History Burgoo

KHS Collections Corner: Mount-making for unusual objects

Every once in a while we come across an object that needs a unique storage mount to help fully support it and prevent it from deteriorating due to its storage conditions. Recently, I had the opportunity to make a storage mount for a trunk cover for a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk. Some of you may be familiar with the piece after reading Beth’s blog about the trunk earlier this week.

Before I even got started with the mount I spent some time cleaning the piece. The piece had been stored for years in a plastic bag inside the trunk. When we removed it we found that the leather on the piece had become unstable in areas and in some cases showed a type of damage called red rot. Red rot is where the leather actually powders because the fibrous structure of the leather has broken down. The red rot left a loose red powder on the canvas that we cleaned off by vacuuming the piece with a screen as a protective barrier for the fabric.

 

Next I began making the mount for the piece by cutting down sheets of ethafoam to make the sides of a fake trunk.

 

Next we put the pieces together with archival hot glue.  

Then I covered the mount with unbleached cotton muslin. The cotton muslin was held in place at the ends by gluing the fabric to the ethafoam structure. Then the ends of the fabric were sewn shut.

We determined that the leather straps were either broken or too brittle to close the cover around the mount. Instead we used cotton twill tape to hold the piece to the mount.

In the end, we have a custom made mount that is made entirely of archival materials. The piece will be stored on the mount instead of inside the trunk to try and minimize the stress on the damaged leather.

--Deborah Rose Van Horn, Registrar

This Kentuckian traveled in style!

I recently cataloged one of my favorite artifacts at KHS: a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk from the late 1890s or early 1900s. Louis Vuitton is a name synonymous with high fashion and luxury. Open a fashion magazine and you will likely find a Louis Vuitton advertisement with models sporting the design house’s latest collection. Occasionally, you will come across an ad highlighting what the name “Louis Vuitton” was originally known for: luggage.

This French fashion house was founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (1821-1892). When he was sixteen years old, Vuitton moved to Paris and began an apprenticeship to Monsieur Maréchal, a layetier (box maker) and emballeur (packer). Goods and luggage were roughly handled on boats, carriages, and trains. Wealthy travelers relied upon skilled packers and trunk-makers to protect their belongings. Louis Vuitton developed a strong reputation, even packing crates for Napoléon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie.  After seventeen years of working under Monsieur Maréchal, Louis Vuitton opened his own workshop.

Louis Vuitton’s trunks were unique. First, the lids were flat. Other trunks had domed tops that allowed for rain to run off. Vuitton’s flat-top trunks stacked easily. Also, to create a lighter, waterproof trunk, Vuitton replaced traditional leather with a waxed canvas. This canvas was scratch resistant and offered a modern, durable alternative to leather. Finally, the trunk had an “unpickable” lock called the “tumbler lock.”

Competitors tried to mimic Louis Vuitton designs. Copying had been a problem since the launch of the company. A new design was introduced in 1896 as an effort to hinder counterfeiters. Louis Vuitton’s son, Georges, introduced the company’s patented “Monogram Canvas” featuring flowers, quatrefoils, and an “LV” monogram.  This design became the identity of the company, and it is a pattern that we are familiar with today.

This trunk, which is covered with the “Monogram Canvas,” was owned by a Kentucky native, Jessie Fremont Preston Draper. She was the wife of George Albert Draper, a wealthy businessman from Hopedale, Massachusetts. Jessie was also the daughter of Major General William Preston, who was the American Ambassador to Spain (1858-1861), and Margaret Howard (Wickliffe) Preston. On the sides of the trunk, you will notice Jessie Draper’s initials which read, “J.P.D.” The latches, lock, twill luggage straps in the trays, leather along the corners, and the ribbon crisscrossing the interior of the lid are all monogrammed “L.V” or labeled “Louis Vuitton.” There is a serial number on the lock and also on the interior of the lid.

