The National Arborist Association and the International Society of Arboriculture jointly recognize this significant tree in this bicentennial year as having lived here at the time of the signing of our constitution. — — Map (db m152373) HM
Civil War Dead
An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. . . . — — Map (db m123526) HM
Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr. was the son of Capt. Richard Hancock, who established Ellerslie as the leading horse farm in Virginia late in the 19th Century. Arthur Sr. returned from the University of Chicago in 1895 to assist his father, and later, as . . . — — Map (db m58285) 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
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that . . . — — Map (db m138998) HM WM
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
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
Son of a sporting coachman, who went down on the Lusitania, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt took over his family's Sagamore Farm in Maryland after his 21st birthday in 1933. He soon purchased Discovery, which campaigned across the country for several years . . . — — Map (db m58313) HM
Long before he owned the international champion Cigar, Allen Paulson had established an American success story honored by the Horatio Alger Association and the Wright Brothers Trophy. Born in Clinton, Iowa, into a family that was to be bankrupted by . . . — — Map (db m58319) HM
George Washington's diary included references to attending horse racing and Thomas Jefferson was also an avid horseman. Their interest, however, could hardly match that of Andrew Jackson, who stabled some of his race horses on the White House . . . — — Map (db m58344) HM
Arthur B. Hancock, Jr. was given the nickname of "Bull" while in school. He was known as such thereafter, the name fitting his large physical frame and deep, commanding voice. Hancock inherited responsibility for Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, . . . — — Map (db m57720) HM
Man O War, the legendary race horse from the Golden Age of Sport, was bred in Kentucky by August Belmont II. For more than a quarter-century, Belmont was perhaps the most important figure in Thoroughbred racing, as chairman of the Jockey Club, a . . . — — Map (db m57640) HM
After Meadow Court wom the Irish Sweeps Derby of 1965, fans were treated to Bing Crosby's impromptu crooning of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." The famous singer and actor was part owner of the winning colt. Years before, Crosby had greeted the . . . — — Map (db m57709) 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
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney represented the third generation of the Whitney family's prominence in business, society, and racing. His mother was a granddaughter of shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. C. V. Whitney and a cousin, John . . . — — Map (db m58299) HM
Charles Lindbergh regarded Capt. Harry F. Guggenheim and Dr. Robert Goddard as the two most forward looking men in the early history of aerospace. Guggenheim financed much of Goddard's research and was himself a combat flyer in both world wars. . . . — — Map (db m58321) 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
Class Competitions On American campuses in the 1900s, freshman and sophomore classes had a variety of competitions. The University of Kentucky was no exception. An early rivalry was the annual flag rush in which one class would defend their flag . . . — — Map (db m202820) HM
Cleona Belle Matthews Boyd Cleona Belle Matthews, a native of Missouri, taught Greek and Latin at Park College Academy until she married Dean Paul P. Boyd in 1906 and they moved to Kentucky. The Boyds had two children, Virginia and Martha. . . . — — Map (db m218234) HM
The activities of Col. E. R. Bradley ranged from operating Palm Beach's Beach Club casino to staging charity race days for orphans. A product of a burgeoning nation in the 19th century, Bradley worked in steel mills in Pittsburgh as a youngster, . . . — — Map (db m58351) HM
Col. Phil T. Chinn's place in the history of Thoroughbred racing and breeding would be secure on the facts alone, for he bred, trained, raced, bought, and sold a number of important horses. It was as a character and raconteur, however, that Col. . . . — — Map (db m58320) HM
C.S.A
(The names of 160 Confederate soldiers that are buried in the Lexington Cemetery are listed on the four faces of the pedestal)
C.V.A. — — Map (db m167905) WM
Elmendorf Farms, one of the enduring symbols of the Bluegrass, on Paris Pike, was named by Daniel Swigert. He purchased the 544-acre core of the farm in 1881 for $150,000 from John Sanford, who had called the property Preakness Stud. Earlier, . . . — — Map (db m58282) 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
