Kentucky was one of the border states during the American Civil War. Harrod's Town (Oldtown as it was known at the time) was named the county seat. 25,527): Augusta, Maine (pop. Governor Augustus E. Willson declared martial law and deployed the Kentucky National Guard to end the wars. Today, less than 9% of the state's total population is African-American. Seven meet high U.S. News standards and are ranked in the state. [citation needed], The state's African-American population is highly urbanized and 52% of them live in the Louisville metropolitan area; 44.2% of them reside in Jefferson County. [118] After a vowel, the /r/ may be weak or missing. Republican Allison Ball is the current Treasurer. Author Thomas Merton lived most of his life and wrote most of his books – including The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), ranked on National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century – during his time as a monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Kentucky. Based on the evidence in other regions, humans were likely living in Kentucky prior to 10,000 BCE, but "archaeological evidence of their occupation has yet to be documented". These Kentucky cities are the cream of the crop for retirees. The state rarely experiences the extreme cold of far northern states, nor the high heat of the states in the Deep South. View University of Kentucky rankings for 2021 and see where it ranks among top colleges in the U.S. Kentucky State University is a public institution that was founded in 1886. For several months, J. C. W. Beckham, Goebel's running mate, and Taylor fought over who was the legal governor until the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in May in favor of Beckham. Also, western Kentucky is known for its own regional style of barbecue. Kentucky has played a major role in Southern and American literature, producing works that often celebrate the working class, rural life, nature, and explore issues of class, extractive economy, and family. In the 2005 case of McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that a display of the Ten Commandments in the Whitley City courthouse of McCreary County was unconstitutional. Since that time, the "Welcome to Kentucky" signs at border areas have an "Unbridled Spirit" symbol on them. The northern parts tend to be about five degrees cooler than those in the western parts of the state. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Ashland, South Portsmouth, Maysville and Fulton. Today UK is a major public university with around 30,000 … In Kentucky, lung cancer accounts for 28% of all new cases occurring annually and well over one third (36%) of all cancer deaths annually. Days per year below the freezing point vary from about sixty days in the southwest to more than a hundred days in the far-north and far-east.[25]. Road tunnels include the interstate Cumberland Gap Tunnel and the rural Nada Tunnel. [86] Additionally, in 1948, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Kentucky State Police, making it the 38th state to create a force whose jurisdiction extends throughout the given state. So government decided to create a different slogan to embrace Kentucky as a whole while also encouraging more people to visit the Bluegrass.[146]. [citation needed]. [59] (This occurred two weeks before Congress approved Vermont's petition for statehood. John C. Breckinridge, the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President was born in Lexington, Kentucky at Cabell's Dale Farm. In about the 10th century, the Kentucky native people's variety of corn became highly productive, supplanting the Eastern Agricultural Complex, and replaced it with a maize-based agriculture in the Mississippian era. This area was originally settled in 1797 and the city of Owensboro was founded in 1817. The term has no particular significance in its meaning and was chosen to emphasize the distinction from the status of royal colonies as a place governed for the general welfare of the populace. In the 2000 census, some 20,000 people in the state identified as Native American (0.49%). In the last year, 783,586 Kentuckians reported income below the poverty level. "EARLY INDIAN MIGRATION IN OHIO". Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Average temperatures for the entire Commonwealth range from the low 30s in January to the high 70s in mid-July. Reflecting late 19th, 20th and 21st-century immigration from different countries, Louisville also has Jewish, Muslim,[121] and Hindu communities. Kentucky's body of laws, known as the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), were enacted in 1942 to better organize and clarify the whole of Kentucky law. The terminal is just across the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass", was born in the small Ohio County town of Rosine, while Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, David "Stringbean" Akeman, Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones, Sonny and Bobby Osborne, and Sam Bush (who has been compared to Monroe) all hail from Kentucky. Republican Ryan Quarles is the current Commissioner of Agriculture. In January the mean maximum temperatures range from 36 to 44 °F (2 to 7 °C); the mean minimum temperatures range from 19 to 26 °F (−7 to −3 °C). Metropolitan statistical areas. The Christian creationist apologetics group, Answers in Genesis, along with its Creation Museum, is headquartered in Petersburg, Kentucky. The Black Patch Tobacco Wars, a vigilante action, occurred in Western Kentucky in the early 20th century. [citation needed], In 2000 96.1% of all residents five years old and older spoke only English at home, a decrease from 97.5% in 1990. