moses Dupee 1832-1901 • Ben . . . — — Map (db m169816) HM
Earliest recorded cemetery in Lexington to be organized, owned, and managed by African Americans. The site has been in existence since 1869. Trustees of Benevolent Society No. 2 successfully operated cemetery. Many individuals buried here were . . . — — Map (db m169750) HM
In May 1875, an estimated 10,000 racing fans watched the first running of the Kentucky Derby. Among the field of fifteen thoroughbreds, Aristides, the “little red horse,” won the mile-and-one-half race. Oliver Lewis, a . . . — — Map (db m78750) HM
“Buffalo Soldiers” specifically refers to African Americans serving in the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and 24th and 25th infantry. Originally organized after the Civil War to fight native Americans in the American West, they later went on to . . . — — Map (db m169751) HM
had been employed by Barak G. Thomas, owner of Dixiana Farm, as a 'race rider' since he was fourteen years old. He was mounted for the Harold Stakes at Latonia. Cassius' fate was reported in several publications: “The sad accident which befell . . . — — Map (db m169789) HM
Desegregation of UK
In 1948 Lyman T. Johnson filed suit for admission to UK. In March 1949 Federal Judge H. Church Ford ruled in Johnson's favor, and that summer nearly 30 black students entered UK graduate and professional programs. . . . — — Map (db m169899) HM
The farrier is as critical to the success of the modern racehorse as a well-drilled team
changing the tires on the modern racing car. Farriers form and fit the shoes to each horse as required by training and racing events. The adjacent grave is . . . — — Map (db m169790) HM
Octie Keys, died July 1929, had a listed occupation of horsegroom. Horsegrooms are responsible for all aspects of the care and maintenance of thoroughbred horses. Until Keeneland was built, Lexington's racetrack, The Kentucky Association Racetrack, . . . — — Map (db m169755) HM
A hostler is a horse handler. 'Soup' Perkins was employed as a hostler before becoming a jockey. Daniel Hart, died 16 January 1901, was identified as a hostler in records of his occupation.
Sign produced with support from a University of . . . — — Map (db m169756) HM
One of the greatest jockeys in the history of American racing, Isaac Burns Murphy was born on a farm in the Bluegrass not far from Lexington in 1861. His parents were enslaved. His mother, America Murphy, was a domestic servant on the farm. His . . . — — Map (db m119100) HM
Isaac Burns Murphy was horn to America Murphy in Clark County, Kentucky in January of 1861. After emancipation and the death of his father in the Civil War, Isaac and his mother moved to Lexington where he received his first formal education. The . . . — — Map (db m202886) HM
The Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden is named for the famed jockey whose house stood on this site. It was developed to commemorate the contributions of African Americans to Thoroughbred racing and to help revitalize this East End neighborhood. . . . — — Map (db m119101) HM
(front side)
”All the Best Jockeys…”
In the last decades of the 19th century, horse racing was America's great national sport and black jockeys, many from the Bluegrass region, stood at its center. It was the Gilded Age, . . . — — Map (db m119102) HM
This monument identifies members of James "Soup" Perkins' family. Frank was a trainer whose career ended when he was killed in 1900. Elizabeth was their sister and Mattie was their mother. The woman identified on the opposite side was Mattie's . . . — — Map (db m169785) HM
Nothing is known about Joseph Scott except that
at a very young age (16) he was employed by the
thoroughbred industry. His grave is unique
because it is the only one in the cemetery that
specifically identifies an individual as a 'jocky.'
Matt . . . — — Map (db m169822) HM
Lexington Colored Fair Association
Started in 1869 by the Lexington Colored Agricultural and Mechanical Assoc., the annual fair promoted racial achievement and offered entertainment which attracted thousands from Ky. and beyond. When located . . . — — Map (db m170035) HM
One of many freetowns in central Kentucky, settled by former slaves during the post-Civil War period. So named after white landowner Samuel Maddox who first sold small lots to African Americans in 1871. By 1877, seven families lived in Maddoxtown . . . — — Map (db m170048) HM
MAN o' WAR (1917-1947)
In addition to the great Man o' War, this memorial gravesite also holds the final remains of several of his sons and daughters:
• War Admiral (1934-1959) – 1937 Triple Crown winner
• War Relic (1938-1963) – . . . — — Map (db m202884) HM
Isaac Murphy's success in racing enabled him and his wife, Lucy, to buy a grand house that stood on this site. The house, called a mansion in some accounts, was located off the present East Third Street. It was brick and had two stories and 10 . . . — — Map (db m119099) HM
Oliver Lewis, a Lexington native, was listed as a race rider in the employ of H.P. McGrath, owner of McGrathiana Farm (the current UK Coldstream Research Park) during the 1880 census. Lewis went on to win the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 aboard . . . — — Map (db m169823) HM
Peaceful Protests for Equality
Lexington's Black Citizens Staged Lunch Counter Sit-ins Here
Peaceful sit-ins to protest segregated restaurants and lunch counters in Lexington stores began in July of 1959-nearly seven months before a . . . — — Map (db m137311) HM
Strength in Numbers
Their Protests Were United
The close association of Lexington's NAACP and CORE chapters strengthened professional leadership for sit-ins and stand-ins. Together they protested segregated restaurants, . . . — — Map (db m137330) HM
The first pioneers
found a wild place brimming with buffalo, deer, elk, bear, panthers, wildcats and wolves. The land a tangle of
cane breaks, heavy forests, broken meadows, streams, and springs. They witnessed a new country of . . . — — Map (db m194471) HM
Laura and Henry Britton were free blacks who purchased a home in 1856 in the Gratz Park area near Transylvania University in Lexington. Henry earned his living as a barber, and Laura as a seamstress. They were parents of twelve known children. One . . . — — Map (db m169821) HM
Walker Hughes, who died 1926, although the date on his marker indicates 1927, was a trotting horse trainer. Trainers are crucial to preparing thoroughbreds and trotters for racing as well as instructing the jockeys and drivers who guide them. . . . — — Map (db m169758) HM
Benjamin lived and died for his beliefs
In October 1900, R.C.O. Benjamin, the African American editor of The Lexington Standard, escorted a group of black citizens downtown to register to vote.
