A Little History

Initially, I wanted to take a tour of my home state to learn more about it and more about me.  I planned on starting in the West and moving across the state.  I started the research for the Western Waterlands, but something just didn't feel right.  I kept tying to push and push, just to realize that I was getting nowhere.  

And then I figured out why.  To begin to understand the state and myself, I am going to give some background and history of the state (but probably not about me-until we get to my region).  

Kentucky became the 15th state on Friday, June 1, 1792.  The state's name is from in Iroquois word that means "Land of Tomorrow." 

Regardless of what the wonderful people of Illinois like to claim, Abraham Lincoln was actually born here:

This house is located in Hodgenville.  So while he may have grown up elsewhere, he was born in Kentucky.. 

The state flag of Kentucky shows two men shaking hands.  The frontiersman represents the spirit of Kentucky frontier settlers. The statesman represents the Kentuckians who served their state and nation in the halls of government. The words "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" surround the two men.

The state bird of Kentucky is the Cardinal.  Why?  No idea.  Nothing I have read really advises why any state has a specific bird as its symbol, or why we even have them at all.  I am probably one of the few people that finds that interesting.  I shall endeavor to find a reason.  If I do...you can guess you will hear about it.

State flower: the Goldenrod.  Bluegrass was initially the state flower (not kidding...grass was a flower) but some Kentuckians didn't like having a state flower that represented only one region.  The War Department gave us the Trumpet Vine unofficially at one point, as a symbol of Kentucky's militia.  In 1921, a women's group lobbied to have an official flower.  Since the goldenrod was already on the flag, it was chosen.

I will skip the other state things.  The list is rather lengthy, as apparently there is a state fish, fossil, gemstone, horse, soil, mineral, tree, and wild animal game species (the gray squirrel, in case you were interested). 

I wonder if part of my confusion about my identity growing up was in any way tied to Kentucky's.  You see, for our half of the United States, we generally split it in half.  There are the Northern (or Union) states and the Southern (or Confederate) states.  That is where things get a little dodgy for Kentucky. 

In all technicality, Kentucky never ceded from the Union.  We were (and still are I suppose) considered a border state.    If you think it is that simple, think again.  My own home city, Bowling Green, was the provisional capital of the Confederate government in the state of Kentucky. 

 
It is this very contradiction to which I can SO relate.  A Union state with Confederate sympathies is the kind of state to which someone with my personality should belong.  I think of myself as a walking contradiciton most of the time:

A cynical optimist.

An introverted chatterbox.

An open-minded Christian (that's a WHOLE other post).

And so, I feel better prepared to start this journey.  There is SO much history and life in Kentucky, that I could in NO way capture it in just this post.  So, I am going to have several.

Starting with the Western Waterlands.