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Kentucky was the first region west of the
Allegheny Mountains to be settled by American pioneers. James
Harrod established the first permanent settlement at Harrodsburg
in 1774; the following year Daniel Boone, who had explored the
area in 1767, blazed the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland
Gap and founded Boonesboro.
Politically, the Kentucky region was originally part of
Virginia, but statehood was gained in 1792. Gen. Anthony Wayne's
victory in 1794 at Fallen Timbers in Ohio marked the end of
Native American resistance in the area and secured the Kentucky
frontier.
As a slaveholding state with a considerable abolitionist
population, Kentucky was caught in the middle during the Civil
War, supplying both Union and Confederate forces with thousands
of troops.
Kentucky prides itself on producing some of the nation's best
tobacco, horses, and whiskey. Corn, soybeans, wheat, fruit,
hogs, cattle, and dairy products are among the agricultural
items produced.
Among the manufactured items produced in the state are motor
vehicles, furniture, aluminum ware, brooms, apparel, lumber
products, machinery, textiles, and iron and steel products.
Kentucky also produces significant amounts of petroleum, natural
gas, fluorspar, clay, and stone. However, coal accounts for 85%
of the total mineral income.
Louisville is famous for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs,
and the Bluegrass country around Lexington is the home of some
of the world's finest race horses. Other attractions are Mammoth
Cave, the George S. Patton, Jr., Military Museum at Fort Knox,
and Old Fort Harrod State Park. |
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