West Kentucky African-American Heritage Center
Russellville
Located in the historic Black Bottom District of Russellville, the West Kentucky African-American Heritage Center consists of six landmark buildings where visitors can learn the rich stories of the freed slaves who first developed the local African-American community.
The largest of these buildings is the Neoclassical Bibb House, which belonged to early abolitionist and Revolutionary War veteran, Maj. Richard Bibb. Bibb freed 29 slaves during his lifetime and provided passage for several of them to travel to Liberia. His will ensured the freedom of his remaining slaves upon his death and gave them land on which to live.
During the early 1900s, the Cooksey House was the home of schoolteacher Charles Cooksey for 40 years while he was working in the Colored Schools of Logan County. The Kimbrough House belonged to the first African-American in the country to serve on a jury, and the Payne-Dunnigan House pays tribute to Alice Allison Dunnigan, a civil rights activist and reporter who was the first black female journalist to serve as a White House press correspondent.
As groups tour these buildings, they will learn the histories of former residents as well other African-Americans in the community, including soldiers who fought in the Civil War and local blues singer Mary Ann Fisher, also known as the “songbird of the South,” who sang alongside Ray Charles as his first female vocalist.
Other exhibits explore harsh social realities such as segregated schools and the 1908 lynching from an oak tree of four innocent black men.
“It’s the only exhibit in the entire South that deals with lynching,” said Michael Morrow, director of the museum.
National Underground Railroad Museum
Maysville
When the National Underground Railroad Museum opened in Maysville in 1995, it was the first museum in the country dedicated to the secret network of safe houses known as the underground railroad, which helped runaway slaves cross the border to freedom during the 1800s.
“This region was the last divider between slave and free,” said Crystal Marshall, one of the docents at the museum. “Once you crossed over into Ohio, you were in free territory. When people visit here, they can look across the river and see the short distance that separated someone from their destiny.”
The museum resides in the historic Bierbower House, originally owned by Jonathan and Lucetta Bierbower. The couple moved to Kentucky from Pennsylvania during the 1830s and used their cellar to hide runaways until safe passage across the Ohio River could be guaranteed.
“The house itself is the biggest artifact,” said Marshall.
The upstairs area features exhibits and artifacts that shed light on the history of slavery in Kentucky, from records of African-American marriages to newspaper accounts of the abolitionist effort. As guests peruse these displays, they can learn about the methods and routes that abolitionists and runaway slaves used to evade capture.
The museum is open for tours on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Other visits can be arranged with notice.
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park
Hodgenville
The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park gives visitors the opportunity to learn more about Abraham Lincoln’s early life and upbringing. When groups arrive at the park, they can stop by the Visitors Center to watch a 15-minute orientation film as well as browse the bookstore and gift shop.
The highlight of the park is the First Lincoln Memorial, a beautiful Neoclassical building that marks the site where Lincoln was born in 1801.
“A lot of people think the memorial is copied from the one in Washington, D.C., but it actually predates the Lincoln Memorial by 11 years,” said Stacy Humphreys, chief of interpretation and resource management at the park.
The memorial was designed by acclaimed architect John Russell Pope, who also produced the Jefferson Memorial in Washington and was often considered the last great Roman architect. Inside the memorial, visitors will find a replica of the small log cabin where Lincoln was born and raised.
After groups exit the memorial, they may notice the Sinking Spring at the base of the stairs, which would have served as the Lincoln family’s primary water source. Nearby, a marker stands where a boundary oak tree once stood on the edge of the farm property.
According to Humphreys, the park draws a surprising number of international visitors each year, many of whom are intimately familiar with Lincoln’s biography.
“A lot of people are struck by his strength of character and the way he led the country through the Civil War,” she said. “Here you have a man who was born in a log cabin and eventually occupied the White House. I think that resonates with people.”
Groups can also stop by the Knob Creek Farm down the road, where Lincoln’s family lived during his later boyhood years. A reconstructed cabin resides on the Knob Creek property as well.