When we opened this trunk we discovered a canvas cover made for this trunk. The sides of the cover also once had the initials “J.P.D.”  The original initials are now covered by those of a relative that reused the trunk: C.P.S. The cover also says "Lex. Ky.” on the side. Additionally, there are several travel labels adhered to the canvas. It is common to see these types of stickers on the actual trunk. The cover is peculiar as there is no indication that this is a Louis Vuitton piece. The cover may have been purchased as an aftermarket accessory to protect the trunk.

Additional research needs to be done on the trunk, the cover, and the life of Jessie Fremont Preston Draper and where she may have taken this Louis Vuitton steamer trunk.  I look forward to possibly writing a follow up blog in the future on this research. For more details and photographs on the trunk, the trunk cover, or other artifacts, visit the KHS Objects Catalog online.

--Beth Carter, KHS Collections Management Assistant

Transforming students’ lives through the power of history!

On April 26 and 27, roughly 1,000 students from across the Commonwealth will meet at the University of Louisville for the 51st annual Kentucky Junior Historical Society Conference and Kentucky History Day. 

During their time in the Kentucky Junior Historical Society, KJHS students conduct research individually and in groups, cultivating skills of communication, collaboration and creativity and critical thinking.

Students presenting a project to judges during the 2012 conference.

 

Working in-depth on a personally-chosen project, participants collect oral histories, restore local landmarks, create dramatic interpretations of historical events and develop websites, competing to be one of the top students who will take their project to the University of Maryland in a bid for national honors.

The culmination of a year of work may lead up to just one day, but the impact can transform a student's life.

Take Emma, for example. "This has made a huge impact on Emma’s life," writes her mother, Rebecca. As a young child, Emma had a pronounced speech impediment affecting her confidence speaking in a public setting. Through years of speech therapy and small class settings she was able to present to her classmates, but it was her involvement with Kentucky History Day that changed everything.

"Kentucky History Day gave Emma an opportunity to become an expert in her topic of choice, which in turn, made her feel like she could speak with academic authority. The issue wasn’t about public speaking anymore; it was about sharing her expertise."

To ensure that any qualifying student has the opportunity to compete on the national level, the Kentucky Historical Society subsidizes the cost of each student's trip to Washington D.C. and the University of Maryland.

Donors are the people who make this dream a reality – state funding isn't available to send one single student to National History day.

Join Rebecca, Emma and other supporters of history education on April 24^th as the KHS Foundation, in partnership with the Kentucky Nonprofit Network, participates in Kentucky Gives Day, a special 24-hour day of giving.

During this one-day event you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation, instantly making Kentucky History Day a reality for more students like Emma!

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KJHS is administered by the Kentucky Historical Society, which is an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. KHS is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history by providing connections to the past, perspective on the present and inspiration for the future. For more about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit www.history.ky.gov.

KHS Collections Corner: A Look at the J.T. Hatfield

Last week when I was cleaning up some artifact records, I came across an interesting piece from the family of J.T. Hatfield. This piece is a painting of a steamboat titled “Steamer J.T. Hatfield on the Ohio River.” Not only is it interesting because it tells us about the steamer but it also provides us with a look at what the Ohio River looked like from the artist’s perspective.

 

Steamer J.T. Hatfield on the Ohio River, 1982.9 (click to enlarge)

 

In this case, the artist is also a river boat pilot that worked for the Hatfield Coal, River Transportation and Mining Interests named Rome Childers. Childers was the pilot of the steamer named the Iron Duke which traveled between the company ports delivering coal. It is easy to imagine that this was a scene he saw frequently when he was making his runs.

The steamboat featured in this painting was the first flagship of the Hatfield Line and the first of two steamers to bear the name of J.T. Hatfield. The steamer was built in Point Pleasant, West Virginia and was used to deliver coal from 1882 to 1934. It traveled between the company ports in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. It was one of a fleet of steamboats that traveled along the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers to transport the company’s coal from the mines that it owned. Over the course of its history, the Hatfield fleet had the following ships: Henry de Bus; J.T. Hatfield (first); George Matheson; Plymouth; Convoy; J.F. Butts; Julius Fleischmann; Alert; W.C. Mitchell; Henry C. Yeiser, Jr.; J.T. Hatfield (second); D.T. Lane; Ellen Hatfield; Eugene Sana Smith; and the Iron Duke.

