Kentucky Historical Society

Agency of Kentucky government

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The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is an agency of the Kentucky state government that records and preserves important historical documents, buildings, and artifacts of Kentucky's past.[1] It was originally established in 1836 as a private organization. The KHS history campus, located in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky, includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol, and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the State Arsenal. KHS is a part of the Kentucky Tourism-Arts and Heritage Cabinet, is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian affiliate, and endorses the History Relevance statement.[2] The mission of the KHS is to educate and engage the public through Kentucky's history in order to confront the challenges of the future. The KHS allows the public access to their resources through the online Library catalog along with the in-person Library.[3]

The facade of the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History

## Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History

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The Kentucky Hall of Governors in the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History Kentucky's Old State Capitol Building

The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History,[4] also referred to as the Kentucky Historical Society,[5] is the headquarters for the KHS. A multimillion-dollar museum and research facility, the center features both permanent and temporary exhibitions, a research library, and a gift shop.

The center contains an exhibition called "A Kentucky Journey"[6] that covers the period from prehistoric times to the present. The center also contains the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library.[1] The Library is a genealogical and historical research library, researchers can access books, manuscripts, graphic collections, and oral histories documenting the people and places of Kentucky's rich past. Families and historians can trace back genealogies and consult with professional staff. Along with that, it also contains the Keeneland Changing Exhibits Gallery for various temporary exhibitions – some examples of which include "Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln" and "Made to be Played: Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers." Within the center there is a gift shop, the gift shop is called the Stewart Home & School 1792 Museum Store.

## Old State Capitol

[edit]

The Old State Capitol & Public Grounds, a National Historic Landmark, served as Kentucky's capital from 1830 to 1910 and was the setting for lively political debates as lawmakers grappled with such issues of the day as slavery and war.[7] Today it is restored to the way it looked in the early 1850s and contains pieces original to that time. A young Gideon Shryock, the state's first native-born professionally trained architect, designed this Greek Revival building. It is the third one to have served as Kentucky's seat of government.

The Old State Capitol was not the only place to have held the KHS. The Society began in 1836 by some of Kentucky's prominent young men. The men received funding from the General Assembly to begin the society and lead it into the future.[1] The society met from 1836 until 1889, but after that time, the society did not meet for seven years. With the revival of the society in 1896, it brought their new location at the Old State Capitol. That location was only the site of the KHS for a few years as it became clear to the Society that their collections were too large for that space. With the need for more space that the Old State Capitol could not provide, the new construction of the Kentucky Historical Center opened to the public in 1999. Today the Old State Capitol is still a part of the KHS but is displayed as a museum of past government debates.

Kentucky Military History Museum. Previously the Kentucky State Arsenal

## Kentucky Military History Museum

[edit]

Built in 1850, the State Arsenal contains the Kentucky Military History Museum,[8] which illustrates military history using personal stories and artifacts; the first location of the State Arsenal[9] burnt down in 1836. It is a fortress-like building that overlooks downtown Frankfort. The Arsenal was converted into a museum in 1974 after contributing much to the Civil War and the National Guard.[10] The State Arsenal has been recently renovated. The museum is also a member of the Army Museum System.[11]

## Martin F. Schmidt Research Library

[edit]

Located on the second floor of the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library holds the largest genealogical collection in the state. This research facility features more than 16,000 rolls of microfilm, 90,000 books and periodicals, and 30,000 vertical files focused primarily on Kentucky history and genealogy. The Society's Archival Collections of 1,900 cubic feet of manuscripts, 2,000 maps, 8,000 oral histories, 200,000 historic photographs, and 9,100 rare books provide resources to researchers of the Commonwealth. The Library is available to the public online through the KHS digital search website and there is also in-person access to the documents and articles that the society contains.[3] The Register is a part of this catalog and this digital version makes it and all of the other resources that the Library contains, very accessible.

## The Register

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The Register is a scholarly journal published by the KHS. It was first published in 1903 and has been continuously posted since then. The articles contain documents and information about Kentucky's history.[12] It is relevant to the history of Kentucky but also includes major global events. Jennie Chinn Molton founded the Register and became the Register’s first editor. Since then, many people have been able to edit the Register; today's editors include Karida Brown, Anya Jabour, Joseph Pearson, and Fay Yarbrough. All of the articles are available to the public. The Register includes the work of leading scholars in the Commonwealth while also being widely accessible to general readers. Articles of The Register are available through scholarly publishers Project Muse[13] and JSTOR.[14]

## Other information

[edit]

Members of the public can purchase memberships to the Kentucky Historical Society. The memberships purchased support the efforts of the KHS and give members the benefit of free admission to the history campus and reduced admission prices to KHS events and programs. The KHS is administered by an executive committee and supported by the KHS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization (nonprofit).[15] There are also options to visit the society in a guided group tour, self-guided touring, or virtual touring. Prices range from $5 to $75 depending on the type of tour chosen.[1] The KHS is home to the major digital humanities project, the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition (CWGK).[16] Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the CWGK is a "freely-accessible online collection of historical documents associated with the chief executives of the state, 1860–1865" that seeks to reconstruct "the lost lives and voices of tens of thousands of Kentuckians who interacted with the office of the governor during the war years" through some 40,000 related documents.[16] After an early access version was published, the work of the CWGK was celebrated in a June 2017 symposium that featured a keynote by renowned historian and digital humanist Edward L. Ayers.[17] Later that same year, in August 2017, the CWGK's annotation tech was featured at the international Digital Humanities 2017 conference in Montreal, Canada.[18]

The KHS has a variety of facilities available for rent, including the Commonwealth Hall, conference rooms, and the Cralle-Day Garden. There are seven different places in total that the Society provides for renting. The places could be rented for small or large occasions.

