The Friends of the Samuel May House

06/26/2025

image from 1927, of DAR dedication of monument to John Graham, first surveyor of Floyd County.

06/23/2025

- Dr. Josiah Combs, born in Hazard, 1886. Educator and collector of American folk music. Began study of folklore at Hindman Settlement School. Combs collected mountain ballads, gave recitals from New York to Texas with his three-string . Combs received Ph.D. degree from the Sorbonne in Paris, 1925. Married Charlotte Benard of France.

06/16/2025

April 19, 1775, was the first battle of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord and launched the American journey for independence from the British.

News of the battle did not travel fast because places such as Kentucky had yet to establish local newspapers. The American Revolution, and thus the revolutionary experiment, began in June of 1775 when letters from those on the east made their way to the Commonwealth.

The city of Lexington, Kentucky, was named for this battle as the news of the American victory made its way to the camp of McConnell’s Station in early June of 1775.

Image - "The Battle of Lexington" William Barnes Wollen, National Army Museum

06/12/2025

photo from the 1930s showing the land around the Samuel May House. The front of the house itself is almost hidden behind trees (top right) but the photo reminds us of the home's past as the hub of a large farm. Bundles of corn can be seen in the field just below the house - the road in the photo is no longer there. Another large corn field was located where the Big Sandy Community & Technical College is today.

06/09/2025

- Kentucky from survey by Mathew Carey (1760-1839). Map circa 1793, showing the Big Sandy River and other points in eastern shortly after statehood and Northwest Territory in the west.

Image courtesy Library of Congress

06/05/2025

Postcards are great mementos of places visited. This colorized postcard gives a bird's eye view of in the early twentieth century. What are some of your favorite places to visit?

(Ronald Morgan postcard collection, Kentucky Historical Society)

06/02/2025

On June 1, 1792, Kentucky was admitted as the 15th state to the Union. The first official map of what is now Kentucky was drafted by early Kentucky historian John Filson in 1784.

Much of the Commonwealth has changed since this original map -- there been have major transformations in economics, population, cities and world-changing events during Kentucky’s 233 years as a state. Kentuckians have been a part of making American history since its inception, and the America250KY Commemoration is charting our contribution for the next two years.
America 250KY America250

06/01/2025

240 years ago, Isaac Shelby was granted a thousand acres of what would become Kentucky from the governor of Virginia.

Shelby soon became a big name in Kentucky politics, famed for his contribution in Lord Dunmore’s War and the American Revolution. He was also a delegate for the constitutional conventions held before the Commonwealth’s statehood. In May 1792, he was unanimously elected the first governor of Kentucky, where he successfully secured stability for the newly formed state.

America 250KY America250

04/21/2025

233 years ago on April 19, 1792, Kentucky’s original constitution was drafted and signed in Danville. The first constitution is unique to others like it, including the practice of conducting elections by ballot, as opposed to a voice-vote, and the inclusion of population-based representation, over geography, for both houses of the General Assembly.

However, reflecting the changing priorities and practicalities of running Kentucky’s government, this document has been modified three times since its creation in 1792. Each version represents notable shifts in American and Kentucky history, showing the evolution of governance across three centuries.

With the first constitution, ratified on June 1, 1792, Kentucky joined the Union as the fifteenth state!
America 250KY

02/24/2025

Before he went on to become one of the most recognizable figures in American history, Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Hodgenville, KY, on February 12, 1809.

This is tintype copy of a portrait of Lincoln from around 1809-1865. (SC2172_F2_001)

12/28/2024

11/27/2024

Making the final preparations and grocery trips for Thanksgiving? Be glad you aren't hosting the Marquis de Lafayette! The last living General of the American Revolution knew how to dine! This invoice shows the expenses owed to Richard Taylor who hosted the Marquis in Frankfort in 1825. Their bill totaled over $63,000 in today's money.

Image: Kentucky Historical Society, Marquis de Lafayette records, SC 160

For this image and more, visit the KHS website here (https://kyhistory.com/digital/collection/MS/id/28097/rec/1 ).