The Kentucky Encyclopedia's 2,000-plus entries are the work of more than five hundred writers. Their subjects reflect all areas of the commonwealth and span the time from prehistoric settlement to today's headlines, recording Kentuckians' achievements in art, architecture, business, education, politics, religion, science, and sports. Biographical sketches portray all of Kentucky's governors and U.S. senators, as well as note congressmen and state and local politicians. Kentucky's impact on the national scene is registered in the lives of such figures as Carry Nation, Henry Clay, Louis Brandeis, and Alben Barkley. The commonwealth's high range from writers Harriette Arnow and Jesse Stuart, reformers Laura Clay and Mary Breckinridge, and civil rights leaders Whitney Young, Jr., and Georgia Powers, to sports figures Muhammad Ali and Adolph Rupp and entertainers Loretta Lynn, Merle Travis, and the Everly Brothers. Entries describe each county and county seat and each community with a population above 2,500. Broad overview articles examine such topics as agriculture, segregation, transportation, literature, and folklife. Frequently misunderstood aspects of Kentucky's history and culture are clarified and popular misconceptions corrected. The facts on such subjects as mint juleps, Fort Knox, Boone's coonskin cap, the Kentucky hot brown, and Morgan's Raiders will settle many an argument. For both the researcher and the more casual reader, this collection of facts and fancies about Kentucky and Kentuckians will be an invaluable resource.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

Situated along the Dan River, Danville is known historically as a major tobacco market in the 19th century. In 1865, Danville was chosen as the last capital of the Confederacy. Prosperity returned after the war with water-powered textile mills, which ushered in a 125-year legacy of Dan River Mills. Recently discovered images take the reader back in time to see Danville as it once was--a thriving boomtown on a major railroad line. Danville features graceful houses of worship along Millionaires Row and other architecturally significant landmarks. For more than a century, local photographers captured the everyday life of Danville through images of early businesses, schools, public transportation, and local disasters such as the Wreck of the Old 97 and the 1911 cyclone. Danville Revisited showcases the rich industrial and manufacturing history of this southern Virginia city.

Located in South Central Virginia on the North Carolina border, Danville remains one of the most dynamic destinations in the state. The geographic region that is now Danville was home to the Morotock Indians in the 1600s and frequented by traders as early as 1673. It was not until the late 1700s that the Virginia General Assembly was petitioned to establish a Tobacco Inspection Site along the Dan River. On November 23, 1793, the Assembly approved the request and decreed that 25 acres south of the river be founded as the Town of Danville. The city's first cotton mill was constructed in 1828, and five years later the town became the City of Danville. The town served as the last capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War and was also the site of the infamous "Wreck of the Old 97"--inspiration for the popular ballad. In the more than 200 years since its founding, Danville's rich history has been driven by tobacco and textile markets.