# Kentucky

| Kentucky |
| --- |
| State |
| Commonwealth of Kentucky |
| FlagSeal |
| Nickname: The Bluegrass State |
| Motto(s): *United we stand, divided we fall* *Deo gratiam habeamus* (Let us be grateful to God) |
| Anthem: My Old Kentucky Home |
| Map of the United States with Kentucky highlighted |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Part of Virginia (District of Kentucky) |
| Admitted to the Union | June 1, 1792 (15th) |
| Capital | Frankfort |
| Largest city | Louisville |
| Largest county or equivalent | Jefferson |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Louisville |
| Government |
|  • Governor | Andy Beshear (D) |
|  • Lieutenant Governor | Jacqueline Coleman (D) |
| Legislature | Kentucky General Assembly |
|  • Upper house | Senate |
|  • Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Judiciary | Kentucky Supreme Court |
| U.S. senators | Mitch McConnell (R) Rand Paul (R) |
| U.S. House delegation | 5 Republicans 1 Democrat (list) |
| Area |
|  • Total | 40,408 sq mi (104,656 km2) |
|  • Land | 39,486 sq mi (102,269 km2) |
|  • Water | 921 sq mi (2,387 km2)  2.2% |
|  • Rank | 37th |
| Dimensions |
|  • Length | 397 mi (640 km) |
|  • Width | 187 mi (302 km) |
| Elevation | 750 ft (230 m) |
| Highest elevation (Black Mountain) | 4,145 ft (1,265 m) |
| Lowest elevation (Mississippi River at Kentucky Bend) | 250 ft (78 m) |
| Population (2020) |
|  • Total |  4,505,836 |
|  • Rank | 26th |
|  • Density | 114/sq mi (44/km2) |
|   • Rank | 23rd |
|  • Median household income | $52,295 |
|  • Income rank | 44th |
| Demonym | Kentuckian |
| Language |
|  • Official language | English |
| Time zones |
| eastern half | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
|  • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| western half | UTC−06:00 (Central) |
|  • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | KY |
| ISO 3166 code | US-KY |
| Traditional abbreviation | Ky |
| Latitude | 36° 30′ N to 39° 09′ N |
| Longitude | 81° 58′ W to 89° 34′ W |
| Website | kentucky.gov |

| Kentucky state symbols |
| --- |
| Flag of Kentucky |
|  |
| Living insignia |
| Bird | Cardinal |
| Butterfly | Viceroy butterfly |
| Wildlife animal | Gray squirrel |
| Fish | Kentucky spotted bass |
| Flower | Goldenrod |
| Horse breed | Thoroughbred |
| Insect | Western honeybee |
| Tree | Tulip poplar |
| Inanimate insignia |
| Beverage | Milk |
| Dance | Clogging |
| Food | Blackberry |
| Fossil | Brachiopod |
| Gemstone | Freshwater pearl |
| Mineral | Coal |
| Rock | Kentucky agate |
| Slogan | Kentucky Unbridled Spirit |
| Soil | Crider Soil Series |
| Other | Chevrolet Corvette (state sports car) |
| State route marker |
|  |
| State quarter |
| Released in 2001 |
| Lists of United States state symbols |

**Kentucky** is a state in the United States. Its capital is Frankfort. It touches the states of Missouri (by the Mississippi River), Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia (by the Ohio River), Tennessee and Virginia. There are many rivers in Kentucky.

## History

The first people to settle in Kentucky were Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans. African slaves worked on plantations.

 Louisville the main city of Kentucky until last century, was founded in the XVIII century (around 1778) by George Rogers Clark and some French colonists.

Some people call it the "Bluegrass State" because of a special kind of grass that grows there. There are also horses in Kentucky that eat this blue grass. Kentucky is very famous for its horse farms. The Kentucky Derby, a well-known horse race. It is held in the city of Louisville, which is also the largest city in the state. Other well-known places are Fort Knox, The Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Falls, Mammoth Cave, Red River gorge, and Land Between the Lakes.

Some well-known towns and cities are Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Covington, Florence, Maysville, Georgetown, Paducah, Murray, Bardstown, Morehead, Midway, Berea, Richmond, Danville, Versailles, Elizabethtown, Radcliff, Corbin, Somerset, Ashland, and Middlesboro.

* Bowling Green: a "historic" sign indicating that Bowling Green was the Confederate capital of Kentucky was removed in August 2020.

In Florence, the Boone County High School mascot was changed. The mascot for the school was Mr. Rebel, a Confederate general who stands tall in a light blue uniform, feathered cap, and English mustache. It was removed in 2017.

Hodgenville, Kentucky is famous for being the birthplace of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and the annual Kentucky Derby race.

Kentucky is also famous for KFC, an American fried chicken fast food chain founded by Colonel Sanders in 1930.

* Louisville skyline
* Kentucky Derby

## Related pages

* Colleges and universities in Kentucky
* List of counties in Kentucky
* List of rivers of Kentucky

* Channing, Steven. *Kentucky: A Bicentennial History* (1977).