Good morning, friends, on this last day of September!

It is my hope that this fall season is bringing you crisp mornings, sunny afternoons, big opportunities, and bountiful harvests!

This week the Frazier is joining efforts across the Commonwealth in celebrating Bourbon and Belonging. Kentucky Tourism, Kentucky Distillers Association, and cities from Winchester to Paducah, Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky are taking part in the first LGBTQ+ inclusive Bourbon festival in the country.

Bourbon and Belonging will take place Oct 2-6 throughout Kentucky with 8 different cities and regions signed on. Here at the Frazier, we highlight great Kentuckians every day. On every tour this week, Wednesday through Saturday, we’ll showcase at least one accomplished LGBTQ+ story or person.

From Cat Runner to Sweet Evening Breeze, Silas House to Henrietta Bingham, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker to Lige Clarke, our galleries are full of cool Kentuckians from the LGBTQ+ community. They are featured in their area of expertise and recognized in the exhibits with a Kentucky rainbow map on the exhibit panel. It’s part of our efforts to create a space where everyone feels welcome, well-represented, and able to see themselves in our museum.

Raise a glass folks, to the inaugural Bourbon and Belonging!

Monroe County is our 120: Cool KY Counties feature this week, with the story of rolley hole marbles and a generous donation. Abby Flanders writes about Hispanic Heritage Month, Leslie Anderson introduces a new program co-hosted by Louisville Ale Trail, and Kevin Bradley shares some Kentucky underground railroad discoveries from his recent trip to Canada.

I hope you enjoy,

Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Curator’s Corner: LGBTQ+ History at the Frazier

As curator at the Frazier, it is incredibly important to me to share stories from a diverse group of Kentuckians. I want anyone who visits the Frazier to be able to see themselves in Kentucky’s history. That is why we take special care to share stories about women, immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans, people with physical disabilities, and more. One often under-represented group that is especially close to my heart is the LGBTQ+ community. I have so many friends and loved ones that identify as LGBTQ+ that it’s especially important to me that they feel represented on the walls of the Frazier.

While we don’t yet have a lot of objects related to LGBTQ+ history in our collection, it is something that we are actively trying to collect. In 2021, we added one of our coolest LGBTQ+ objects, the original awning for local gay bar Teddy Bears. The awning dates to 1987 when the bar opened. The bar closed in the late 2010s. You can see the awning currently on display in the Entertaining Kentucky gallery of Cool Kentucky.

Queer-friendly bars played an important part in Kentucky LGBTQ+ history and have existed in the state since the 1930s. Lexington’s Mayfair Bar opened in 1939. The bar changed names and ownership many times but remained an LGBTQ+ space. Many of the first gay bars were in hotels, such as the Beaux Arts Lounge in Louisville’s Henry Clay Hotel. They were known as “gay-friendly” establishments and catered primarily to white, gay men.

In 1953, the Downtowner opened on Chestnut Street. It was Louisville’s first prominent and openly gay bar. The Gilded Cage in Lexington is recognized as the first exclusively gay bar in Kentucky. It opened in 1963 where Mayfair Bar once operated. The earliest known lesbian bar in Kentucky was Aunt Nora’s. It opened in Louisville’s Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood in the 1950s.

I hope that you will join one of our special tours in honor of Bourbon and Belonging and learn a little more about LGBTQ+ history in Kentucky. Or, if you have items that relate to LGBTQ+ history that you might be interested in donating, please head to the collections page on our website and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Museum Shop: Kentucky Pride Socks and Stickers

Step up your Pride with these rainbow Kentucky-themed socks, perfect for celebrating love and diversity! Pair them with our sly Kentucky Pride sticker to show off your support. Grab both at the Museum Shop and wear your Pride from head to toe!

History of Beer in 10,000 Years, Frazier Partners with Louisville Ale Trail: Get Your Tickets Today!