The ship was named after the company founder and president James T. Hatfield (1865-1938). He founded the company on January 17, 1882 in Covington, Kentucky. Here are some more interesting facts about this steamer!

• It was over 144 feet long.
• Each wooden barge could carry 500 tons of coal.
• The boat carried around 6,610,000 bushels of coal annually (based on 1907 figures)
• The boat had a 23 person crew.
• The captains were: William Henry Martin, Charles A. Gebhardt and Charles M. Young.
• The roof bell was cast in 1875 by the Buckeye Bell Foundry of Cincinnati.
• The whistle was made by J.W.C Heslop of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Explore the KHS Objects Catalog at www.history.ky.gov/objects to learn more about this painting (1982.9) and others!

--Deb Rose Van Horn, Registrar

Travelogue: Williamsburg (Finale)

Day 4: Last Day and Heading Home

Deb: I started the last day by going to a great session on planning an exhibit exchange program for museums in the southeast. Basically the idea is that museums can save money by putting up exhibits on an exchange and borrowing other exhibits from the same place. The borrower would have to pay for the shipping but little else. It is a great idea to save some money with the limited budgets museums have these days. After that Jennifer and I went to a session on doing condition reports for objects in museums. I found that we are doing a lot of things right here but I picked up some tips on making our condition reports easier to read.

Jennifer: Another session I went to on the morning of the last day was titled, Volunteers: Maximizing Your Greatest Resource. My purpose in attending this session was to learn more about how to manage volunteers. I have seven volunteers that work with me on the Churchill Weavers Collection, they do a fantastic job, but I am very keen to learn more about best practices in managing people and projects. The session presenters offered useful information on how to recruit new volunteers and ways to show appreciation for the ones that are already with us.

Deb & Jennifer: At lunchtime, Deb put her board member hat back on for the SERA business luncheon. This was the opportunity for the SERA board to tell all of our members what has been happening in the 

last year and where we see the organization going. There was a call to remind everyone to renew their membership at the beginning of the year. For $10 the membership is a bargain and provides members with discounts on publications, the opportunity to get travel scholarships for conferences, and get information about collections management work in the region (for more, see www.seregistrars.org). 

After lunch, we and other SERA members got to go on a special behind the scenes tour of the DeWitt   Wallace Collections and Conservation building. Even though Deb had been there the day before, it was a great opportunity for all of us to see behind the scenes. We went into different areas this time and had a painting conservator and a furniture conservator talk to us about their work.  Then we got to see the furniture storage area.  The storage was amazing and gave us lots of good ideas to put into place back here at KHS.

All good things must come to an end, and at the end of day 4 we headed back to the airport to head home. Unfortunately, due to a sick co-pilot we made it to Atlanta but missed our flight to Louisville!  The one good thing about Atlanta is that Deb’s parents live there and they were nice enough to pick us up at the airport and put us up for the night.  Needless to say it was nice to see them even if it meant we didn’t get home that night. 

The next morning we hopped on a flight to Louisville and our trip was over. It was a lot of fun and gave us a lot of great information to take back and use here at KHS.  We can’t wait until next year when SEMC is in Savannah, Georgia!

-- Deb Rose Van Horn, KHS registrar, and Jennifer Donovan Spence, Churchill Weavers project assistant

Travelogue: Williamsburg (Part 2)

Day 3: Sessions, Sessions, Sessions

Deb: The third day was really an educational experience for me. It started out with the general session which was on the future of African American interpretation in museums. At the annual business lunch I got to see fellow Kentuckian and former KHS employee Mike Hudson become the new President of SEMC. After lunch, I went to a great off site session at the DeWitt Wallace Collections and Conservation building that was taught by an objects conservator.   Tina Gessler, the conservator, had an hour to try and teach a room full of people how to identify, care for, clean and preserve metal objects in their collections. I’m happy to say that I brought a lot of new information back to KHS to supplement the things we are already doing. This is one session I will use all the time.

