Preceded by several earlier student newspapers, the first Kentucky Kernel appeared September 16, 1915. An eight-page weekly by 1923, after a varied publication schedule it became a daily newspaper in 1966. Housed in several campus locations before . . . — — Map (db m218244) HM
Leslie Combs II put a modern slant on the management and marketing of horses. He specialized in the form of syndication whereby some thirty-six shares would be sold in an individual stallion. Beau Pere, purchased for $100,000 in 1947, was his first . . . — — Map (db m58297) HM
The stallion Lexington was the key figure in development of the American Thoroughbred during the second half of the 19th Century. He was statistically the leading stallion in America for 14 consecutive years, 1861 - 1875, and again in two later . . . — — Map (db m70405) HM
Named in honor of first Battle of the American Revolution. William McConnell was among the party of hunters who came to site from Harrodsburg in 1775. Built cabin to obtain land title but driven off by Indians. Lexington later settled by Robert . . . — — Map (db m58498) HM
Named in honor of first Battle of the American Revolution. William McConnell was among the party of hunters who came to site from Harrodsburg in 1775. Built cabin to obtain land title but driven off by Indians. Lexington later settled by Robert . . . — — Map (db m170023) HM
Obverse
Famous thoroughbred stallion bred by Elisha Warfield, "father of Ky. Turf." One of the first major stallions in the area, helped center US breeding industry in Ky. Stood at Robert Alexander's Woodburn Farm. Farm fell victim to Morgan's . . . — — Map (db m70406) HM
Incorporated in 1849, Lexington Cemetery was laid out as a natural landscape park. Both Confederate and Union soldiers are buried in this cemetery. Towering over Henry Clay's grave is a 120-foot monument surmounted by his statue. Other noted men, . . . — — Map (db m61033) 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
Lexington Courthouses
East of Cheapside is the public square, where courthouses of Lexington ahve stood since 1788. The present edifice is fifth fourthouse, the fourth on this site. It was built during 1898-1900, after fire destroyed fourth . . . — — Map (db m14018) HM
Side A Started in 1869 by the Headley and Farra Company. Continued by James E. Pepper & Company in 1879. In the late 1800s, the James E. Pepper Distillery sold whiskey to over 90 brokerage houses across the U.S. It sold under a number of . . . — — Map (db m35843) HM
Lexington Named. In early June of 1775, a party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped near here on a branch of Elkhorn Creek. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory at Lexington, Mass., on April 19, 1775, they named their campsite . . . — — Map (db m136939) HM
Civil War Lexington
In 1847, Abraham Lincoln traveled to Lexington to visit his wife's family. It was a small county seat but regional economic and cultural center. When the Civil War began in 1861, the railroads that linked Lexington with . . . — — Map (db m202872) HM
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's NRHP is part of a national program to . . . — — Map (db m194580) HM
From 1924 until her death, Maysville, Kentucky, native Mrs. Lucille Parker Markey was the lady of Calumet Farm. First as the young bride of Calumet heir Warren Wright Sr. and then as the wife of Hollywood writer Admiral Gene Markey, she lived the . . . — — Map (db m58314) 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
Opened in 1882 and known as the Main or College Building, it contained classrooms, offices, and a chapel for student assemblies. Designed by architect H. P. McDonald and built of brick fashioned from campus clays and stone at a total cost of . . . — — Map (db m134591) HM
Home of Major Philip Preston Johnston, CSA. He served under J.E.B. Stuart in Major John Pelham’s Horse Artillery. Born in Shiloh, Va. in 1840. After the war, he moved to Fayette County and read law under Colonel W.C.P. Breckinridge. In 1868, . . . — — Map (db m202881) HM