Louisville Ale Trail and the Frazier History Museum have a partnership that extends back to first Summer Beer Fest at Frazier. We are happy to partner with John and David again to host an exclusive Louisville Ale Trail event at the Frazier on Tuesday, October 22 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Keep reading for guest contributor John Ronaye's detailed description of the program!—Leslie Anderson, Membership & Partnership Manager

The harlot spoke to Enkidu, saying:
"Eat the food, Enkidu, it is the way one lives.
Drink the beer, as is the custom of the land."
Enkidu ate the food until he was sated,
he drank the beer --seven jugs!-- and became expansive and sang with joy!
He was elated and his face glowed.
He splashed his shaggy body with water,
and rubbed himself with oil, and turned into a human.

-The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet II (c.2100-1200 BC) 

Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs

Electronic Edition by Wolf Carnahan, 1998 (www.ancienttexts.org)

For 300,000 years (12,000 generations!) or more, Homo sapiens moved and spread nomadically to every inhabitable corner of the Earth.

Then, nearly 10,000 years ago, in the lands of the Levant, some of them decided to stop – for a beer.

It sounds absurd to claim that humanity was brewing and developing a love for beer even before we domesticated barley. More so to claim that our infatuation with beer may have played a role in the very development of agriculture. Even more so to suggest that our love for beer has also directly influenced our development of pottery, livestock, architecture, bureaucracy, germ theory, industrialization, and so much more… but if you’re among those Homo sapiens who share a love of great beer, then maybe these claims make you thirsty to learn more.

In that spirit, we cordially invite you to a special evening, and a Louisville Beer Week exclusive program, filled with history, tasting, talking, touching, and learning all about humanity’s greatest beverage.

Join the Frazier History Museum, the Louisville Ale Trail, and partner breweries for: “The History of Beer in 10,000 Years.”

On Tuesday, October 22, (6:30-8:30 PM) the Frazier’s Great Hall will transform into our “Brewseum”, where you will be invited to sample your way through unique exhibitions, each focusing on the flavor and history of one of beer's four fundamental ingredients: grain, hops, water, and yeast.

Because learning is thirsty work, each exhibit will also feature a tasting station with carefully selected beers from our Louisville breweries that illustrate each ingredient's impact on the beer’s final flavor and offer a taste of history with classic and historical representations.

Finally, join us in the Brown-Forman Theatre for a presentation of “How to Brew Beer in 10,000 Years” a 30-minute, multi-media program exploring the co-evolution of beer and humanity, the links between beer and pivotal points in history, and how beer has helped to shape the vibrant and “weird” culture that we all enjoy in Louisville today.

Admission $45

Tickets are limited so click below to reserve your spot today:

John Ronayne
Owner, Brewgrass Homebrew Supply
Founding Partner, Louisville Ale Trail
Guest Contributor

A Special Reading with Frank X Walker on October 8th

There is no picture of Pvt. John Wesley Burks who served in the 125th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Infantry. We do know the 18-year-old farmer from Louisville who was enslaved, was mustered into military service in 1865. We know after the civil war he would return to Louisville. Years later, his death certificate wouldn’t reveal a lot of information either. But thanks to ongoing research with Reckoning, Inc. we are learning so much more about the lives of soldiers from Kentucky’s U.S. Colored Troops.

Burks is just one soldier who has captivated former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker. He has written six poems about Burks. Those poems were inspired by research materials that shed light on his life and his enslavement.

One such document was a US Federal Census Slave schedule that allowed a space for the name of the owner, but no space for the names of the person who was enslaved.

That dehumanization is behind Walker’s poem "Accounting" with one line of it reading:

To the man keeping the ledger
our age, our sex, and our color
was more important
than our names.

Eighteen of Walker’s poems are in The Commonwealth Exhibit at the Frazier. Many more are in his new book coming out in October, Load In Nine Times. As Walker says, “I offer these poems in honor of the researchers, and soldiers who they are helping to breathe life back into by uncovering their important stories.”

Join us at the Frazier on October 8th for a special reading with Frank X Walker in our gallery space to hear more about the lives of these soldiers. Other special guests include our curator Amanda Briede, and Steve Phan with Camp Nelson National Monument. There are a limited number of tickets, click here to purchase yours. If you’d like to learn more about his work at the Frazier click here.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Off the Snead Shelves: Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón

In the Literary Kentucky section of the museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, there’s a selection of books by and about Kentucky figures stored on Snead Iron Works bookcases. In Frazier Weekly’s Off the Snead Shelves series, staff members spotlight different books from the collection.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting Poet Laureate Ada Limón and her book, Bright Dead Things. Limón, the first Latina Poet Laureate of the United States, resides in Lexington, Kentucky.