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,029, its setting is city, and the campus size is 916 acres. West Virginia lies to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois to the northwest, and Indiana and Ohio to the north. Data is shown both for overall (land plus water) size and land area. Coal was by far the most common cargo, accounting for 76% of cargo loaded and 61% of cargo delivered. Somerset in the south-central part receives ten more inches of rain per year than, for instance, Covington to the north. Kentucky maintains eight public four-year universities. However, in 1908 Kentucky enacted the Day Law, "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School", which Berea College unsuccessfully challenged at the US Supreme Court in 1908; in 1948, Lyman T. Johnson filed suit for admission to the University of Kentucky; as a result in the summer of 1949, nearly thirty African American students entered UK graduate and professional programs. Top Answer. In the federal judiciary, Kentucky is served by two United States district courts: the Eastern District of Kentucky, with its primary seat in Lexington, and the Western District of Kentucky, with its primary seat in Louisville. Its in-state tuition and fees are $10,802; out-of-state tuition and fees are $26,496. Together they comprise more than 20% of the commonwealth's population. Goebel was contesting the Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899, which William S. Taylor was initially believed to have won. Asked by Wiki User. Under the current Kentucky Constitution, the lieutenant governor assumes the duties of the governor only if the governor is incapacitated. ", "Population and Population Centers by State: 2000", "Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States", "Population estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015)", "Ancestry of the Population by State: 1980 – Table 3", Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America, Vincent Schilling, "A Canoe Voyage to Increase Cultural Understanding", "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report", "Kentucky | Trade and Industry Development", "Year in Kentucky business saw Toyota expand, bourbon boom, coal decline", "Utah Geological Survey – U.S. Coal Production by State, 1994–2009", Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey Sales Up in US; Exports Top $1B, "Best Driving Vacations: Kentucky Bourbon Trail", "Ky. one of fastest-growing states in exporting products | Op-Ed", "Maker of hair care products to expand in Kentucky", "Human resource center opens at Fort Knox", "Table 3. GenealogyTrails.com. Once nearly extinct here, wild turkeys thrive throughout today's Kentucky. [196], Hodgenville, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, hosts the annual Lincoln Days Celebration, and also hosted the kick-off for the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in February 2008. During a period known as the Beaver Wars, 1640–1680, another Algonquian tribe called the Maumee, or Mascouten was chased out of southern Michigan. The annual average temperature varies from 55 to 60 °F (13 to 16 °C): of 55 °F (13 °C) in the far north as an average annual temperature and of 60 °F (16 °C) in the extreme southwest. UK is the flagship and land grant of the system and has agriculture extension services in every county. The county's population is 20% African American. If you're worried Kentucky is too far from your family, be sure to show them that half the cities on this list are also among the best places to raise a family in the state. [89] Irregularities with the execution led to this becoming the last public execution in the United States. Kentucky is 22nd out of 51 other states in Residents younger than 5 The R&B group Midnight Star and Hip-Hop group Nappy Roots were both formed in Kentucky, as were country acts The Kentucky Headhunters, Montgomery Gentry and Halfway to Hazard, The Judds, as well as Dove Award-winning Christian groups Audio Adrenaline (rock) and Bride (metal). [87], Kentucky is one of the 32 states in the United States that sanctions the death penalty for certain murders defined as heinous. For instance, northbound travelers on U.S. 41 from Henderson, after crossing the Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about two miles (3.2 km). [181] As of the 1980s the only counties in the United States where more than half the population cited "English" as their only ancestry group were all in the hills of eastern Kentucky (and made up virtually every county in this region). Located in the eastern south-central US, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the smallest of the eight south-central states and ranks 37th in size among the 50 states. [203] The Clarkson Honeyfest is held the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in September, and is the "Official State Honey Festival of Kentucky". Some types of intangible property included: bonds, notes, retail repurchase agreements, accounts receivable, trusts, enforceable contracts sale of real estate (land contracts), money in hand, money in safe deposit boxes, annuities, interests in estates, loans to stockholders, and commercial paper. Contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman is a Paducah native, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Everly Brothers are closely connected with Muhlenberg County, where older brother Don was born. Alaska has the largest land area in the United States followed by Texas and California. Once the primary source of state and local government revenue, property taxes now account for only about 6% of the Kentucky's annual General Fund revenues.