Kentucky State Facts, Symbols and History

Kentucky Fast Facts

Capital: Frankfurt (pop) 27,077 (2009 est.)

Kentucky population: 4,380,415 ( 2012 est.) (26th)

Kentucky Quarter: The Kentucky quarter, 5th and last quarter in the 2001 series, features the Capitol Hill mansion where Stephen Foster wrote the state song “My Old Kentucky Home,” also inscribed on the coin.The racehorse, placed behind the fence in the foreground of the quarter, represents the longest annual race in the country, the Kentucky Derby. Kentucky is also known as Bluegrass Country and is home to some of the finest racehorses in the world.

Kentucky was the first western border state to join the union, and is one of four states that calls itself the “Commonwealth of Nations.”

Language: English, others

Largest Cities: (by population) Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Covington, Hopkinsville

Name: The name, Kentucky, is derived from the Iroquois Indian word “Ken-tah-ten” which means “Land of Tomorrow”

Statehood: June 1, 1792 (15th state)

Symbols of Kentucky

• Bird: cardinal
• Fish: Kentucky spotted bass
• Flag of Kentucky
• Flower: goldenrod
• Horse: Thoroughbred
• Motto: “United we stand, divided we fall”
• Nickname: “The Bluegrass State”
• Songs: “My Old Kentucky Home”
• State seal
• Tree: tulip poplar

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky) is a state in the eastern United States, one of the so-called states of the Southeast Center. Population 4,369,356 (26th among states, 2011 data). The capital is Frankfort. The largest city is Louisville, other large cities are Lexington Fayette, Owensboro, Bowling Green, Hopkinsville. See cities and towns in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s official nickname is the Bluegrass State.

Kentucky occupies an area of 104,749 thousand km (37th among the states). It borders the states of West Virginia and Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, and Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north. The main part of the territory falls on the Appalachian plateau.

The most significant rivers are the Ohio and Tennessee. Quite often there are karst landforms, there are large caves. The climate is temperate continental, with warm summers and cold winters.

• AbbreviationFinder: Demonstrates how the two-letter acronym of KY stands for Kentucky and a list of frequently used abbreviations related to the state of Kentucky.

In 2003, Kentucky’s GDP was $129 billion. Among the state’s most important minerals are coal, natural gas, and oil. The state’s industry is concentrated along the Ohio River. The most developed are the food, textile and tobacco industries, as well as mechanical engineering, rolling of ferrous metals, the production of metal products, vehicles, electronics, furniture, footwear, alcoholic beverages, and there are enterprises in the chemical industry.

In agriculture, crop production plays a leading role – the production of tobacco (Kentucky is the second largest tobacco producer in the country after Virginia), fodder grasses, soybeans, and corn. Kentucky ranks first in the US in breeding racehorses and sixth in cattle breeding.

Kentucky is considered the birthplace and main territory for the production of bourbon – American corn whiskey. Kentucky is home to all of the largest and most famous bourbon distilleries.

The name Kentucky comes from the Indian name of the river of the same name, the meaning of which is still disputed. According to one version, the expression means “Dark and bloody hunting territory.” There are also options for “Tomorrow’s Country”, “Land of Meadows”, etc.

Active development of the territory by Europeans began in the second half of the 18th century. From 1767 to 1771 through the mountains of Appalachia passed with the expedition Daniel Boone. During the Civil War, state society split. The state legislature declared allegiance to the Union. Many Kentuckians joined the Unionist Army, but many enlisted in the Confederate Army. In September 1861, Abraham Lincoln wrote in a private letter that “losing Kentucky would be tantamount to losing the entire campaign.” On the territory of the state in the initial phase, hostilities were fought, but from 1862 Kentucky remained in the hands of the northerners until the end of the war.

A new state constitution was adopted in 1891.