Confronted racist poll worker . . . — — Map (db m218230) HM
This marker is in the approximate location of Isaac Burns Murphy's original grave.
Murphy is perhaps one of the most famous of all thoroughbred jockeys. He was the first to win three Kentucky Derbies, 1884, 1890, 1891 and still has the highest . . . — — Map (db m169797) HM
Led by Mrs. E. Belle Mitchell Jackson, orphan home opened here 1894. Orphans and other black youth learned to read and write and acquired a trade; also refuge for elderly women. By 1909 home consisted of 18 acres and 2 brick houses. Burned in 1912. . . . — — Map (db m136922) HM
Before the Civil War, black Lexingtonians established private schools in churches and educated missionaries who were sent around the world. After 1865, with the support of the Freedmen's Bureau, four free schools for black students were established. . . . — — Map (db m137045) HM
This site was once the law office of prominent national politician Henry Clay. In the early 19th century, one of his enslaved, Charlotte Dupuy (do-pea), sued Clay for the freedom of herself and her children.
A previous owner had promised to . . . — — Map (db m137047) HM
This sign sits in the South Hill neighborhood, where five homes still stand with roots to Lexington's freed-black community. In this neighborhood. African Americans once lived alongside whites.
Although restricted in their rights, freedmen . . . — — Map (db m202850) HM
Deweese (Dewees) St. Neighborhood
Segregation limited the housing options of African Americans. Redlining and discriminatory real estate policies forced black Lexingtonians to live in "shotgun" houses built close together. By the late 19th . . . — — Map (db m169747) HM
Enslaved Peter "Old Captain" Durrett moved to Lexington with his wife and began holding services in his cabin at Maxwell Spring in 1790. This site once housed the First African Baptist Church, built by the congregation in 1856.
The Church became . . . — — Map (db m169742) HM
Mammoth Insurance Co.
Founded 1915 in Louisville, Mammoth Life and Accident Ins. Co. opened district office at 149 Deweese. It offered employment opportunities and fair rates to African American
community. At its peak, Mammoth had 750 . . . — — Map (db m169744) HM
Kentucky Clinic North was established by the University of Kentucky in 1996 to provide primary care in a medically underserved area of downtown Lexington The community-oriented clinic operated at a site on Third Street until this facility opened in . . . — — Map (db m169746) HM
From Enslaved to Community Activist
Education Gave the Jacksons a Step Up
Jordan C. Jackson, Jr. was born enslaved in Lexington. Denied an education, he taught himself to read and write, eventually becoming a successful businessman . . . — — Map (db m137309) HM
From Enslaved to the Presidency
Finding Freedom in Africa
This site was originally part of the Glendower Estate, where Alfred Francis Russell was born enslaved in 1817. From these humble beginnings, he rose to become president . . . — — Map (db m137310) HM
Pushing for equal rights for women
This home belonged to Dr. Mary Ellen Britton, the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Lexington (1903). Her medical practice, which specialized in electro- and hydrotherapy, was . . . — — Map (db m218205) HM
Lexington's Long History with Slavery
A Slave Jail Stood Here
This site was once one of the city's largest slave jails—Megowan's. For more than 20 years, Thomas Megowan held enslaved individuals in his jail until he had enough . . . — — Map (db m137305) HM
The first school for black Kentuckians to be accredited by the Southern Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools. One of only eight public high schools in the thirteen southern states to secure this standing in 1930.
Presented by . . . — — Map (db m169839) HM
Slavery in Fayette Co.