[143]. Louisville is also the home of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, an institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). [64] Although frequently described as never having seceded, representatives from 68 of 110 counties met at Russellville calling themselves the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an Ordinance of Secession on November 20, 1861. [206] Blues legend W. C. Handy and R&B singer Wilson Pickett also spent considerable time in Kentucky. In 2014 Louisville City FC, a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the United Soccer League, was announced. This is especially true of the state's three Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, including the Kentucky Wildcats, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and the Louisville Cardinals. [182][183][184], Kentucky adopted the Jim Crow system of racial segregation in most public spheres after the Civil War. One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before the Confederation Congress in early July 1788. [57] The vast majority of them moved to Kentucky, pushing the Kispoko east and war broke out with the Tutelo that pushed them deeper into Appalachia, where they merged with the Saponi and Moneton. Around 900 CE, a Mississippian culture took root in western and central Kentucky; by contrast, a Fort Ancient culture appeared in eastern Kentucky. Compare test scores and view school rankings for Kentucky schools at SchoolDigger.com schooldigger.com Between 2017 and 2018 the population of Kentucky grew from 4.45M to 4.47M, a 0.319% increase and its median household income grew from $48,375 to $50,247, a 3.87% increase. The line originates in Cincinnati and terminates 338 miles south in Chattanooga, Tennessee. [22] The highest recorded temperature was 114 °F (46 °C) at Greensburg on July 28, 1930, while the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F (−38 °C) at Shelbyville on January 19, 1994. In the winter of 1997, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began to re-stock elk in the state's eastern counties, which had been extinct from the area for over 150 years. The Senate is considered the upper house. Debit cards, online banking, and mobile banking are all must-haves in today’s busy society. [88] Only three people have been executed in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court re-instituted the practice in 1976. Since 2000, over one-third of the state's population growth has occurred in the Louisville CSA. Much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. [191] The fourth-largest city, Owensboro, gives credence to its nickname of "Barbecue Capital of the World" by hosting the annual International Bar-B-Q Festival. This page was last edited on 14 May 2021, at 21:15. Jan. 2, 2021: Kentucky reported … So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 78 places in Kentucky that have more than 5,000 people. [213] Louisville has also stepped onto the football scene in recent years, including winning the 2007 Orange Bowl as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and also producing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. It embraces the Bluegrass country on its inner side, and it is bounded by the Mountain area on the east and the Pennyrile on the west. Much of the interior of the state was controlled by the Algonquian Cisca;[56] the confluence region of the Mississippi and Ohio was home to the Chickasaw. Despite ranking 37th in size by area, Kentucky has 120 counties; depending on definitions, this is either third or fourth among U.S. states. Louisville was a major port for steamships in the nineteenth century. 18,560), Pierre, South Dakota (pop. [20] Temperatures in Kentucky usually range from daytime summer highs of 87 °F (31 °C) to the winter low of 23 °F (−5 °C). Area is a great place to live. Merle Travis, Country & Western artist known for both his signature "Travis picking" guitar playing style, as well as his hit song "Sixteen Tons", was also born in Muhlenberg County. The following tables list population figures for the metropolitan statistical areas of Kentucky, in rank of population. Real property is assessed on 100% of the fair market value and property taxes are due by December 31. [138], Tax is collected by the Kentucky Department of Revenue. While the two had many similarities, the distinctive ceremonial earthwork mounds constructed in the former's centers were not part of the culture of the latter. Temperature means vary with northern and far-eastern mountain regions averaging five degrees cooler year-round, compared to the relatively warmer areas of the southern and western regions of the state. [90], Kentucky has been on the front lines of the debate over displaying the Ten Commandments on public property. In 1774 James Harrod founded the first permanent European settlement in Kentucky at the site of present-day Harrodsburg. Unless they have completed a police academy elsewhere, these officers are required to complete Police Officer Professional Standards (POPS) training at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training Center on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. By land area, Kentucky ranks 36th, with 39,728.18 square miles. Kentucky has been part of two of the most successful wildlife reintroduction projects in United States history. As of 2010[update], the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)[120] reported the following groupings of Kentucky's 4,339,367 residents: Kentucky is home to several seminaries. Kentucky's northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River; however, the official border is based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792. [212], As in many states, especially those without major league professional sports teams, college athletics are prominent. The House of Representatives has 100 members, and is led by the Speaker of the House, currently David Osborne of the Republican Party. Current & Past Addresses 50 Gray Hawk Dr Shelbyville, KY 40065 (Current Address) 2410 Gordon Rd High Point, NC 27265 (Jan 2018 - Feb 2019) 862 Marcum Ln Louisville, KY 40202 (Nov 2012) 862 Markham Ln Louisville, KY 40207 (Sep 2006) 3501 Illinois Ave #B1 Louisville, KY 40213 (Sep 2006) More . For the river, see, Map of the United States with Kentucky highlighted, CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (. Households with a computer, percent, 2015-2019. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky have a combined population of 2,402,958 as of 2018[update], which is 54% of the state's total population on only about 19% of the state's land. Some also theorize that the name Kentucky may be a corruption of the word Catawba, in reference to the Catawba people who inhabited Kentucky. During the 19th century, Kentucky slaveholders began to sell unneeded slaves to the Deep South, with Louisville becoming a major slave market and departure port for slaves being transported downriver. [116], The Ridgetop Shawnee organized in the early 21st century as a non-profit to gain structure for their community and increase awareness of Native Americans in Kentucky. Ranking all 50 states by size in square miles including overall area, land area, and water area. Waterworks Road is part of the only land border between Indiana and Kentucky.[17]. [128], Kentucky produces 95% of the world's supply of bourbon whiskey, and the number of barrels of bourbon being aged in Kentucky (more than 5.7 million) exceeds the state's population. The state's sixteen public two-year colleges have been governed by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System since the passage of the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997, commonly referred to as House Bill 1. Goebel is the only governor of a U.S. state to have been assassinated while in office.[70]. More than 21,000 of those people (as of 2010[update]) reside within the city limits of Ashland. Kentucky's primary airports include Louisville International Airport (Standiford Field (SDF)) of Louisville, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) of Cincinnati/Covington, and Blue Grass Airport (LEX) in Lexington. Rank in area: 37 Population: 3754715 Rank in pop. [108] In 1980, before the status of ethnic American was an available option on the official census, the largest claimed ancestries in the commonwealth were English (49.6%), Irish (26.3%), and German (24.2%). Housing units, July 1, 2019, (V2019) 2,006,358: Owner-occupied housing unit rate, 2015-2019: 67.2%: Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2015-2019 [177], The West Virginia teachers' strike in 2018 inspired teachers in other states, including Kentucky, to take similar action. [43], Kentucky's 90,000 miles (140,000 km) of streams provides one of the most expansive and complex stream systems in the nation.[44]. [170][not specific enough to verify]. Data distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the Ohio Valley area–including Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio–continues to suffer from the highest drug overdose death rates in the nation. Those convicted of capital crimes after March 31, 1998 are always executed by lethal injection; those convicted on or before this date may opt for the electric chair. Kentucky's two U.S. Kentucky is 8th out of 51 other states in Race - White, not Hispanic or Latino. Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a continuous border of rivers running along three of its sides – the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Big Sandy River and Tug Fork to the east. Kentucky is one of the most pro-life states in the United States. Post rock band Slint also hails from Louisville. Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2015-2019. [171] Before the passage of House Bill 1, most of these colleges were under the control of the University of Kentucky. Shows the list of US states by size. Lexington has one seminary, Lexington Theological Seminary (affiliated with the Disciples of Christ). "Heroes: Kentucky's Artists from Statehood to the New Millennium" (2004). [127][129] Bourbon has been a growing market – with production of Kentucky bourbon rising 170 percent between 1999 and 2015. Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Plateau in the east, which contains much of the historic coal mines; the north-central Bluegrass region, where the major cities and the capital are located; the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau (also known as the Pennyrile or Mississippi Plateau); the Western Coal Fields; and the far-west Jackson Purchase. Only three U.S. states have capitals with smaller populations than Kentucky's Frankfort (pop. The people of Paducah can thank their community's modern-day criminals for that. [65] They established a Confederate government of Kentucky with its capital in Bowling Green.[66]. The riders terrorized farmers who sold their tobacco at the low prices demanded by the tobacco corporations. In addition, the top 28 wealthiest places in Kentucky are in Jefferson County and seven of the 15 wealthiest counties in the state are located in the Louisville CSA. [131], According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and new investment in the state, new business investment in Kentucky in 2012 totaled nearly $2.7 billion, with the creation of more than 14,000 new jobs. Kentucky's cuisine is generally similar to traditional southern cooking, although in some areas of the state it can blend elements of both the South and Midwest. Kentucky is one of only five states that elect their state officials in odd-numbered years (the others being Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia). Kentucky Area and Population Density. The Derby Festival features many events, including Thunder Over Louisville, the Pegasus Parade, the Great Steamboat Race, Fest-a-Ville, the Chow Wagon, BalloonFest, BourbonVille, and many others leading up to the big race. Major works from the state include Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, widely seen as one of the impetuses for the American Civil War; The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1908) by John Fox Jr., which was the first novel to sell a million copies in the United States; All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946), rated as the 36th best English-language novel of the 20th century; The Dollmaker (1954) by Harriette Arnow; Night Comes to the Cumberlands (1962) by Harry Caudill, which contributed to initiating the U.S. Government's War on poverty, and others. The distinction of being named a Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. [7] It is home to the world's longest cave system: Mammoth Cave National Park, as well as the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River.