Later, I went to hear Jennifer present on the Churchill Weavers Collection in a session called Stairway to Heaven: Approaches to Managing Large Collection Projects. Jennifer did a great job and a lot of people were introduced to one of KHS’s largest collections.

Jennifer: After the general session, I went on to explore the historic Duke of Gloucester Street on my own. My first stop was at the home of the town weaver. There I received an education on the ingredients used to dye cloth. Did you know that in the 18^th century, red cloth was the most expensive color of cloth to buy? Do you what was, and still is, used to create red coloring? B-U-G-S, BUGS!

Later that afternoon, as Deb mentioned, I participated in a talk about how to manage large collections projects. I presented with Rebecca Rose, registrar at the Virginia Historical Society, and Bethany Austin, registrar at the Hampton History Museum. This year was the first time I presented a session at SEMC, so I was a little nervous, but very excited to talk about, and promote, KHS’ Churchill Weavers Collection. I received good feedback and several museum professionals expressed interest in adopting our cataloging practices for their collections related projects. 

Deb & Jennifer: Deb began her evening by having dinner at the King’s Arms Tavern on Duke of Gloucester Street. Later that night, the two of us met up for a special event at the Capitol building. The entertainment was great and included period dancing, music, and a very funny puppet show. Later Deb was invited with a group of other conference attendees (Jennifer tagged along) to see one of the private residences in Williamsburg. Some of the Colonial Williamsburg employees live in these houses and they are not open to the public. The current resident told us some very funny stories about people walking into the private residences because they thought the houses were part of the exhibits.

Up next: Day 4, the last day of the conference!

Travelogue: Williamsburg

Hi! We are Deb Rose Van Horn, KHS Registrar, and Jennifer Donovan Spence, Churchill Weavers project assistant, and we just got back from a trip to speak at the Southeastern Museums Conference’s (SEMC) annual meeting and we’d like to share some of our adventures with you. The meeting was held in Colonial Williamsburg this year which made it a fun trip! While a lot of our time was spent in sessions to bring new information back to KHS we did get to explore the sights of Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, too. Here are some photos and stories from our trip.

Day 1: Traveling from Louisville to Williamsburg

Jennifer: Today was a long day! We had an 8:40am flight out of Louisville which meant that Deb had to leave her house in Lexington around 6am.  We spent a lot of time in airports today but we arrived at the hotel in Colonial Williamsburg by 5:30pm. That gave us enough time to check in and relax before meeting friends of ours from other museums for dinner. We spent the evening catching up with our friends before we had to start attending sessions and presenting papers the next day. Deb’s daughter asked her to take one of her stuffed animals (Boots the Monkey) with her and take some photos of him in different spots on the trip. Since there are not many photos from today, here is a picture of Boots in the airport!

Day 2: The Conference Begins!

Deb: The SEMC annual meeting didn’t actually start until 1pm today so I spent the morning walking around Colonial Williamsburg with Kyle Bryner, the registrar at the Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University.
While I’d like to say we kept out of trouble, anyone that knows us will tell you that it is nearly impossible. Here is a photo of me and Kyle in the stocks at Williamsburg.

We also visited the print shop, the armory, the coffeehouse, and the capitol. The coffeehouse tour is fairly new but I’d highly recommend it. Not only do they interpret the building for the day you visit (they pick a year) but at the end they will offer you a refreshment. You have your choice of coffee, tea, or chocolate.

 

After a fun morning, we stopped for an early lunch and went back to get ready for the sessions. I was in two presentations that day. The first was called Just Ask and was put together by Mike Hudson of the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville. That had three blind panelists and three museum professionals and we discussed what a good experience was for a blind individual in a museum and what a bad experience was. I got a lot of great ideas from this session and will definitely be sharing the ideas with the KHS staff when I get back.