In Bright Dead Things, Limón dissects themes like grief and belonging. Many of her poems relate to her big move from New York City to Lexington. Limón credits Kentucky for being an inspiration to her work. With Kentucky’s rolling hills and blooming bluegrass, it’s easy to see why!

Stop by our cozy reading nook on the first floor to take a read and enjoy Limón’s work.

Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement

Highlights of 120 - Monroe County: Making a Connection with Marbles

Several weeks ago, I had the good fortune of meeting proud Louisvillian Carol Haddad - a former JCPS board member and long time supporter of the Frazier History Museum. She had contacted us regarding several unique collections owned by her late husband and notable Louisville attorney, Robert Haddad. Among these was a vase filled with marbles of every imaginable size and color, which Robert had begun collecting at the age of eight. It is Carol’s belief that as meaningful as these marbles had been to Robert, he would have wanted others to enjoy them. Upon his passing, Carol and her two children, Bruce and Camille, agreed to donate the marbles. This, of course, speaks to the level of kindness and generosity the Haddads’ have historically shown our city.

That said, the marbles would not find their second home in Louisville. This was because I knew exactly where they should go - Monroe County, home to world champion marble shooters, the Marble Club SuperDome, and the epicenter of all things marble-related in Kentucky. And it gets better! In 1992, several local residents traveled to London to compete in the British Marbles Championship, becoming the first-ever overseas team to win the prestigious 400-year-old tournament. How many of our readers were aware of this extraordinary achievement?!?! Our Commonwealth and its people never cease to amaze. That story is represented in our 120 Cool Kentucky Counties Exhibit.

So, after a few calls, the marbles had found their new home - Monroe County’s William B. Harlan Memorial Library, located in the county seat of Tompkinsville. The library’s director, Monica Edwards, has been an invaluable partner throughout the Frazier Museum’s 120 Cool KY Counties Project and was thrilled to accept Carol Haddad’s one-of-a-kind donation. Monica was also grateful for the opportunity to provide her patrons with the kind of tactile sensory experiences becoming less and less common in today’s digital world.

According to Carol, this is, “what it’s all about… sharing with people.” I must agree, as this ensures that heritage, traditions, and values are passed on to newer generations. How amazing is it that the very same marbles an eight-year-old Robert Haddad played with almost 90 years ago will continue to entertain children in Monroe County for years to come! From older generations to new, urban folk to rural, heritage must be shared to not just survive, but thrive. And thanks to compassionate people such as Carol Haddad and Monica Edwards, the tradition of marble shooting in Kentucky will continue to thrive well into the future - helping to connect young and old through this centuries old game.

Jason Berkowitz
Stories in Mind Facilitator

As part of our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit, we’re curating a list of 120 unique sites to visit: one site in each county! In 2024, once a month, we’ll share sites in ten counties, completing the list in December. For September, we’re sharing sites in these counties: McLean, Meade, Menifee, Mercer, Metcalfe, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, and Nelson. I extend a special thank you to Kentucky Historical Society, whose Historical Marker Program has been a brilliant resource for this list!

Battle of Sacramento. (37°24’21.7”N, 87°15’42.3”W) In late 1861, CSA forces gathered in the Green River region to help support Bowling Green, then the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky. On December 28, CSA cavalry from Hopkinsville commanded by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest surprised and routed Union Maj. Eli J. Murray’s forces here in Sacramento, McLean County.

Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary. (37°52’23.6”N, 86°13’46.9”W) Formed in 2002 by former Kentucky state legislator Mary Ann Tobin, Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary in Guston, Meade County, provides care to sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife throughout Kentucky. In 2019, Broadbent took in Houdini, a famously evasive goat who’d long escaped capture along I-65 in Hardin County.

Beaver Dam Furnace. (37°59’03.4”N, 83°31’23.4”W) Erected in 1819 by J. T. Mason, the Beaver Dam Furnace near Scranton, Menifee County, began operating under ironmaster Robert Crockett. Measuring thirty-five feet high with a twenty-eight-square-foot base, it produced nails, “plough plates,” kettles, skillets, and flat irons to be flat-boated downriver. Operations ended in 1870–73.

Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. (37°49’08.3”N, 84°44’24.3”W) In 1808, Shaker settlers moved to this site on 3,000 acres in Pleasant Hill, Mercer County, to found a community. America’s best-known communal society, the Shakers practiced celibacy and believed in equality of race and sex. Their craftsmanship is world-famous. The village’s last Shaker, Sister Mary Settles, died in 1923.

Metcalfe County Court House. (36°58’44.9”N, 85°36’41.3”W) Formed in 1860, Metcalfe County’s origin is tied to a dispute over a proposed path of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. Built in 1868–69, the brick courthouse in Edmonton, Metcalfe County, is located in the public square, half a mile from the geographic center of the county. It continued to serve as a courthouse until 2003.

Mount Vernon AME Church. (36°40’29.1”N, 85°47’56.5”W) In 1846, freed slaves of William Howard built Free-Town Church near Gamaliel, Monroe County. Howard had given them 400 acres on which to build homes and Albert Martin had given them the land for this one-story church, which would also be used as a school. The logs are held together by wooden pegs and chinked with clay.

Little Mountain Indian Mound. (38°03’17.9”N, 83°56’18.5”W) About 2,000 years ago, Adena cultures constructed a large circular mound on this site in what is now Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County. On March 21, 1782, James Estill and his men camped here the night before their defeat. In 1845, the city removed the mound and recovered artifacts of copper, marble, stone, and shell.

Old Mill Park. (37°55’21.4”N, 83°15’39.5”W) In 1816, Edmund Wells completed his grist mill here in Wells Mill—now West Liberty, Morgan County. The first meeting of Morgan County Court took place March 10, 1823, at Wells’s home. Early roads connected Wells Mill to Blaine and other neighboring communities. Wells sold the mill around 1838, but it remained a central landmark.

Site of Home of Ephraim Brank. (37°12’40.2”N, 87°10’50.3”W) Around 1808, a North Carolina native named Ephraim M. Brank moved to a home on this site in Greenville, Muhlenberg County. He became a lieutenant in the Kentucky militia. On January 8, 1815, his bravery inspired Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen under Gen. Andrew Jackson to defeat the British at New Orleans.

Beauchamps Gravesite. (37°54’58.6”N, 85°19’02.8”W) On November 7, 1825, lawyer Jereboam O. Beauchamp murdered legislator Solomon P. Sharp. On July 7, 1826, the day Jereboam was to be hanged, he and his wife Anna Cooke attempted suicide. Anna succeeded, but Jereboam survived and was hanged. Per request, the two are buried in the same coffin in Bloomfield, Nelson County.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Bridging the Divide

(Un)Known Project’s AR Experience at the Frazier Opens to the Public

We hope you’ll try our first augmented reality experience at the Frazier History Museum in partnership with the (Un)Known Project. The public launch was Saturday, September 21st.

Footprints Through Time uses an innovative augmented reality (AR) and hologram experience to learn profound truths and dispel the myths surrounding the Transatlantic Slave Trade. There are three QR codes in The Commonwealth Exhibit at the Frazier to activate different scenes through your mobile device bringing stories to life in the environment around you.

The experience draws you into the conversation with two characters, Isaac and Lula, on your journey of learning

The (Un)Known Project launched the activations here at the Frazier, and at their own installation On the Banks of Freedom along the Louisville Riverwalk.

It is a groundbreaking way to engage with this history, and we thank the (Un)Known Project for including us. We hope you’ll come and give it a try.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Blending Touristy with History on Family Trips

I recently traveled to Canada with my family for a little getaway. Before our trip, my wife and I made a list of the places we wanted to visit. Of course, we had to visit the Toronto Zoo, the Toronto Islands, the CN Tower, Niagara Falls . . .you know, the touristy places, and more. During our trip we stumbled upon the 2nd Annual Distillery District Whisky Fest in Toronto. Leave it to me to randomly discover a whiskey festival in another country, but it was a happy accident. But there was one location I wanted to see above all the others. I wanted to pay respects to Thornton and Lucie Blackburn.

