The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980, May 10, 1955, Page 15, Image 15

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Storybook
Kentucky
Ric
THE UNITED STATES
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Exclusive Series la
THE STATESMAN
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Land of Blue Grass, Horses, Shrines and Natura
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Wonders Draws Visitors from All Parts of
State
h In History
Nation
FRANKFORT, Ky. To most
people, Kentucky typifies the
storybook South complete with
southern colonels, sprawling plan
tations, the Old South hospitality,
beautiful women, the famed Blue
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This towering concrete obelisk,
third highest in the United
States, marks the birthplace
of Jefferson Davis, president
of tho Confederate. States of
America, located at Fairview
on U.S. 68, shaft is 351 foot
high.
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Grass Country and Kentucky
bourbon.
Yet, while its history is tied,
unalterably to the South, it did
not secede from the Uniou when
the Civil War broke out
Daniel Boone, a notable hunt
er, led a small party from North
Carolina to what is now Kentucky
in 1769 and seven years after the
district was formed into a separ
ate county. In 1790, the area be
came a territory as more and
more settlers poured over Wilder
ness Road ' through the Cumber
land Gap. . ,
15th State to be Admitted
Statehood was finally achieved
in 1792. Kentucky was the 15th
state to be admitted to the union.
The stateS thousands of visit
ors each year are awed, pleased
and impressed by the beauty of
the land, the friendliness of its
nearly 3,000,000 residents and its
historical shrines which ecompass
. so much of early American his
tory. Historic lore is close at hand
everywhere. Well maintained
shrines, monuments, markers and
museums perpetuate the memory
of early pioneers and events. In
cluded on the list of musts are
the Lincoln country in Larue
county where one can see the
cabin in which the 16th president
of the United States was born.
"Kentucky Home" Shrine
Along the same route, Jack
ion Highway, the tourists can
see "My Old Kentucky Home,"
inspiration for Stephen Foster's
immortal song.-The home was
built in Bardstown in 1795 and is
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now" a state shrine, open every
day of the year, with the excep
tion of Christmas.
To list just a few of the men
whose names have been linked
with Kentucky:
Frederick Moore Vinson, the
late chief justice of the United
States and former secretary of
the treasury; Henry Clay, early
American secretary of state; John
James Audubon, early . American
naturalist, writer and author; Al
ben Barkley, current senator
from Kentucky and former vice
president; Zackary Taylor, 12th
president , of the United States;
and Irvin S Cobb, one of the na
tion's most revered journalists
humorists and dramatists.
No mention can be made of
Kentucky without referring to the
famed Blue Grass Country, one
of the most heavily visited areas
in the state.
Lexington Horse Center
The region is composed of sev
eral counties,, with the city of
Lexington, on highway 68, con
sidered . as its "heart." Here are
bred and trained the turf greats
and leading show horses of the
nation.
Throughout the Blue Grass region
visitors can see large colonial man
sions, immaculate : barns, acre
after acre of gentle rolling fields,
miles of white fencing forming
intricate patterns as far as the
eye can see, and spirited year
lings romping and playing.
And, speaking tf horses, there's
the historic Kentucky Derby,
which was started in 1875 and is
. run the first Saturday in May
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Kentucky Dam, largest of tho Tennosseo Valley Authority
projocts, forms 114-mile-lo'ng j Kentucky Lake, reputedly
tho largest man-made body of water In tho world. 'Throe
stato parks offering a : wide choke of accommodations
aro on tho lake. j i I
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each year at Churchill Downs in
Louisville. -
One Of Seven Wonders
In central Kentucky, northwest
of Bowling Green, visitors can
see one of the seven' wonders of
thej world at Mammoth Cave
where more than 150 miles of ex
plored corridors are filled with
spectacular features.
Underground rivers, eyeless
fish, winding passages and thrill
ing climbs and descents, awe
some formations, some made
more beauitiful. by special light
ing: effects, all add to the attract
iveness f the cave area.
The . Mammoth Cave National
Park is six miles west of Cave
City on ! highway 70,. The park
comprises 51,000 acres,, of pictur
esque hills and valleys in a beau
tiful forested area, and offers
hotel, cabin and cottage accom
modations. In addition to Mammoth Cave
itself, other recreational features
include hiking,, fishing, tennis,
shuffleboard, picnicing, and
scenic boat trips on the Green
River, i
Attracts Fishermen
Kentucky, incidentally, attracts
Kentucky
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Population 2,944,806 (19th)
- Area-j-40,395 (36th)
Capital Frankfort (11,916)
Largest Cities Louisville,
369,129; j Covington, 64,452;
Lexington 55,534; Owensboro,
33,651; Paducah, 32,828; Ash
land, 31,131; Newport, 21,044.
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thousands of fishermen each year 1
since there is no closed stason .
and the varieties and species are ,
numerous: Whopper size large
mouth bass; fighting small mouth
bass; striped or white bass; crap
pie and bream; bluegill; and wall
eye pike..
But there is more to Kentucky
than meets the eye. ...
Industrially, it's Devonian de
posits in the south and southeast
part of the state yield heavy lub
ricating oils. Bituminous coal
fields are located in the east, west
and southern parts of the state.
Coal mining is a major industry.
Kentucky rises from an eleva
tion of 300 feet at the Mississippi
to over 2,000 feet in the Cumber
land and Pine mountains in the
east About ; one-fourth of the
state is still forested, with fine
hardwoods in the eastern part.
Tobacco Leading Crop
Tobacco is the leading agricul
tural crop, with Some 392 million,
pounds of burley and 30 million
pounds of dark tobacco market
ed each year. Kentucky farmers
realize over $200 million each
year from the sale of tobacco.
The state also raises corn,4
wheat, oats, hemp, potatoes and
fruit. It stands first in the nation
jn production of whisky.
The state's largest city is Louis
ville with a population of 369,129.
Frankfort,' the capital, is about
the size of Bend, with a popula
tion 11,916.
The state has an area of 40,
395 square miles two-fifths the
size of Oregon and ranks 36th in
population in the United States.
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Sinco before tho Civil War, tho estate of Federal Hill oast
because it was about this house that Stephens Collins
18S2. At loft is Cumberland Falls Stato Park, near Corb'm irr eastorn Kontucky. Falls U
for tho moon bo w on ry place in tho western hemisphere where this phonomonon is found. Good vacation faciHrios-
are available at moderate cost. (Photos by Division of FViblidty)., - ; s
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Gravo of Daniel Boone and his wife, Rebecca,
in Frankfort Cemetery is a chief point of
interest for visitors to Kentucky's Capital
' city; Gravo. is located in a beautiful plot
overlooking Kentucky River.
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of Bardstown has been known as Tho Old Kentucky Homo
Faster composed and wrote "My Old Kentucky Home" Jn
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The Blut Grass section of Kentucky is world
known for thorowghbred horses. There " "
are fabulous horse farms and miles vpon .
milts of white fences, all placed is If by '
a magic brush on a beautiful canvas. (, .
Many of tho farms welcoma visitors.- ..izi
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6S foot high and Ja famous 12
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