## See also

[edit]

* List of historical societies in Kentucky

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Kentucky Historical Society".
2. ^ Google Arts & Culture
3. ^ a b "Kentucky Historical Society Digital Search".
4. ^ "Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History | KHS". Kentucky Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
5. ^ "Kentucky Historical Society - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
6. ^ "Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History | KHS".
7. ^ "Historic Properties". historicproperties.ky.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
8. ^ "Kentucky Military History Museum". www.history.ky.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
9. ^ Talbott, Tim. "State Arsenal". ExploreKYHistory. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
10. ^ "Kentucky State Arsenal (Kentucky Military History Museum)".
11. ^ U.S. Army Center of Military History
12. ^ "The Register".
13. ^ Project MUSE journal 524
14. ^ "Kentucky Historical Society on JSTOR". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
15. ^ The History List
16. ^ a b Civil War Governors of Kentucky
17. ^ 2017 Civil War Governors of Kentucky symposium, Civil War Governors of Kentucky
18. ^ Editor's Choice: Network Visualization in the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, Digital Humanities Now.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
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* e

United States Army history museums

Organization and history|

* National Guard Memorial Museum (Washington, DC)
* National Museum of the United States Army

Branches (official)|

* U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection
* U.S. Army Aviation Museum
* U.S. Cavalry Museum
* U.S. Army Chaplain Museum
* Harbor Defense Museum
* National Infantry Museum
* U.S. Army Intelligence Museum
* U.S. Army Medical Department Museum
* Army Medical Museum and Library (succeeded by the National Museum of Health and Medicine)
* U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center
* U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum
* U.S. Army Transportation Museum
* U.S. Army Women's Museum

Post and unit museums|

* 1st Infantry Division Museum
* 82nd Airborne Division Museum
* Pratt Museum (101st Airborne Division)
* Fort George G. Meade Museum
* Fort Huachuca Museum
* Fort Lewis Military Museum
* General George Patton Museum (Fort Knox, KY)
* Watervliet Arsenal Museum
* West Point Museum
* Rock Island Arsenal Museum

State and private museums
(affiliated with the
Army Museum System)|

* Airborne & Special Operations Museum
* California State Military Museum
* Iowa Gold Star Military Museum
* Jackson Barracks Military Museum
* Kentucky Military History Museum
* Mississippi Armed Forces Museum
* National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey
* Oregon Military Museum
* Washington National Guard Museum

State and private
(not affiliated with the
Army Museum System)|

* African American Military History Museum
* Fort MacArthur Museum
* General George S. Patton Memorial Museum
* Wisconsin Veterans Museum

Regional history|

* U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii

Other|

* Army Art Program
* Army Heritage Center Foundation
* U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
* U.S. Army Center of Military History
* Military history of the United States
* Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum

* v
* t
* e

Historical societies of the U.S. states

Northeast|

| New England|

* Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
* Maine Historical Society
* Massachusetts Historical Society
* New Hampshire Historical Society
* Rhode Island Historical Society
* Vermont Historical Society

|

Mid-Atlantic|

* Delaware Historical Society
* Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
* Maryland Historical Society
* New Jersey Historical Society
* New York Historical
* Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Midwest|

| East North Central|

* Illinois State Historical Society
* Indiana Historical Society
* Historical Society of Michigan
* Ohio History Connection
* Wisconsin Historical Society

|

West North Central|

* State Historical Society of Iowa
* Kansas Historical Society
* Minnesota Historical Society
* State Historical Society of Missouri
* Missouri Historical Society
* Nebraska State Historical Society
* State Historical Society of North Dakota
* South Dakota State Historical Society

South|

| South Atlantic|

* Florida Historical Society
* Georgia Historical Society
* North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
* South Carolina Historical Society
* Virginia Historical Society
* West Virginia Division of Culture and History

|

East South Central|

* Alabama Historical Commission
* Kentucky Historical Society
* Mississippi Historical Society
* Tennessee Historical Commission

West South Central|

* Arkansas Historical Association
* Louisiana Historical Society
* Oklahoma Historical Society
* Texas State Historical Association

West|

| Mountain|

* Arizona Historical Society
* History Colorado
* Idaho State Historical Society
* Montana Historical Society
* Nevada Historical Society
* Historical Society of New Mexico
* Utah State Historical Society
* Wyoming State Historical Society

|

Pacific|

* Alaska Historical Society
* California Historical Society
* Hawaiian Historical Society
* Oregon Historical Society
* Washington State Historical Society