On the N.E. corner of the Fayette County Courthouse lawn stood the whipping post established in 1847 to punish slaves for such offenses as being on the streets after 7 p.m. Fayette Co. was one of the largest slave-holding . . . — — Map (db m16411) HM
The land upon which Pleasant Green Baptist Church stands was conveyed in 1822 by Dr. Frederick Ridgely, a white surgeon in Lexington, to trustees Harry Quills, Benjamin Admon, and Solomon Walker, all slaves, for purpose of erecting an African . . . — — Map (db m68132) HM
Born in Lexington, son of Henry A. Tandy, respected African American contractor. Attended the Chandler School, Tuskegee Institute, Cornell Univ. 1st registered black architect in New York State, where he built landmark homes & buildings. A founder . . . — — Map (db m61032) HM
Birthplace of Herman Chittison
Born in Flemingsburg, October 15, 1908, to Charles and Sarah Jane Chittison. He played hymns at Strawberry Methodist Church as a child. Attended Walden College in Nashville, 1924; later Ky. State Industrial . . . — — Map (db m83512) HM
Beneath the soil in front of you,lie the skeletal remains of about 250 people. They were buried originally in a cemetery below the south face of Fort Hill near downtown Frankfort. This was one of Frankfort's earliest cemeteries, and it was in use . . . — — Map (db m162494) HM
The A.M.E. Church was established in Frankfort, 1839, by Negroes before days of emancipation. First
structure built on Lewis Street. Building and ground given by Mrs. Triplett, a white lady, to her servants, Benjamin Dunmore and Benjamin Hunley. In . . . — — Map (db m185708) HM
The Capitol Plaza complex, a twenty-two-acre government, business, and civic mall adjacent to the Kentucky River covers an area of North Frankfort once referred to as the “Craw” or the “Bottom.” Following the Civil War an . . . — — Map (db m62271) HM
(North face) Erected by Woman's Relief Corps No. 8 G.A.R. July 1924 Monument Commission E.T. Strauss, President N.C. Coleman, Secretary L.C. Redding Mary L. Brooks Clara C. McWilliams Susan Butcher M.B. McCary Sallie Handy Kate Richardson . . . — — Map (db m84704) WM
(Front) School was chartered 1886; opened 1887 with three teachers and 55 students. The first state-supported institution of higher education for blacks, school gained funds from legislature for building and teachers, and from Frankfort city . . . — — Map (db m84462) HM
Officially, 23,703 African Americans in Kentucky responded to the call to arms by President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to join the ranks of the newly organized United States Colored Troops. Units were organized with men from across the . . . — — Map (db m84675) HM
The African American Civil War Memorial in Greenhill Cemetery is only monument in state honoring the nearly 25,000 Kentuckians who served in the United States Colored Troops. The names of 142 men from central Ky are etched on monument. Memorial . . . — — Map (db m161756) HM
Originally located in "Craw," the business was first owned by Fred Allen and then later by John Robert Davis Jr., who moved the barber shop to this location. In the 1970s, Robert Lee Taylor took over the business. At that time, it was the only . . . — — Map (db m161757) HM
Erected in 1928 and dedicated September 3,
1929, Mayo-Underwood High School replaced
the 1884 Clinton Street High School. Mayo-
Underwoods main entrance faced Center
Street, with the Mero Street side encompassing
the 400 block, and the rear . . . — — Map (db m194238) HM
The Women's Club Hospital Company, with community support, established a hospital here on December 26, 1915. It was named for Winnie A. Scott, a local teacher instrumental in its founding. The facility was the only Frankfort hospital serving African . . . — — Map (db m84259) HM
(side 1)
The barracks, established in April 1871, and the command moved here in December of that year. Buildings were erected on Alexander Goldsmith Brawner's five acres known as Coleman's Spring lot. Post consisted of barracks, guardhouse, . . . — — Map (db m62254) HM
Noted as one of Kentucky's most famous African American citizens, Hickman's Atwood served as the president of Kentucky State College from 1929 to 1962. During his tenure at the school, Atwood led the battle for desegregated education and improved . . . — — Map (db m18442) HM
is a contributing property in the
Warsaw Historic District
listed in the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior — — Map (db m222990) HM
Bond-Washington School
This site purchased in 1869 by the
trustees of the African School of
Elizabethtown. It was the location
of District A School from 1888-
1923, when East Side High School
was built with aid from the local
African . . . — — Map (db m223268) HM
Principal of the East Benham High School, 1934-60. Matthews taught math and coached ball teams. The students were children of employees of Wisconsin Steel Company. Joseph Matthews and his wife Ruth were leaders in black community and bought food, . . . — — Map (db m97118) HM
To Honor the Black Coal Miners
and Keep Their Legacy Alive
The Black Coal Miner was recruited by International Harvester and U.S. Steel to work and live in the coal camps of Benham and Lynch. They came in search of a better life, better . . . — — Map (db m97160) HM
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