The second session was one I put together called In the Aftermath of Putting Collections Online: True Stories of What Happens Next. I presented the KHS Objects catalog (http://www.history.ky.gov/objects) and spoke about some of the things we learned about promoting the database, compiling the database, etc. 

The other presenters included: Tommie Rodgers from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art; Kyle Elizabeth Bryner from the Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University; and Betty Lyn Parker who is the Kentucky Online Arts Resource database coordinator for the Speed Art Museum. It was a great session and we had lots of good questions and feedback about the projects!

Jennifer: At 7:30 am, I met up with members of the Historic House Museum Affinity Group for their annual SEMC Hands-On Help Project. This year’s project was to paint doors, windows, and exterior trim on the Matthew Jones House at Fort Eustis. The weather turned too cold and damp to paint; instead, the archaeologists who manage the site gave us a detailed tour of the house and grounds. The house is stabilized and interpreted to show its architectural evolution. The main body of the Matthew Jones House dates to 1727 and is one of the oldest buildings owned by the Department of Defense.

I attended two sessions in the afternoon. The first was titled, Spotlight on Student Research in Museums: Technology.  Three students discussed the application of virtual reality in museum projects. I found graduate student Austin Bell’s talk fascinating about how the Florida Museum of Natural History used a program called Google SketchUp to plan collections storage for over 600 artifacts.

The second session I attended was titled, Conservation Made Manageable. The session was presented by art conservator Erin Kelly and textile conservator Kate Rehkopf. My job at KHS is to help preserve a collection of 20,000 textiles made by Churchill Weavers. It is very important that I am well informed and up-to-date on best practices in managing museum collections. I was especially thrilled that Kate was available to answer my many questions about textile care and preservation.

Deb & Jennifer: That night, we went to an evening event at Jamestown and visited the Jamestown settlement galleries and the Archaearium. The two sites tell the history of the Jamestown Settlement and the archaeology that has occurred at the site of the original settlement. The Archaearium was built right over the foundations of one of the original buildings and glass panels let you see the foundations right through the floor. It was real treat to see the discoveries made at Jamestown. 

Later that evening, we went to the Southeastern Registrars Association’s (SERA) annual respite. This year it was held at the Trellis restaurant. Deb currently serves on the board of SERA. As the vice-chair, this was a great opportunity for her to meet new and potential members and catch-up with our existing membership. We both agree it was a great event and the chocolate truffles they make at that place are well worth the trip!

Coming soon: Day 3!

Adventures in Paintsville!

This past weekend marked the 11the annual Eastern Kentucky Genealogy and History Conference in Paintsville Kentucky! Back in 2002, a group of researchers began what was then called the "Johnson County Reunion" to swap research notes and family stories in an attempt to re-connect with cousins and other local historians. This popular event soon grew out of its Johnson County confines and became the Eastern Kentucky Genealogy Conference. Each year this event, held on the third weekend in September, has grown bigger and better. With one of its largest attendances yet, a couple of KHS staffers had the opportunity to check things out and had loads of fun in the process!

 Here are a few snapshots from our trip!

Our very own Sarah Milligan speaking about Oral History and the best methods to use when interviewing family members.

My lovely audience after speaking to them about technology and genealogy - they were such a sweet bunch! At least they were still smiling AFTER my talk!

Cousin connection: My own cousins (L-R:Jodi Wright and Carolyn Mason Wright) from Scioto County Ohio Genealogical Society came down to represent those ancestors who had left the Eastern Kentucky area to find opportunities in the north. We found a new cousin connection that day with Mr. Edward R. Hazelett - a mutual descendant of Captain Henry Connelly - Revolutionary Soldier who is the ancestral patriarch of many Eastern Kentucky cousins! 

Our travels took us past the signs to Butcher Holler several times on our way to Jenny Wiley State Park where we stayed each night.

The host facility each year welcomes attendees and dresses to the nines for the Saturday evening dinner!

