The Kentucky Bluegrass Region

The Bluegrass

The end of the song is not so accurate. "…My Old Kentucky Home far away." It does not have to be. All you have to do is join us! Residents of the area love the fact that the region offers many urban conveniences including numerous retail establishments, many fine dining options, and an efficient airport just minutes from winding roads, surrounding by white picket fences and rolling countryside. Lexington residents are proud of their region. They “bleed blue” on game days for the University of Kentucky. They appreciate the highest quality of bourbon produced in the state (or the world, for that matter). And they can play the odds while eating a cup of hot burgoo at tradition-rich Keeneland.

Lexington residents have so much fun because their lives are so comfortable. They benefit from the region’s low unemployment level, excellent schools, and an affordable cost of living. Proof is in the growth the area has sustained in the past ten years. Evidence is in the development of the shopping complexes at Hamburg Place and Beaumont Centre, increased manufacturing and e-commerce strength through companies like Webasto Sunroofs, Amazon.com, dyionline.com, ecampus.com and ihigh.com. And more growth is promised with the revitalization of the city’s north side with a North Park Super Wal-Mart and surrounding businesses, including Lexington’s new baseball stadium that will play host to a Single-A Baseball Team.

The fun continues with the Lexington area arts and cultural scene. The scene includes diverse activities, such as the Lexington Philharmonic, the Lexington Children’s Theatre, Broadway Live, The Lexington Ballet Company, and the Ballet Theatre of Lexington. History enthusiasts can take in centuries of change at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, the Mary Todd Lincoln Home, the Hunt-Morgan House, the Bodley-Bullock House, and Waveland.

History Lesson

Though the Kentucky state song was not even thought of at the time, settlers had to notice that bright sun when they decided to stop here. In 1775, well-known explorer Daniel Boone established nearby Boonesborough, one of the first settlements in the state. It helped pave the way for others to follow and settle an area known as McConnell Springs, Lexington’s birthplace. They subsequently named the area after the site of the opening battle of the Revolutionary War at Lexington, Massachusetts. Fayette County was named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, France’s largest supporter of the American Revolution in 1780.

Once a part of Virginia, in 1782 the Virginia Assembly granted the town 710 acres. Ten years later, Virginia released Kentucky and it assumed statehood, choosing Frankfort as the state capitol.

In 1812, Henry Clay, forever known as the Great Compromiser, built Ashland, his then 400 acre estate. Lexington opened its first city school in 1834. The 1890s were a decade of great change in the Bluegrass as tobacco replaced hemp as the major cash crop. By the early 1900’s, Lexington had become the world’s largest burley tobacco market.

In 1924, William Monroe Wright, founder of Calumet Baking Powder, joined a number of farms to form Calumet, hoe of eight Kentucky Derby champion thoroughbreds. Keeneland Race Course opened in 1936 and nearby Bluegrass Airport began taking off in 1942. In 1974, Lexington and Fayette County merged to become Kentucky’s first and only urban county government.