* v
* t
* e

U.S. state history museums

Northeast|

| New England|

* Museum of Connecticut History (Hartford)
* Maine State Museum (Augusta)
* Maine Historical Society Museum (Portland)
* Commonwealth Museum (Boston)
* Vermont History Museum (Montpelier)

|

Mid-Atlantic|

* Delaware History Museum (Wilmington)
* City Museum of Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C.)
* New Jersey State Museum (Trenton)
* New York State Museum (Albany)
* State Museum of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)

Midwest|

| East North Central|

* Illinois State Museum (Springfield)
* Indiana State Museum (Indianapolis)
* Michigan History Museum (Lansing)
* Ohio History Center (Columbus)
* Wisconsin Historical Museum (Madison)

|

West North Central|

* State Historical Museum of Iowa (Des Moines)
* Kansas Museum of History (Topeka)
* Minnesota History Center (Saint Paul)
* Missouri State Museum (Jefferson City)
* Missouri History Museum (St. Louis)
* Museum of Nebraska History (Lincoln)
* North Dakota Heritage Center (Bismarck)

South|

| South Atlantic|

* Museum of Florida History (Tallahassee)
* Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Virginia)
* North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh)
* South Carolina State Museum (Columbia)

|

East South Central|

* Alabama Department of Archives and History (Montgomery)
* Kentucky Museum (Bowling Green)
* Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History (Frankfort)
* Museum of Mississippi History (Jackson)
* Tennessee State Museum (Nashville)

West South Central|

* Historic Arkansas Museum (Little Rock)
* Louisiana State Museum (New Orleans)
* Louisiana History Museum (Alexandria)
* Oklahoma History Center (Oklahoma City)
* Bullock Texas State History Museum (Austin)

West|

| Mountain|

* Arizona State Museum (Tucson)
* History Colorado Center (Denver)
* Idaho History Center (Boise)
* Montana Historical Society Museum (Helena)
* Nevada State Museum (Las Vegas)
* Nevada State Museum (Carson City)
* New Mexico History Museum (Santa Fe)
* Wyoming State Museum (Cheyenne)

|

Pacific|

* Alaska State Museum (Juneau)
* The California Museum (Sacramento)
* Oregon Historical Society Museum (Portland)
* Washington State History Museum (Tacoma)

* v
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Historical societies for the southern United States

South Atlantic|

| Florida|

| Orlando|

* Historical Society of Central Florida
* Orange County Regional History Center

|

Others|

* Clearwater Historical Society
* Florida Historical Society
* Friends of Seagate Inc.
* Jacksonville Historical Society
* Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation
* Taylor County Historical Society

Georgia|

| Atlanta|

* American Baptist Historical Society
* Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
* International Time Capsule Society

|

Others|

* Historic Chattahoochee Commission
* Georgia Historical Society
* Georgia Salzburger Society
* Roswell Historical Society
* Southern Historical Association

North Carolina|

| Durham|

* Forest History Society
* Labor and Working-Class History Association

|

Others|

* Conference on Latin American History
* Hickory Sabre Society
* Society of North Carolina Archivists

South Carolina|

| Charleston|

* Historic Charleston Foundation
* Preservation Society of Charleston
* South Carolina Historical Society

|

Others|

* Beech Island Historical Society
* Sea Research Society

Virginia|

| Lexington|

* Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
* Society for Military History

|

Richmond|

* American Association for the History of Medicine
* Historic Richmond Foundation
* Preservation Virginia
* Virginia Department of Historic Resources
* Virginia Historical Society

Others|

* Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
* Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
* Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
* Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
* United States Marine Corps History Division

East South Central|

| Alabama|

* Alabama Historical Commission
* Historic Chattahoochee Commission

|

Kentucky|

* The Filson Historical Society
* Kentucky Historical Society
* Southern Association for Women Historians

Mississippi|

| Jackson|

* Mississippi Department of Archives and History
* Mississippi Heritage Trust
* Mississippi Historical Society

|

Tennessee|

* American Association for State and Local History
* East Tennessee Historical Society
* Oral History Association
* Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
* Tennessee Historical Society
* West Tennessee Historical Society

West South Central|

| Arkansas|

* Arkansas Historical Association
* Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
* Sequoyah Research Center

|

Louisiana|

* Louisiana Historical Association
* National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
* North Louisiana Historical Association

Oklahoma|

* American Journalism Historians Association
* Cherokee Heritage Center
* Oklahoma Historical Society
* Pushmataha County Historical Society

Texas|

| Austin|

* Texas Historical Commission
* Texas Jewish Historical Society
* Texas State Historical Association

|

Fort Worth|

* North American Society for Oceanic History
* North Texas Historic Transportation

Houston|

* Modern Greek Studies Association
* Southern Historical Association

Lubbock|

* American Cowboy Culture Association
* West Texas Historical Association

Others|

* Dallas Historical Society
* Gillespie County Historical Society
* National Coalition of Independent Scholars
* Society for the History of Discoveries
* South Texas Historical Association

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

People|

* Trove

Other|

* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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