Greatest race horse and leading money winner of his day. Winner of twenty of twenty-one starts with lifetime earnings of $249,465. Foaled March 29, 1917, at August Belmont's Nursery Stud a few miles away. Sold at auction as yearling for $5,000 . . . — — Map (db m4741) HM
Chestnut, 16.2 hands tall, foaled 1917 by Fair Play-Mahubah, by Rock Sand
Of all the great horses which have thundered over the American Turf, Man o' War remains the standard by which thoroughbreds are judged. Foaled east of this marker, on . . . — — Map (db m170036) 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
Margaret Isadora King
1879-1966
Salutatorian of the class of 1898, King became the first librarian of the University in 1912. She expanded the collection from a single room to over 400,000 volumes by 1948. She also served as an . . . — — Map (db m137001) HM
Erected to the memory of Mary Desha 1850-1911 by Katharine Montgomery Chapter of Washington D.C. and Kentucky Daughters of the American Revolution — — Map (db m239045) HM
Near here stood two-story log house built by Richard Masterson. This station was site of first Methodist church in Kentucky. In Masterson home, May 1790, Bishop Francis Asbury held the first Methodist Conference west of the Alleghenies. When Richard . . . — — Map (db m170034) HM
Dennis Mulligan had Maxwell Place built in 1870-72 for his son, Judge James H. Mulligan and named for nearby Maxwell Springs. The property and Italianate home were purchased by UK in 1917 as the official president's residence. First occupied by . . . — — Map (db m137003) HM
In 1774 William MoConnell led a surveying party into this area
surrounding many springs. The following April he led a party
from southwest Pennsylvania to establish land claims on the
headwaters of Elkhorn Creek. To validate their olaims . . . — — Map (db m194581) HM
McConnell Springs Park was created for its natural assets and historical significance to Lexington.
This 26-acre park contains a wide variety of plant life as well as wildlife. Walking through the trails you may have the opportunity to observe . . . — — Map (db m194582) HM
An early investor with Andrew Carnegie was Henry Phipps, whose son, Henry Carnegie Phipps, married Gladys Livingston Mills. Mills' ancestors had signed the Declaration of Independence and handled the Louisiana Purchase. As Mrs. Henry Carnegie . . . — — Map (db m58324) HM
This church was organized April 21, 1827, at nearby "Cabell's Dale," home of Mary Cabell Breckinridge, widow of John Breckinridge, U.S. Senator and Attorney General in Thomas Jefferson's cabinet. The original brick church, constructed in 1828 on . . . — — Map (db m35853) 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
When Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps launched Wheatley Stable in the 1920's her teenage son, Ogden Phipps, became interested in the sport. In 1932, a year after graduation from Harvard, he registered his own colors of a black jacket and a cherry red cap. . . . — — Map (db m58317) 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
Thoroughbred racing is but one of many aspects of society to benefit from the philanthropy of Paul Mellon. A book published in the 1990s listed $640 million in major charitable donations. Mellon's interests range from the work of Carl Jung to gazing . . . — — Map (db m58295) 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
Most famous of all hostelries in Lexington was Postlethwait's, which was located on this site. Started in 1797, the inn was known for its fine beverages, bountiful table and attentive services.
In 1820, a fire destroyed 38 rooms of the inn and . . . — — Map (db m119116) HM
You stand at Lexington's urban growth boundary.
Alexandria Drive - here at the intersection of Old Frankfort
Pike - sets the edge of commercial land use and protects land
to the west from non-agricultural development.