His name having wafted down through history as The Father of the Kentucky Turf, Dr. Elisha Warfield had the overriding distinction of having been the breeder of the stallion Lexington. Depicted elsewhere in this park, Lexington was a bellwether . . . — — Map (db m57742) HM
A Canadian whose breeding farms were in Ontario and Maryland, E. P. Taylor nevertheless had a profound influence on Kentucky. His patronage of the Keeneland select yearling sale was significant in its emergence as the elite among international . . . — — Map (db m57708) HM
The proprietress of the famed cosmetics house, Elizabeth Arden was born Florence Nightingale Graham near Toronto, Canada. At age twenty-four she moved to New York, later borrowed $6000 from her brother, and began her own firm. By 1945, the Elizabeth . . . — — Map (db m58291) 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
Isaac Shelby was inaugurated as lst governor of Kentucky, June 4, 1792, at building on West Main Street; built as a market house, 1791-92. After Kentucky's admission to Union, the structure was also used as a State House during the legislative . . . — — Map (db m68215) HM
Near this spot pioneers in 1780 established the starting point of the first race path in Kentucky, extending southward one quarter mile. — — Map (db m220782) HM
Frances Jewell McVey
Frances Jewell, a native Kentuckian, was a
graduate of Vassar College and Columbia
University. Beginning as an instructor in the
University of Kentucky English Department
from 1915-1921, Jewell served as Dean . . . — — Map (db m169879) HM
George D. Widened was a prototype sportsman from a distinguished Philadelphia family. Several years after his father was lost on the Titanic, Widener purchased Erdenheim, the Pennsylvania property which had been birthplace of Iroquois, first . . . — — Map (db m58288) HM
Among modern political figures involved in Thoroughbred racing have been national Treasury Secretaries George M. Humphrey, william Simon, and Nicholas Brady. Humphrey joined President Eisenhower's Cabinet in 1953, after a vigorous business career . . . — — Map (db m58287) HM
The first President of the United States was an avid horseman and outdoorsman, as befit his era, and he at times was a participant in horse racing. The cherished tale of his Magnolia running against a horse owned by Thomas Jefferson was refuted by . . . — — Map (db m58334) 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
Hal Price Headley embodied the image of the Bluegrass horseman. He was sophisticated in business, but always a man of agriculture, raising tobacco as well as Thoroughbreds. His lasting legacy to Lexington was his instrumental role in formation of . . . — — Map (db m58352) HM
The stamp affixed on Thoroughbred racing by William Collins Whitney and his son Harry Payne Whitney remains indelible. It was W. C. Whitney who poured funding into revitalization of Saratoga, the charming old Victorian race track still operating in . . . — — Map (db m58325) HM
Visitors familiar with Lexington's Ashland, the home of Henry Clay, know it as a graceful old house, with lovely gardens and grounds. In an earlier time, when Henry Clay built it to some 2,000 acres, Ashland was also the home of Thoroughbreds. Henry . . . — — Map (db m58346) HM
Henry Clay, born in Virginia in 1777, came to Lexington at the age of twenty and quickly established a successful law practice. In 1799 he married Lucretia Hart, daughter of one of this citys most prominent families.
He served six years in . . . — — Map (db m119135) HM
Herman L. Donovan
UK's Fourth President (1941-1956),
Donovan guided the University through
World War II and desegregation. He
focused much of his energy on post-war
planning for UK, which witnessed an
influx of returning service men . . . — — Map (db m169906) 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
The English Royal family has been instrumental in Thoroughbred racing through many successions, and no monarch has been more knowledgeable about the sport that Queen Elizabeth II. There was a Royal Stud farm in the time of Henry VIII, and with . . . — — Map (db m58316) 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
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
Thoroughbred racing for many years has been graced by the participation of distinguished ladies. The first lady to top the list of money-winning owners in a given year was Mrs. Isabel Dodge Sloane, whose Brookmeade Stable earned $251,138 in 1934. . . . — — Map (db m58281) HM
A Kentucky-born grandson of a Turkish Army officer, James Ben Ali Haggin was lured west by the Gold Rush. He and his partners eventually owned South Dakora's Homestake Mine---the richest gold vein in North America. Haggin's group also mined other . . . — — Map (db m58348) HM
Castleton Farm, a stately, stone-walled property on Lexington's Iron Works Pike, was purchased by Sen. John Brechinridge in 1790. A century later, it was bought by James R. Keene, a mercurial figure in American business and sport.
