Kentucky blends Southern and Midwestern character into something all its own, famous for horses, bourbon and natural wonders. Here are ten facts about the Bluegrass State.
1. It produces most of the world’s bourbon
The vast majority of the world’s bourbon whiskey is made in Kentucky, and the Bourbon Trail draws visitors to its distilleries.
2. It has the world’s longest cave system
Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system on Earth, with hundreds of miles of explored passages.
3. The bluegrass is not actually blue
The grass is green, but in spring its blue-purple buds can give fields a bluish tint, inspiring the nickname.
4. It hosts the most famous horse race in America
The Kentucky Derby, run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, is a celebrated annual tradition.
5. Two famous Civil War presidents were born here
Both Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis were born in Kentucky.
6. Fort Knox holds the nation’s gold
The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox is one of the most secure facilities in the world.
7. It is a horse capital
The Lexington area is renowned for its horse farms and is considered the “Horse Capital of the World.”
8. Happy Birthday came from here
The melody of the famous song is credited to two Kentucky sisters in the late 1800s.
9. It has a national park dedicated to a cave
Mammoth Cave National Park protects the cave system and the forested land above it.
10. Cheeseburgers may have been invented here
Some accounts trace an early cheeseburger to a Louisville restaurant in the 1930s.
From underground wonders to world-class horses and whiskey, Kentucky packs a surprising amount of character into the Bluegrass State.