The House of Ruth was founded by eight women: Anne Binder, Elizabeth Blandford, Marilyn Spink, Sharan Benton, Sharon Benton, Sharon Cook, Sharon Gray, and Rebecca Miles. The women joined together in 1992 to help women affected by HIV/AIDS. The…

Originally known as Mud Lick Springs, the supposed medicinal properties of the springs made it a popular site. In 1801, the area was purchased by Colonel Thomas Hart, the father-in-law of Henry Clay. Colonel Hart built a hotel, changed the name to…

In 1841, Mason Singleton, Jr., built a two-story Greek Revival hotel and tavern in the hamlet of Keene, in Jessamine County. Singleton and his wife Nancy built the resort near the white sulfur springs (waters that naturally contains amino acids and…

Reuben Saunders was born on September 6th, 1808, near Frankfort, Kentucky. Saunders attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and moved to Paducah during the 1840s to start his own practice. While practicing in Paducah, Dr. Saunders…

The Todds were among the first white families to set roots in Kentucky. During the eighteenth century, the Todd brothers John, Robert, and Levi, settled in the land that is now central Kentucky. Levi’s son, Robert S. Todd, was a wealthy banker,…

The legend of the Bedford Springs and Hotel indicates that in April of 1836, Noah Parker and his wife were on the search for a turkey nest. To take a break, they sat down near a stream. The pair drank from the running water and were shocked at the…

Carl Clifford Howard was born in Summer Shade in 1888. Following in his father’s footsteps, he graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1911. The following year, he began practicing medicine in Glasgow. He served the people…

Simeon Slavens Willis was born in 1879, in Ohio. Willis, however, grew up in Kentucky; his family moved to the state when he was just ten years. Willis was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1901 and started his own law practice in Ashland. While he…

James E. Randolph was born in 1888 to Frank and Lizzie Randolph of Frankford, Missouri. He was the oldest child of the family. Randolph remained in Missouri through college; he attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Following this, he was…

For the first 30 years of the 1900s, the office building at 118 North Broadway and The Marble Sisters Pharmacy housed Black professionals, particularly physicians and pharmacists. Marker #1928 now stands at this location to commemorate the lives of…

Ronald Leo Niewahner was born in Kenton County, Kentucky, on December 3rd, 1948. He attended Dixie Heights High School and worked for the Fedder’s Food Market in Crescent Hills. During his adolescent years he also volunteered for the Crescent…

Charles Clinton Fleek was born on August 28, 1947, in Petersburg. During his school years, he was known in Petersburg as a typical boy who liked to hunt and fish with his friends on the Ohio River. Fleek left school to volunteer with the Petersburg…

George Morgan Chinn was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, in 1902, and attended Braxton “Tech,” a one-room schoolhouse. He forewent high school and enrolled at Millersburg Military Institute outside of Lexington. He graduated at the age of 19 in 1920.…

In 1917, when the United States entered the First World War, the Army decided a new artillery range was needed. The original plan was to construct the range at West Point in New York. However, when the federal government acquired land in Bullitt,…

David Monroe Smith sacrificed his life for five other men on September 1st, 1950. Smith was a part of Company E, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Smith was manning the mortar section for Company E during a battle in Yongsan, Korea. The…

Field Harris was born in Versailles, Kentucky, in 1895, and in 1917, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. After he completed three tours in Nevada, Cuba, and the Philippines, Harris attended a year-long course at the Marine Corps Schools.…

Charles Barthell Moran was born in 1924 in Horse Cave of Hart County, Kentucky. Moran is best known for shooting down the second invading plane of the Korean War. He was a member of the 68th Fighter (AW) Squadron, 6160th Air Base Wing. Moran shot…

Carl Henry Dodd was born in Cote, Kentucky, where he worked at the Black Mountain Coal Company until 1943; he enlisted in the Army at the age of 18. Although, he developed a foot injury during his World War II service, he still managed to earn the…

Father Herman Felhoelter was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was ordained by the Franciscans in 1939. Five years after his ordination, in 1944, he volunteered as an Army Chaplin. Father Felhoelter served the 12th Armored Division of World War II,…

Founded in 1863, Camp Nelson was the largest recruiting center for African American troops. Eleven of the regiments at the 30.2 acre Camp were African American. Many of the soldiers brought their families to the Camp while they trained, especially…

Camp Breckinridge was named in honor of Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge, a Lexington native, who served with President James Buchanan from 1857 – 1861. John Breckinridge was also a U.S. senator and sided with the slaveholding faction of…

Godman Field was established in October 1918 during World War I. The airspace was built for the 29th Aero Squadron at Camp Knox. Initially, the airfield was only utilized by the armed forces of Fort Knox. However, when the United States entered…

William Bernard Baugh was born on July 7, 1930, in McKinney, Kentucky. He grew up in Harrison, Ohio, and worked in a shoe factory until he was seventeen. That year, in 1948, Baugh enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He trained at both Parris Island,…

Historical Marker #1732 in Whitesburg, Kentucky, commemorates the Cold War U-2 spy incident involving Letcher County native Francis Gary Powers. Powers was born in Jenkins, Kentucky, on August 17, 1929. In 1950, he graduated from Milligan College in…

Darwin Keith Kyle was born in the coal mining town of Jenkins, Kentucky, on June 1, 1918. Kyle enlisted the U.S. Army in November 1939, and was trained in Racine, West Virginia. From Racine, he was sent to fight in World War II. There, Kyle earned a…