Since Cynthiana's founding along the South Fork of the Licking River in the late 1700s, its residents have exemplified the pioneering spirit befitting the "Maiden City" of Harrison County. This county seat claims an exciting spot in Central Kentucky history and a colorful time line dotted by events, including two Civil War battles, the city's early growth as an agricultural and marketing center, and later, its role as the industrial heart of the county. From schools and sports to large and small businesses, from houses of faith to family farms, Images of America: Cynthiana turns the page on time to capture history through the photographic memories of residents who cherished community.

This unique Civil War history chronicles the hard-fought battles and divided loyalties of a pro-Southern county in Union Kentucky. When the Civil War broke out, Kentucky was officially neutral—but the people of Harrison County felt differently. Volunteers lined up at the train depot in Cynthiana to join the Confederate Army, cheered on by pro-Southern local officials. After the state fell under Union Army control, this “pestilential little nest of treason” became a battlefield during some of the most dramatic military engagements in the state. Because of its political leanings and strategic position along the Kentucky Central Railroad, Harrison County became the target of multiple raids by Confederate general John Hunt Morgan. Conflict in the area culminated in the Second Battle of Cynthiana, in which Morgan's men clashed with Union troops led by Major General Stephen G. Burbridge—known as the “Butcher of Kentucky”—resulting in the destruction of much of the town by fire. In this fascinating Civil War history, William A. Penn draws on dozens of period newspapers as well as personal journals, memoirs, and correspondence from citizens, slaves, soldiers, and witnesses to provide a vivid account of the war's impact on the region.

Why do Americans go to the grocery store to buy wine from California, Italy, or New Zealand, when many of us can find an independent winery thirty minutes down the road? Why are locally grown and produced wines so often disdained when locally grown food is upheld as the gold standard? The U.S. wine industry has lagged behind Europe’s for far too long for reasons that have little to do with taste or quality, and Prohibition’s disruption of domestic wine production provides only part of the explanation. In Chasing Cynthiana Lynn Hamilton reveals that Americans have far more wine options than they realize. One of those options, made from Norton grapes, has a rich but mostly forgotten history, entwined with the pioneering of America’s western states. But Norton (also known as Cynthiana) is often pushed aside to make way for wine varietals from France and Italy. Is the wine drinker’s preference for certain grapes rooted in necessity or tradition? How will climate change alter America’s traditional wine regions? Hamilton considers these and other questions as she journeys through some of America’s hidden pockets of wine in this exploration of winemaking’s history in the United States. Infused with humor and whimsy, Chasing Cynthiana challenges the wine industry’s snobbery as well as its complacency when it comes to American vintages.