Kentucky the 15th United State

Kentucky State Flag

Kentucky was the 15th state to join the United States of America in 1792. Settlers and pioneers from the state of Virginia traveled west through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains; they traveled west to the Mississippi River. The settlers and pioneers saw the economic potential in the Mississippi river because it flowed north and south and would be ideal for river trades. So they began building new settlements. However, the government of Virginia, the original homeland of the pioneers, wasn’t interested in river trade so the newly discovered territory west of the Appalachian Mountains became Kentucky with its own government. The Riverboat trade market was very successful and passengers enjoyed the social life on the river with riverboat racing, games and parties.  

Jim Bowie

Bowie Knife

Jm Bowie born in Kentucky April 10, 1796, was an American culture folk hero famous for his huge knife and many brawls. His short life spanned from Kentucky to Louisiana and he died at the Alamo after joining the fight for the Republic of Texas in 1836.

President
Abraham Lincoln

However, Kentucky’s most famous son is the United States of America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. As a young man he was given the nickname ‘honest Abe’ because of his honesty working at the country store with merchants and customers. As President, he led the country through its greatest domestic crisis, the American Civil War. By the end of the war, the Union was preserved and slavery ended. He died from an assassin’s bullet April 15, 1865 in Washington DC at the age of 56.

Cardinal

Goldenrod

The name Kentucky is said to be an Indian name meaning "land of tomorrow". Kentucky is known for its rich fields of grass due to its fertile soil and is known as the Blue Grass State. Kentucky state motto: "United we stand, divided we fall". Its state flower is the Goldenrod and the state bird is the Cardinal.