Kentucky

A Hidden Gem in Kentucky.

Eighteen miles outside Louisville lies the picturesque town of Pewee Valley. The town was originally founded on a land grant around 1800 and later named after the Eastern Wood Pewee, which, according to an elaborate legend, exuberantly proclaimed the creation of an Eden east of Louisville. Residents of and visitors to this fairy-tale suburb have included tycoons, politicians, painters, photographers, poets and novelists. Among them was Annie Fellows Johnston, who used Pewee Valley as the setting for her famed “Little Colonel” books, which Shirley Temple brought to the big screen in 1935. A preserve of rural manors and picturesque cottages, Pewee survived Civil War, the Depression and developers’ bulldozers. David Russell reveals this storied history.

Lexington is known as the "Horse Capital of the World," but the city's history runs much deeper. Learn about the mayor who refused the Ku Klux Klan permission to march and organize in the city. Meet one of the nation's foremost advocates for voting rights for women who was a native of the city. Visit the many small hamlets around Lexington that were settlements for the formerly enslaved. Lexington was the state's first capital and the nation's first community to establish an urban service boundary to regulate growth and preserve horse farms. Seventh-generation Kentuckian and Lexington native Foster Ockerman Jr. offers an updated history.

Established in 1774 by the famed pioneer James Harrod, the city of Harrodsburg was the first European heritage town west of the Allegheny Mountains. With the discovery of a number of mineral springs in the area, several local residents thought that the springs could be turned into a tourist attraction. During the early nineteenth century, Greenville Springs, Harrodsburg Springs and Graham Springs became some of the most popular spas and hotels in the South, and Harrodsburg became known as the “Saratoga of the South.” These springs offered rest, relaxation and accommodations for the entire family. Join historian Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer as she revisits the stories behind how simple mineral springs turned a small town into a nationwide vacation hotspot.

Site of the Gateway to the West, the Cumberland Gap, the history of Kentucky begins right here in Bell County. Early pioneers like Thomas Walker and Daniel Boone endured the untamed wilderness and opened the door to the Bluegrass for civilizations to follow. Those who subsequently made their homes here--who eked a living out of the rocky soil, survived civil war, world war, labor war and the booms and busts of timber and coal--have preserved this pioneering spirit. Lifelong resident Tim Cornett presents the history of his homeland from its first known inhabitants through the twentieth century, drawing on old letters, memoirs and personal interviews from the men and women who explored the land, exploited the land and shaped it into the Bell County we know today.

Paducah, Kentucky details the historical transformation of this town, from its rural beginnings to its modern-day urbanization.

Established in 1830 and named by the famed pioneer William Clark, the city of Paducah thrived as a result of its position along the waterways. From its beginnings as a rural western outpost to its status today as a UNESCO-designated City of Crafts and Folk Arts, the tenacity of Paducah's people has sustained the city throughout remarkable challenges and changes. After enduring a brief Civil War battle, several catastrophic floods and a stint as an ""atomic city,"" Paducah has bloomed into a flourishing arts community. The City of Murals, the Quilt Museum and many other unique jewels attract visitors from around the world. Join historian John E.L. Robertson as he reveals the stories behind how this enduring river and rail town came to be the innovative, creative city it is today.