Explore KY's New Historical Markers

Curated by Becky Riddle

The Kentucky Historical Society approves 30 new marker applications each year.

After working on and finalizing the text, the markers are fabricated and dedicated the following year.

This tour includes the most recently dedicated historical markers around the state.


Unlike the other tours on the app, the subjects of these markers are varied, but it will give the reader a good idea of the many subjects that are deemed worthy of an historical marker.


We hope that you will enjoy exploring Kentucky's rich history through he newest historical markers.

Bishop John Monroe Moore

Historical Marker #2379 commemorates the life of Bishop John Monroe Moore, an important religious leader from Butler County. Moore was born on a farm near Morgantown on January 27, 1867. He began school at age seven and, at age seventeen, graduated…

Crash of TWA Flight 694

Historical Marker #2380 in Boone County commemorates the Crash of TWA Flight 694, which crashed two minutes after takeoff. Trans World Airlines Flight 694 departed Greater Cincinnati Airport en route to Cleveland, Ohio, at 9:02 a.m. on January 12,…

Aristides

Given to the University of Kentucky by the class of 2011, Historical Marker #2381 honors Aristides, the winner of the first Kentucky Derby. In May 1875, an estimated 10,000 racing fans watched the first running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.…

Bettie Taylor Phillips

Historical Marker #2382 commemorates Bettie Taylor Phillips, one of Union County's most colorful citizens from the Civil War period. Bettie Taylor was born in Morganfield on April 6, 1830. In 1847, she married William S. Phillips of Uniontown.…

Shelby McCallum

Historical Marker #2383 in Marshall County commemorates Shelby McCallum, a businessman and public servant. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, on January 23, 1917, McCallum was raised in the nearby town of Humboldt. He graduated from Humboldt High School…

Medal of Honor Winners

Historical Marker #2384 commemorates the three Medal of Honor winners who were natives of Daviess County. John J. Given was born in Daviess County in 1840. He entered the U.S. Army in Cincinnati, Ohio, and fought in the Indian Campaigns…

St. Frances of Rome Church

Historical Marker #2385 in Louisville commemorates St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church, named for Francesca Romana who inspired women to pray, care for the sick, and feed the hungry. Frances was born in Rome to a noble family in 1384 and died in…

Willis Russell House

Historical Marker #2386 notes the location of the Willis Russell House in Danville. Russell, a free man of color who lived in the house, taught African American children during the mid-nineteenth century. Virginia Revolutionary War veteran and…

Pine Mountain Settlement School

Historical Marker #2387 in Harlan County commemorates the Pine Mountain Settlement School. William Creech, an early settler in the Pine Mountain valley, realized the need for a good school in the area. Creech had purchased seven hundred acres of…

First USCT Recruits at Camp Nelson

Historical Marker #2388 in Danville notes the African American community's contributions to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In many instances, enslaved and free men of color who tried to join the Union army faced substantial danger. The…

Naval Ordnance Plant/ Station

Historical Marker #2389 in Jefferson County commemorates the Naval Ordnance Plant and Naval Ordnance Station, called the "Gunsmiths to the Navy," which produced ordnance for the U.S. Navy during and after World War II. In 1940, the…

Mary Boone Bryan

Historical Marker #2390 in Campbell County commemorates Mary Boone Bryan, the wife of William Bryan and a sister of Daniel Boone. Mary was born in Pennsylvania and was the seventh child of Squire and Sarah M. Boone. She was about fourteen years old…

Kirkland Home

Historical Marker #2391 in Boyle County commemorates the site of the Kirkland Home, which was one of the homes used by soldiers during the aftermath of the Battle of Perryville. Charles King Kirkland and Caroline Purdom Kirkland lived between the…

Shelby Park Neighborhood

Historical Marker #2396 commemorates the Shelby Park Neighborhood, one of the areas in Louisville that was originally populated by German immigrants. This area of the city received one of the later waves of immigrants. In 1847, the upper third of…

Anderson Ferry/ 1937 Flood

Marker #2393 in Constance, Kentucky, commemorates the Anderson Ferry and the 1937 Flood in Boone County. On March 3, 1817, a ferry bond was issued to George Anderson to operate a ferry across the Ohio River. That year, Anderson bought the ferry and…

John Hunt Morgan Escape Route

Historical marker #2394 in Boone County commemorates a daring prison escape made by Confederate cavalryman John Hunt Morgan. In November 1863, Morgan escaped from the Ohio State Penitentiary and crossed into Boone County, Kentucky. On July 31, 1863,…

Garden Hall

Historical Marker #2406 commemorates Garden Hall, an elegant Georgian mansion located on Wapping Street in Frankfort. The home was built by Graham Vreeland, who was the founder, editor, and publisher of the "Frankfort State Journal." In…

Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad

Historical Marker #2408 in Bourbon County remembers the Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad and the Centerville depot. Although called the Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad, the line only ran the 40 miles from Frankfort to Paris. It operated until…

Millersburg Military Institute

Historical Marker # 2407 in Millersburg commemorates the Millersburg Military Institute (MMI), which was established in 1893. Colonel C. M. Best, a native of Virginia, founded the MMI in the former Kentucky Wesleyan College building on Main…

Nettie Depp

Historical Marker #2397 in Glasgow notes the work of Nettie B. C. Depp , a pioneer in education. Having taught for several years, she ran on the Democratic ticket for county school superintendent in 1913 and became the first female public official…

Willa Brown Chappell

Historical Marker #2398 in Glasgow recognizes the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license in the United States. Willa Brown Chappell, a Glasgow native, was influential in breaking through racial barriers in the aviation field through…

O.F.C.- Stagg Distillery

Historical Marker #2428 commemorates the history of the O.F.C.-Stagg Distillery in Franklin County. Perhaps the most remarkable man to enter the whiskey industry during the post-Civil War years was Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. Born in…

Site of First Rural Electric Co-Op Substation in County

Historical Marker #2399 commemorates the beginning of rural electrification in Kentucky by recognizing the first Rural Electric Co-Op Substation located in Boyle County. On June 10, 1938, 33,000 volts of electricity was sent to 115 homes along 56…

Evan Williams, 1755-1810

Historical Marker #2445 commemorates Evan Williams (1755 – 1810), an early Kentucky whiskey distiller in Jefferson County. A native of Wales, Williams came to Kentucky around 1780. He settled in Louisville, which had been established two years…

Cain's Store Post Office and Mill Springs Campsite

Historical Marker #2438 commemorates the Cain’s Store Post Office, which was originally located at the junction of KY 80 and KY 37, about twelve miles east of Somerset in Pulaski County. In 1863, the U.S Post Office Department approved a post…

Lexington's First Airport

Historical Marker #2440 in Fayette County commemorates Halley Field, Lexington’s first airport, located on Meadowthorpe Farm. Meadowthorpe was a well-known stock farm owned by Jacob Hostetter. A two-story Greek Revival house was built on the…

Glengarry Field/ Cool Meadow and Fasig- Tipton

Historical Marker #2439 in Fayette County commemorates Glengarry Field/ Cool Meadow, the second airport in Lexington, and Fasig-Tipton, America's oldest Thoroughbred auction company. With the development of larger multi-engine aircrafts and the…

Executive Mansion

Historical Marker #2229 in Frankfort commemorates Kentucky's Executive Mansion, the state’s second governor's residence. In 1911, Governor Augustus E. Wilson recommended that a new governor's mansion be built near the new capitol…