Lexington's . . . — — Map (db m194576) HM
Robert A. Alexander established the 2,000-acre Woodburn Stud in Woodford County, in part with the inheritance left by an uncle in Scotland. By creating a commercial breeding operation, Alexander introduced a degree of professionalist to breeding . . . — — Map (db m58340) HM
For four decades Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. headed King Ranch, one of America's unique institutions. Among divisions of King Ranch is the Thoroughbred farm he founded outside Lexington, on property that was once part of Col. E. R. Bradley's Idle Hour . . . — — Map (db m58301) HM
Rotary Club of Lexington
Established as the 3rd Rotary Club in Kentucky and 182nd in the world, it first met on June 23, 1915. The club had weekly meetings at the Phoenix Hotel until 1942. The 2015 centennial marked 100 years of . . . — — Map (db m119117) HM
Admonished by his father that one could not settle down if he wanted to be a racing man, Sam Hildreth wrote years later of such family sojourns as himself and all nine brothers and sisters being taken by wagon train from Missouri to Texas. His . . . — — Map (db m58341) HM
Grave of Samuel Boone, the eldest
brother of Daniel Boone, renowned
Kentucky pioneer. Samuel was born
in Penna., May 20, 1728. Came to
Kentucky from South Carolina in
1779 with his family and settled
Boone's Station. He joined in
defense of . . . — — Map (db m169709) HM
"Lots of men might have a million dollars, but only one man can have Man o' war," said Will Harbut, the faithful groom of the great stallion. The one man who had Man o' War was Samuel D. Riddle, who once handed back the check of a wealthy Texan who . . . — — Map (db m58343) HM
Scovell Hall Named for M.A. Scovell in 1913, this building was opened in 1905, with major additions in 1913 and 1937. Utilizing a colonial design, it was the largest building on campus for many years. Served until mid-1990s as a center of . . . — — Map (db m202824) HM
Second Presbyterian Church was founded on July 30, 1815, and was first led by Rev. James McChord. Originally located on Market St., it was moved here in 1924. Founding members included Robert S. Todd, father of Mary Todd Lincoln, and Joseph C. . . . — — Map (db m169741) HM
Secretariat, a chestnut colt of imposing size and beauty, was the outstanding Thoroughbred of the last half of the 20th Century. He showed his brilliance early by earning the Horse of the Year Eclipse award as a two-year-old. He went on to win 16 of . . . — — Map (db m202938) HM
Through the last two decades of the 20th Century and into the next, the dominant purchasers of Thoroughbreds in the world were the Maktoum brothers from the country of Dubai. As the ruling family of that oil producing Emirate, the Maktoums are . . . — — Map (db m57685) HM
Skuller's clock has kept time on Main Street since its installation in the early twentieth century. As a sentinel along the city's main commercial thoroughfare, its iconic face has witnessed many decades of change in Lexington's central business . . . — — Map (db m119118) HM
An outgrowth of Lewis Craig's
“Traveling Church,” this is oldest
continuous congregation north of
Ky. River. It arrived here from
Gilbert's Creek in 1783. Originally
Baptist, became Christian Church, ca.
1830, influenced by B. W. . . . — — Map (db m169913) HM
Stoll Field In 1880 the first college football game ever played in the South was held here at what was eventually named Stoll Field. It was dedicated in 1916 at the Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt game and was named in honor of alumnus and long-term . . . — — Map (db m218238) 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
...an unusual name... for a remarkable place
The Big Sink Rural Historic District, the largest along Old Frankfort Pike and in the Lexington-Frankfort Scenic Corridor, echoes almost
all of the themes and eras depicted in the area's . . . — — Map (db m196514) HM
This was Man o' War.
Golden red, with white star on his forehead, he was tall, deep-chested and unforgettably proud in bearing. Bred and foaled in Kentucky, he was the “complete horse”, one for whom no excuses were necessary. His reputation . . . — — Map (db m202908) HM
People are still surprised to hear that Man o' War actually lost a race – to a colt appropriately named Upset. It happened on August 13, 1919, in the Sanford Memorial Stakes. But this was not a case of Big Red having finally met his match on the . . . — — Map (db m202918) 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
Man o' War's three-year-old season began late. Many in the racing world had expected to see him run in the Kentucky Derby, but his owner, Sam Riddle, kept him out of it. He felt that a long race like the Derby (1¼ miles) came too early in the season . . . — — Map (db m202914) HM
Man o' War raced ten times as a two-year-old. After his spectacular win in his first race at Belmont, his owner Sam Riddle entered him only in stakes races. It did not take the big red colt long to establish himself the best two-year-old around. . . . — — Map (db m202912) HM
Look west, to the rolling pasture on the other side of the road.
