Kentucky

**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.

## Related pages

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

## Bibliography

- Channing, Steven. _Kentucky: A Bicentennial History_ (1977).

## Infobox (u.s. state)

- **name**: Kentucky
- **official name**: Commonwealth of Kentucky
- **image flag**: Flag of Kentucky.svg
- **flag link**: Flag of Kentucky
- **image seal**: Seal_of_Kentucky.svg
- **image map**: Kentucky in United States.svg
- **nickname**: The Bluegrass State
- **former**: Part of Virginia (District of Kentucky)
- **population demonym**: Kentuckian
- **motto**: _United we stand, divided we fall_
_Deo gratiam habeamus_
(Let us be grateful to God)
- **anthem**: My Old Kentucky Home
- **seat**: Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort
- **officiallang**: English
- **largestcity**: Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville
- **largestcounty**: Jefferson County, Kentucky, Jefferson
- **largestmetro**: Louisville metropolitan area, Louisville
- **legislature**: Kentucky General Assembly
- **upperhouse**: Kentucky Senate, Senate
- **lowerhouse**: Kentucky House of Representatives, House of Representatives
- **judiciary**: Kentucky Supreme Court
- **senators**:

- **representative**: 5 Republicans
1 Democrat
- **postal code**: KY
- **tradabbreviation**: Ky
- **area rank**: 37th
- **area total sq mi**: 40,408
- **area total km2**: 104,656
- **area land sq mi**: 39,486
- **area land km2**: 102,269
- **area water sq mi**: 921
- **area water km2**: 2,387
- **area water percent**: 2.2
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population rank**: 26th
- **2010pop**: 4,505,836
- **population density rank**: 23rd
- **medianhouseholdincome**: $52,295
- **incomerank**: List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income, 44th
- **2000densityus**: 114
- **2000density**: 44
- **admittanceorder**: 15th
- **admittancedate**: June 1, 1792
- **timezone1**: Eastern Time Zone (North America), Eastern
- **utc offset1**: −05:00
- **timezone1 dst**: Eastern Daylight Time, EDT
- **utc offset1 dst**: −04:00
- **timezone1 location**: eastern half
- **timezone2**: Central Time Zone (North America), Central
- **utc offset2**: −06:00
- **timezone2 dst**: Central Daylight Time, CDT
- **utc offset2 dst**: −05:00
- **timezone2 location**: western half
- **latitude**: 36° 30′ N to 39° 09′ N
- **longitude**: 81° 58′ W to 89° 34′ W
- **width mi**: 187
- **width km**: 302
- **length mi**: 397
- **length km**: 640
- **elevation max point**: Black Mountain (Kentucky), Black Mountain
- **elevation max ft**: 4,145
- **elevation max m**: 1265
- **elevation ft**: 750
- **elevation m**: 230
- **elevation min point**: Mississippi River at
- **elevation min ft**: 250
- **elevation min m**: 78
- **iso code**: US-KY
- **website**: Kentucky.gov


## Infobox (u.s. state symbols)

- **name**: Kentucky
- **flag**: Flag of Kentucky.svg
- **seal**: Seal of Kentucky.svg
- **bird**: Northern cardinal, Cardinal
- **butterfly**: Viceroy butterfly
- **wildlife animal**: Eastern gray squirrel, Gray squirrel
- **horse**: Thoroughbred
- **fish**: Spotted bass, Kentucky spotted bass
- **flower**: Goldenrod
- **insect**: Western honeybee
- **tree**: Liriodendron tulipifera, Tulip poplar
- **beverage**: Milk
- **dance**: Clogging
- **food**: Blackberry
- **fossil**: Brachiopod
- **gemstone**: Pearl, Freshwater pearl
- **mineral**: Coal
- **rock**: Agate, Kentucky agate
- **slogan**: Kentucky Unbridled Spirit
- **soil**: Crider Soil Series
- **other**: Chevrolet Corvette (state sports car)
- **route marker**: Elongated circle 3.svg
- **quarter**: 2001 KY Proof.png
- **quarterreleasedate**: 2001