Born in . . . — — Map (db m57784) 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
Known for carrying a rolled-up program in his hand during games, Joe B. Hall had the unenviable task of following UK legend Adolph Rupp, but he filled the role nicely.
During his 13-year tenure as head coach of the Cats, Hall led UK to the 1978 . . . — — Map (db m169878) HM
Yellow was the color and name of his taxicab company, and yellow and black were his stable colors. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Hertz' most famous Thoroughbred was Count Fleet, which won the triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes) in 1943. . . . — — Map (db m58284) HM
John E. Madden named Hamburg Place, outside Lexington, for Hamburg, one of his many champion race horses. He proceeded to breed five Kentucky derby winners on the farm: Old Rosebud, Sir Barton, Paul Jones, Zev and Flying Ebony. Sir Barton also won . . . — — Map (db m58349) HM
British Prime Minister Harold McMillan proclaimed John Hay (Jock) Whitney "the best Ambassador the United States ever had here." Whitney was named to the post in 1954 by President Eisenhower, a golfing and hunting crony. Whitney was named for his . . . — — Map (db m58350) HM
Adjacent to this park is the building of the Lexington Herald-Leader, one of the large Knight-Ridder chain of newspapers. Both Messrs. Knight and Ridder were longtime owners and breeders of racehorses. John S. Knight started with the Akron Beacon . . . — — Map (db m58333) HM
The far-reaching enterprises of John W. Galbreath were sometimes reflected in the names of his horses. Epsom Derby winner Roberto was named for the great baseball player Roberto Clemente, whose team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, was then owned by . . . — — Map (db m58327) 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
1814 Federal-style home, named Hopemont, retains original architectural features, including a cantilevered staircase & fanlight window. Saved from demolition by the Blue Grass Trust in 1955. Built by John Wesley Hunt (1773-1849), a . . . — — Map (db m59107) HM
This Transylvania honor graduate, who later taught there, won an international audience with his nostalgic stories and novels of Bluegrass region. Allen was born near Lexington. By 1893, after his work became popular, he moved to New York City. He . . . — — Map (db m59083) HM
This building was one of two dependencies for Transylvania University's elaborate, three-storied 1816 structure designed by Lexington architect Matthew Kennedy. Main building burned in 1829. Nine-bayed, it had center pavilion of 5 bays surmounted by . . . — — Map (db m59101) HM
Built for Senator John and Eliza Pope. Designed by B. H. Latrobe (1764-1820), father of American architectural profession and designer to Thomas Jefferson. The Pope Villa has hidden first-story services, with rotunda and major rooms on second story. . . . — — Map (db m169870) HM
Mary Desha, one of four founders
of the Daughters of the American
Revolution in 1890, taught public
school here, 1875-85. Designer of
society's seal. Taught in Alaska
schools, returned to Washington,
successfully advocated . . . — — Map (db m169869) HM
Keeneland Hall was named after the
Keeneland Foundation. Designed by
architects Frankel and Curtis of
Lexington, Keeneland Hall was a
modified Georgian structure. It had
four stories, a basement, and pairs of
double rooms with . . . — — Map (db m169896) HM
Built in 1784 for Adam Rankin, minister of Lexington's pioneer Presbyterian Church. Samuel D. McCullough, born here in 1803, was a teacher, astronomer, antiquarian and maker of world-famous Burrowes mustard. In 1971, the Blue Grass Trust for . . . — — Map (db m169860) HM