Beginning with this field, and extending south, west and north
well beyond your view - lays an extraordinary historic,
scenic and cultural American landscape:
the . . . — — Map (db m194504) HM
Man o' War's last public appearance in racing colors was on January 28, 1921. At that time, he was cantered past his fans at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington, Kentucky. His next home was the Hinata Stock Farm near Lexington where he began . . . — — Map (db m202931) HM
A University of Mississippi graduate, Dr. Clark received his M.A. degree from UK and a Ph.D. from Duke. A historian at UK from 1931 to 1968, he chaired the history department for 23 years. Dr. Clark helped establish both the UK Libraries’ Special . . . — — Map (db m136990) 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
Archaeological investigations were conducted here to learn more about Boone's station. The architecture was defensive in nature because of the threat of Indian attacks during the Revolutionary War. The station enclosed about half an acre, was home . . . — — Map (db m202803) 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
For more than 50 years, Warner L. Jones Jr. was on the board of Churchill Downs, which a great-great-great uncle, Col. M. Lewis Clark, founded in 1875. For 12 years, Jones was chairman. Thus, much of his career was involved in protecting and . . . — — Map (db m57736) HM
The name of the family company of the Wrights was Calumet Baking Powder and Warren Wright, Sr. would also make that name synonymous with Thoroughbred breeding and racing. In 1913 Wright took over operation of the Chicago company from his father and . . . — — Map (db m58286) HM
UK initiated radio broadcasting in 1929 in cooperation with WHAS radio in Louisville. Each weekday, live musical and educational programs were broadcast from the campus studios over WHAS. Later, WHAS and UK started radio "listening centers" in . . . — — Map (db m218243) HM
The foundation and framework of today's
international equine industry originated here.
This history began over 250 years ago, on an
unusual geologic and topographic stage.
The founding sires and dams of the
Thoroughbred and Standardbred horse . . . — — Map (db m194578) HM
The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky (A&M) was established in 1865 as part of the private Kentucky University. In 1878, A&M separated from Kentucky University (now Transylvania University) to become an independent public institution. . . . — — Map (db m136991) HM
A most unusual man became Man o' War's groom in the fall of 1930. He was Will Harbut. Man o' War was now stabled at Faraway Farm, Sam Riddle's newly built stud farm near Lexington, Kentucky. A unique relationship developed between horse and groom as . . . — — Map (db m202933) HM
To the general public, the identity of William S. Farish is likely created by his term as the United States Ambassador to England, his business association and friendships with both Presidents Bush, and his friendship with Queen Elizabeth II, who . . . — — Map (db m162080) HM
One of Lexington's most distinguished native citizens also emerged as one of America's top Thoroughbred breeders and owners. W. T. Young developed the stately Overbrook Farm, stocked it with high quality bloodstock and began breeding, racing, . . . — — Map (db m58329) HM
Aristocratic by birth and bearing, William Woodward, Sr. inherited the presidency of Hanover National Bank of New York and ownership of Belair Stud, a Maryland property predating the revolution. Woodward also has a lasting connection to Kentucky, . . . — — Map (db m58283) HM
Wing Commander
Famous Five-Gaited Saddle Horse. Won first championship as 3-year-old in Chicago International Show. Undefeated for 7 yrs., 1948-54. Won over 200 championships at state fairs in 9 years of competition. Defeated only twice in . . . — — Map (db m170044) HM
Woodburn, Idle Hour, and Calumet - each farm in this group is an iconic example
from a distinct era in the history of the pure-blooded horse farm.
Of the three, Woodburn is the oldest and the only establishment still owned and operated by the . . . — — Map (db m194570) HM
In 1865, the Ky. Legislature est.
