Kentucky Historical Society

Dr. Thomas D. Clark, Kentucky’s most eminent historian, wrote that Kentuckians “have established their place in history decade by decade, and incident by incident, always with the winds of change blowing strongly in their faces.”

The Kentucky Historical Society is an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, an affiliate of the Smithsonian, has full accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and is a founding member of the History Relevance Campaign.

  • Our Mission:  We educate and engage the public through Kentucky’s history in order to meet the challenges of the future.
  • Our Vision:  The Kentucky Historical Society is becoming the recognized leader in helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky’s stories.

Our Values:

  • Service:  We value our role in serving the public and work to ensure those services are exemplary.
  • Discovery:  We value dialogue, discussion, education and scholarship. We value an organizational culture of discovery that inspires, engages and motivates learners of all ages.
  • Excellence:  We value continuous improvement with the goal of excellence. To that end, we place high value on adhering to and shaping professional standards.
  • Authenticity:  We value integrity, legitimacy and the power of the authentic. We therefore value research, collections and programs backed by fact.
  • Stewardship:  We understand that stewardship is all about what you do with your resources and how you do it. As a result we value the proper stewardship of Kentucky’s historical assets, of KHS’s financial and human resources and of the KHS mission.

The History

In 1836, a handful of the young state’s prominent men, decided to organize the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS), whose duty it would be “to collect and preserve authentic information and facts connected with the early history of the State.”

Their shared vision would be accomplished only in fits and starts. There were two incorporations – in 1838 and again in 1896 – and extended periods of dormancy, followed by more revival and reorganization. In 1906, KHS secured funding from the General Assembly for the first time, and the vision took hold for good.

Equally important was the leadership and intrepid advocacy of two women – Jennie Chinn Morton and Sarah Jouett Taylor Cannon – who between them directed the finally constituted society through its first 50 years – 1897 to 1946.  Through the years, the KHS story has been one of continuous growth, burgeoning collections and increased scope of mission. “Kentucky Ancestors,” a genealogy quarterly, was launched in 1965 amid a surge in interest in family history.

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