Special thanks to the coordinators this year - everyone was so welcoming and receptive to our sessions. For anyone with Eastern Kentucky roots, be sure to put this event on your calendar for next year as attendees come from all over, representing several counties and states to return "Home" to Eastern Kentucky!

--Cheri Daniels, KHS Senior Librarian/Reference Specialist

Fun finds from the Folklife Archive

        Greeting from the Folklife Archive!  I am over half-way done processing the Kentucky Folklife Program Collection and along the way I have found several cool projects Folklorist, Bob Gates, and his crew have worked on.  Two media projects that I found super cool are Live From the Old State Capitol Stage CD and More than Music: A Heritage Driving Tour of Kentucky’s Route 23.  

        Since 1997, the Kentucky Folklife Festival has celebrated Kentucky’s rich cultural heritage.  From 1997-2007 hundreds of folk artists from all over the Commonwealth have shared their diverse traditions with festival visitors.  In 2001, Live from the Old Capitol Stage: Selections from the Kentucky Folklife Festival, Volume 1 CD was produced by Doug Boyd and Brent Bjorkman.  The musical selections in this sampler come from festival performances recorded between 1998 and 2000 on the Old Capitol Stage and showcase the depth and extent of musical talent in the great state of Kentucky.    Recently Folklorist Mark Brown gave me several additional copies of the CD, but these were special, they were all autographed! 

Signatures on the CDs include the famous instrument maker and bluegrass artist Homer Ledford; the originator of Newgrass, Sam Bush; Zoe Speaks (Carla Gover and Mitch Barrett); Jean Ritchie; and several from the great Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers: Luther Scruggs, Eric Riley and Greg Page.  Other artists featured on the CD include: Rob McNurlin and the Beatnik Cowboys; The Rigsby Boys; Eddie Pennington; Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek; Cari Norris, Roger Cooper and the Might Gospel Harmonizers to name a few.

 

Live from the Old State Capitol Stage: Selections from the Kentucky Folklife Festival Volume 1

        The second media project that really impressed me is the More than music: A Heritage Driving Tour of Kentucky’s Route 23. Country music owes a great deal of its heritage to the stretch of US Route 23 in Eastern Kentucky.  Officially-named “Country Music Highway,” travels through the hometown of more country music stars than any other road! Dwight Yoakam, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs and many more legends trace their roots to Route 23.  After the designation of Route 23 as the "Country Music Highway" in 1997, the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Folklife Program selected the Route 23 Corridor for a pilot project.  Eight Kentucky counties participated in the project which explored the potential for cultural/heritage tourism development from a regional perspective.  During the summer of 1998, four folklorists were assigned to the region to conduct cultural resource surveys and to learn more about the culture behind the Country Music Highway. The eight counties that were studied included Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, Letcher, and Pike. 

More than a Music: A Heritage Driving Tour of Kentucky's Route 23

        The tour is based on more than 60 interviews conduected by Judy Sizemore and Casey Billings as well as information gained through the research of the folklife surveys.  Interviewees who appear on the CD include Loretta Lynn, Ralph Stanley, Patty Loveless, and Crystal Gayle.  In addition to the well-known country music artists, the listener will hear stories from local residents and artists including Minnie Adkins and members of David Appalachian Craft.  There are interviews with regional authors like Ken Slone and Linda Scott DeRosier, as well as workers of traditional jobs such as coal mining and railroad working.  The goal of the project was to help the visitor experience the rich culture of the area by not only providing them with this entertaining and educational information, but encouraging them to spend time in the region exploring many of the historic and cultural sites. 