The Blackburn story, which we tell here at the Frazier History Museum, is one of love, passion, perseverance, and above all, courage. Their journey took them from the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville all the way to Toronto, where their presence is felt to this day. As freedom seekers, the Blackburns were equipped with forged freedom papers and self-emancipated during the summer of 1831. They arrived in Detroit, where they lived freely until 1833, when they were recognized by a Kentuckian visiting the area and were subsequently arrested and jailed under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. While awaiting extradition back to Kentucky to be re-enslaved, the free Black community and other supporters in the area took matters into their own hands, leading to the Blackburn Riots of 1833. During this time, Thornton and Lucie were able to escape to Canada, and eventually settled in Toronto.

Lucie and Thornton became philanthropists in the area, opening a school and providing housing for other freedom seekers. Thornton started the first horse drawn taxi system in Toronto, donning red and yellow, colors that are still represented on area taxis today. The couple died in the 1890s and are buried in the Toronto Necropolis Cemetery under a beautiful red granite obelisk. Members of Thornton’s family, including his mother, are buried alongside the couple.

As I sit in my office writing this article, I think about the path Thornton and Lucie traveled to secure their freedom. For my family and I, it was a 600-mile drive in a comfortable SUV with air-conditioning and GPS. The biggest concern we had was converting to the metric system, but a simple internet search helped us. However, for the Blackburn family, they traveled an unknown number of miles across unfamiliar territory, not only risking their lives, but worse, re-enslavement. While standing in front of their gravesite, I imagined their journey, perseverance, courage, and legacy that many of us cannot fathom today.

Although my son is a toddler and most likely will not remember this trip, my wife and I will be able to share the pictures we took and the Blackburn’s story with him as he gets older, ensuring their legacy is passed on to another generation. I want to challenge everyone that reads this article to do one thing on your next vacation or trip. Do all the touristy things you want to do. All of them. But make time to visit one historical marker, museum, or significant site to pay your respects.

Kevin Bradley
Stories in Mind Administrator

History All Around Us

Louisville Nature Center Celebrates 60 Years

I hear constantly from out-of-town visitors how moved they are by all the green in Kentucky and how much great natural space there is to explore. My family loves to explore it ourselves, and one of our absolute favorites is the Louisville Nature Center. We’ve loved their trails, Nature Play Area, and gardens for as long as our boys could walk. Their 60th Anniversary celebration on Oct 12 will surely be a joyous night. I’ll be there!—Mick Sullivan, Curator of Guest Experience

In the early 1960s, when the environmental movement in the United States was still in its infancy, a group of forward-thinking Louisvillians saw the need for the community to connect with nature and learn about conservation. Originally intended to be a natural history museum, the group felt that the location across from the Louisville Zoo would be a perfect fit. They had big plans to open the Nature and Conservation Center. The group officially incorporated in 1965—before the Endangered Species List was created, before the Cuyahoga river caught fire, and before the first Earth Day. Two members of that venerable group are still with us: Mary Louise Gorman and Joe Chiles. They and the other founders of what is now called the Louisville Nature Center were at the forefront of the environmental movement, building a tremendous legacy in our community.

In the 1980s, 41 acres of land was purchased and donated as a Kentucky State Nature Preserve. Programming began in the preserve, and LNC operated out of a Quonset hut with no heat or running water. In 1997, the current Louisville Nature Center building opened to the public, and soon added summer day camps, our stunning Sensory and Rain Gardens, and our Bird Blind. Recent additions include the Nature Play Area and our Swallowtail Forest School. The mission statement has changed over the years, but the heart remains the same: conservation and nature education.

On Oct. 12 from 7-10 PM, LNC will be celebrating its 60th birthday in our “Enchanted Forest” at 3745 Illinois Ave, 40213 (near the Louisville Zoo). The gala will have live music from Squeeze-Bot, heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, a bar from Farm to Fork Catering, and a taste of LNC programming. There will be a presentation that will end with a reveal of our plan for the future, and invitation for the community to be a part of that future. Tickets are on sale until Oct. 3, and can be purchased at givebutter.com/loveLNC.

Rebecca Minnick
Executive Director
Louisville Nature Center
Guest Contributor