But according to several sources, KentuckyвЂ™s equine prowess is due to strict gambling laws in the late 19th century that outlawed betting in east coast states, where horse racing was prominent. Why is Kentucky such a hotbed for horse racing? Locals would have you believe itвЂ™s the calcium-rich grass, which gathers minerals from the limestone bed that runs beneath the stateвЂ™s central region. It is, appropriately, called First Vineyard.ДЎ1. Today, a descendant of one of DufourвЂ™s first shareholders maintains the winery. The founder, a Swiss businessman named John James Dufour, settled on the location because of a shipping port on the Kentucky River that gave him access to New Orleans and other points south. The first classes took place in a local ministerвЂ™s cabin.ДЎ0. Its name derives from the Latin phrase meaning вЂњacross the woods,вЂќ which was fitting for the schoolвЂ™s early days. Chartered in 1780 by the Virginia General Assembly, Transylvania University in Lexington is the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains.

ItвЂ™s worth noting that his father was the jailer, and this was back in the day when most births took place at home.Д©. The only chief justice of the Supreme Court from Kentucky, Frederick Vinson, was born in the Louisa town jailВ in 1890. Sixteen years later, he returned to the cityвЂ™s Southern Exposition to showcase 4600 of his incandescent bulbs. He would have stayed longer, but in 1867 he was fired after accidentally spilling sulfuric acid all over his bossвЂ™s new furniture (performing one of his side experiments, naturally). Thomas Edison worked for two years as a telegraph operator in LouisvilleвЂ™s Western Union office. While Goebel clung to life in a nearby hospital, the stateвЂ™s Democratic legislature upheld his claim of ballot fraud against his competitor, Republican William Taylor, and on January 31 named Goebel the stateвЂ™s governor. On January 30, 1900, hard-charging politician William Goebel was walking to the state capitol in Frankfort to protest the recent gubernatorial election, in which he was declared the loser, when an assassinвЂ™s bullet cut him down. Kentucky is the only state to have an acting governor assassinated. Heinrich became a notable bard of the Bluegrass State, writing such compositions as вЂњHail to KentuckyвЂќ and вЂњA Sylvan Scene in Kentucky.вЂќД¦. The conductor, a former merchant from Austria named Anthony HeinrichВ whoвЂ™d gone bankrupt during the Napoleonic wars, led a small orchestra through the composerвЂ™s Symphony No. performance of a Beethoven symphony took place at PostlethwaiteвЂ™s Tavern in Lexington. Lincoln spent his early years near Hodgenville, while Davis grew up in Fairview.ДҐ.В In 1817, the first U.S. The two commanders of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, were born less than one year and one hundred miles apart in Kentucky. In 1792, Kentucky became the nationвЂ™s 15th state.ДЈ.В Although none of the battles fought during the War of 1812 actually took place in Kentucky, more than half of the soldiers killed were from the state.Д¤. After several petitions for statehood, Kentuckians finally received their blessing from Virginia.

Residents didnвЂ™t feel adequately served by the far-off capital of Richmond, however, and a separatist movement took hold. In 1776, Virginia established Kentucky County as its westernmost territory.

He made the journey in five days-just in time to lead the fortвЂ™s successful defense from another attack.Д«efore Kentucky was a state, it was a county. Boone gained his captors' confidence and even became a member of the tribe, only to escape after six months, riding a stolen horse 160 miles back to Fort Boonesborough. After blazing a trail through Cumberland Gap and establishing Fort Boonesborough in 1775, Boone was captured by Shawnee Indians and whisked away to their home base of Chillicothe, in modern-day Ohio. Here are a few things you might not know about Kentucky.ДЎ.В The stateвЂ™s most famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone, is a tall tale come to life. ThereвЂ™s also the stateвЂ™s colorful musical history, the worldвЂ™s one and only Corvette factory, and a criminally-overlooked barbecue scene. But thereвЂ™s much more to the Bluegrass State than horse racing, or bourbon for that matter (though those are two very fine things to be known for). Once a year, the nation turns its gaze to Kentucky for two adrenaline-packed minutes better known as the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky mandolin 160