the Agricultural & Mechanical
College of Kentucky University. The
school's regent, John Bowman,
bought the Ashland and Woodlands
farms for the A&M campus. Ashland
housed the mechanical campus, . . . — — Map (db m169732) HM
One of the least-known aspects of Henry Clay's legacy is the considerable influence he had on a young native Kentuckian, Abraham Lincoln. Although Lincoln is not known to have ever met his political idol, there can be little doubt of the impact . . . — — Map (db m169734) HM
From the time Henry Clay bought his first 125 acres in 1804 until long after his death in 1852, Ashland was an important and successful farm. It produced some of the finest livestock and crops in Kentucky and the nation. Ashland remained a center . . . — — Map (db m169736) HM
Ashland. Home of Henry Clay, born April 12, 1777, died June 29, 1852. Served as a state legislator, US rep. & senator, house speaker, secretary of state. He ran for president in 1824, 1832, & 1844. Also an attorney, he practiced law for more . . . — — Map (db m35845) HM
(Obverse)
While Confederate Armies were retreating from Kentucky after the Battle of Perryville, Colonel John Hunt Morgan operated behind the pursuing Union Army, with Colonel Basil W. Duke's Second Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, Colonel . . . — — Map (db m60962) HM
Garden Club of Lexington
The Garden Club of Lexington was founded in 1916 by twelve women who affiliated with the Garden Club of America in 1924. Its purpose is conservation, beautification, and education. In 1950, the Henry Clay Foundation . . . — — Map (db m169735) HM
Brought to "Ashland" and its pastures Hereford Cattle from England, in 1817, and added them to his herd of shorthorns. Here he pioneered thoroughbred horse breeding in the Blue Grass. To this farm he brought jack stock from Spain. Here he bred . . . — — Map (db m60864) HM
Madeline M. Breckinridge This descendant of Henry Clay and Ephraim McDowell was born 1872 in Franklin Co.; grew up at "Ashland," Clay's home; and married Desha Breckinridge, editor of Lexington Herald. Ill with tuberculosis, she promoted its . . . — — Map (db m35846) HM
Home of James B. Clay, son of Henry Clay. Designed by Major Thomas Lewinski, as an Italianate villa. Floor plan consisted of central hall with 4 rooms on each floor. Thomas Clay's home, Mansfield, on Richmond Rd, designed at same time. James Clay . . . — — Map (db m169740) HM
This foundation once supported a livestock gable end barn. It is
believed that this barn was built around an earlier structure, originally
a post and beam construction barn built by John Wilson in the mid to
late 1800s. The concrete foundation . . . — — Map (db m194585) HM
The structure across the stream is believed to be the foundation of the Cahill Dairy Farm creamery. The creamery,
built in the early 1900s, was located near this source of water for cleaning milk bottles and other utensils used in milk bottling and . . . — — Map (db m194583) HM
This large bur oak (Quercus
macrocarpa) is estimated to be more
than 250 years old, From the initial
claiming of this land by William
McConnell in the 1700s, to the
development of the Westbrook Stock
Farm in the late 1800s, to the rebirth
of . . . — — Map (db m194587) HM
The stream in this valley emerges
from a cave. It was part of 1,000-
acre Cave Spring Tract, on waters
of South Elkhorn Creek, owned by
Col. William Preston. The water is
connected underground with sinking
spring of Wm. McConnellI. . . . — — Map (db m170024) HM
The rock fences in the park were most likely built between
the 1830s and 1880s by Irish masons. The fences would
have been built to keep livestock contained as well as keep
undesirable animals such as predators out. The fences
were built of . . . — — Map (db m194586) HM
This quarry was most likely the primary source
of rock used to build the rock fences, building
foundations and dam in the park. The exposed rock
is limestone, the dominant bedrock of the Bluegrass.
The limestone was easily chipped out 'or . . . — — Map (db m194584) 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
Ashland Park. In 1904, descendants of Henry Clay hired famed landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and John Charles Olmsted, to design Ashland Park neighborhood on the 600-acre estate. Constructed over a 15-year period, development . . . — — Map (db m57505) HM
Mentelle Park
In 1790, James Masterson bought 100 acres here from Gen. James Wilkinson. The Mentelles bought some of this land and, in 1906, the 14-acre estate of Waldemarde Jr. was divided into 56 lots, creating Mentelle Park. Several . . . — — Map (db m169737) 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
The second State Mental Hospital built in the U.S. Established by legislative act of Dec. 4, 1822, which named commissioners to buy and operate it in Fayette County. They acquired The Fayette Hospital organized in 1816. "The Lunatic Asylum" opened . . . — — Map (db m35844) 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
First Episcopal church in Ky., founded in 1796. Present Gothic structure, completed in 1848, was built by John McMurtry. Thomas Lewinski, architect. The Rev. James Moore was first rector and first president of Transylvania Univ. The Diocese of Ky. . . . — — Map (db m134601) HM