By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
As previously mentioned here, I’m not a historian by profession, but I love to learn all I can about Kentucky history. I do it generally by reading books and articles, as well as viewing videos and documentaries. Occasionally, I visit museums or historical sites.
For 2024, I set a goal of spending 200 hours in history study of our state, and I log my time daily. That works out to an average of about thirty-four minutes per day to stay on pace, and the process helps keep me motivated.
Some of what I cover in informal research is less than interesting, but much is fascinating. I thought it would be fun to share some of the better sources I’ve recently read or viewed. Hopefully, a few might pique your interest in the state’s past. It seems like my interest stays piqued. Below are some source ideas that may interest you.
The best way I can describe Steven Walker’s book, Kentucky’s First Senator: The Life and Times of John Brown, 1757-1837 (Butler Books, 2022) is that it is a well-researched tome about an important early figure in the state’s political history. By tome, I mean big — to the tune of 936 pages, plus it has over a dozen pictures of portraits in frames.
Though the endless details can become tedious at times, it’s chockful of events surrounding the birth of America’s government and the transition of a part of Virginia to the fifteenth state, Kentucky. And through those adventurous times, John Brown is shown to be an able and character-driven person for both his country and new state. For students of the Commonwealth’s heritage, this should be a resource worth keeping close by for reference.
The Incident at Otter Creek (Acclaim Press, 2023), By Ed Ford, is an interesting bit of fiction that actually gives a nice overview of 1700s Kentucky before it became a state. The book’s author tells the story from the point of view of a contemporary Central Kentucky physician who mysteriously is sent back to the historical period of Daniel Boone, early Boonesborough, and war with hostile Shawnees. It only takes a bit of the reader’s imagination to drop oneself into the flow, with elements of romance, adventure, and people acting bravely and for each other in standing up to danger and hardship.
Online videos of Kentucky history have been a focus of mine for the last year or so. The Kentucky History Channel, is a favorite. Here are some of the site’s offerings I’ve recently watched:
• “Did Native People Live in Kentucky?” with Gwynn Henderson (27 min.)
• “First 5 Towns of Kentucky” (9 min.)
• “The Shawnee in Kentucky,” with Dr. Stephen Warren (44 min.)
• “The Top 5 Frontiersmen of Kentucky” (13 min.)
• “A History of Isaac Shelby” (3 min.)
• “What if… Kentucky Joined the Confederate States?” (32 min.)
There are, I’m guessing, hundreds of videos at the Kentucky History Channel available for viewing, and new ones are continually being created.
I also enjoy archived episodes of Kentucky Educational Television’s Kentucky Life that deal specifically with the state’s history. A wonderful selection I recently watched was a program of interviews with the state’s World War II veterans.
Another historical source of archived interviews of Kentuckians is The Louis Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky, online at kentuckyoralhistory.org. It’s a goldmine of information for those looking for “they were there” individuals in historical events. Topics are: veterans/conflicts, Appalachia, agriculture, communities, diversity, education, gender, quilts, politics/public policy, and others. I’ve recently been listening to a lot of World War II veterans interviews and look forward to using the resource for other topics, too.
If possible, getting out of the house and visiting places in Kentucky should certainly be a big part of one’s history research. Here is a site that lists what they call the “top 50 best museums in the state”. Though I don’t necessarily agree with their specific billing, it gives plenty of ideas for places to explore. My favorite is the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, headquarters for the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. For local history centers, I like the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, in Winchester, the Cynthiana Harrison County Museum, and the Pendleton County Historical & Genealogical Society, in Butler. I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t visited Covington’s Behringer-Crawford Museum, but certainly have heard good things about it.
Studying our state’s heritage gives a good baseline to compare to present-day Kentucky to measure our progress as a society, plus it gives intelligent perspective to our opinions about important issues.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