The packaged project includes 3 audio CDs of the actual tour, narrated by Ricky Skaggs, one audio compilation of musicians referenced from the driving tour, and one guide book, complete with photos, maps, and additional contextual information. The Tour was released at the 2005 Kentucky Folklife Festival.  Artists featured on the driving tour: Dwight Yoakum, Lee Sexton, Zoe Speaks, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, Roger Cooper, Rob McNurlin, Gary Stewart, Stanley Brothers, The Judds, Indian Bottom Old Regular Baptists and Carla Gover. 
        The project was note-worthy because it came out of a visionary meeting including a wide representation of local residents. The resulting survey was considered innovative at the time because of the strong input of the Highway 23 Cultural network. The network went on to become incorporated and 8 new arts councils were developed.  So if you are looking for an adventure and want a see Eastern Kentucky from a different perspective I encourage you to buy a copy of More than Music: A Heritage Driving Tour of Kentucky’s Route 23. Written by Judy Sizemore and Narrated by Ricky Sckaggs for $24.99, contact Mark Brown at mark.brown@ky.gov for more information. 

Buy your copy today for $24.99!!

        While these are only two out of over a hundred projects I have discovered in the Kentucky Folklife Program Collection, I have learned so much about the Commonwealth while processing. The collection has shaped my experience of living in Kentucky and has allowed me to learn about things I may have never known about.  While the Kentucky Folklife Program Collection is still in its first stage of processing, there are some amazing resources within this collection!

~Project Archivist Heather Stone

“Emancipation in Kentucky: A Key Turning Point” Teacher Field Study Bus Trip Highlights State History

Research shows that individuals learn history best at places where it happened, so this year’s Kentucky History Education Conference (KHEC) had an added feature for the first time: The following day, July 13, KHS offered a field study bus trip to sites in Kentucky associated with African American emancipation.

The theme for the bus trip was chosen for several reasons. First, the effort to end slavery in Kentucky fit well with this year’s KHEC theme: “Turning Points in History.” Second, emancipation is an area of our state’s history that has received little attention -- yet emancipation and race are subjects that are still relevant in our society and schools today, and the more historical knowledge an educator brings to these issues, the better prepared he or she is to discuss them intelligently and confidently with students. Students also seem to make a better connection to history when given local examples in the classroom. Finally, these intriguing and significant sites, all with historical connections, were within close geographical distance to one another, allowing the tour to be completed in a day. 

33 teachers, some from as far away as Ballard County in the west, Pike County in the east, Boone County in the north and Wayne County in the south, signed up for this additional learning experience that included stops at White Hall State Historic Site, (home of emancipationist Cassius Marcellus Clay, near Richmond); Berea, site of the abolitionist community founded by native Kentuckian John G. Fee; and Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park in Jessamine County, site of a Union quartermaster center that turned into an African American soldier recruiting and training center once they were finally allowed to enlist in Kentucky in the spring of 1864.

After a short briefing at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History that included a provided folder of primary sources for each site, the bus was loaded up and heading to White Hall. The heavy rain we encountered did not dampen the spirits of the teachers as they absorbed the interesting life of Cassius Marcellus Clay and his family. Next, it was off to Berea for a brief view of the John G. Fee monument, then to Boone Tavern for an engaging historical performance of Fee by Kentucky Humanities Council’s Chautauqua performer Obadiah Ewing-Roush and, of course, a delicious lunch. The day’s final stop, Camp Nelson, included a short video and a visit to the museum gallery in the interpretive center, to learn more about the lives of Kentucky African American soldiers and their refugee families. To end the visit, Hasan Davis, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, performed an inspiring first-person account of Angus Augustus Burleigh, a runaway slave, United States Colored Troops soldier at Camp Nelson and Berea College graduate.

The day of historic site visits and learning proved to be a big hit with the participants. On the return trip to Frankfort, they filled out response cards that encouraged them to reflect on what they learned during the day by answering a few thinking prompts: “Today I was surprised to learn....” and “I can make a connection about the content I learned to my grade level by telling my students about....” Estill County High School teacher Danny Wood even commented, “The trip was great. It was the best ‘in-service’ I've been to in 25 years of teaching. I loved it and will look forward to future trips. The primary sources folder is interesting and useful. The living history actors were really great! Overall, I don't believe it could have been better! Please keep doing these.” It was evident by their answers that the day was successful in providing educators with their own learning experience about an important aspect of Kentucky’s rich history!

For more about teacher professional development services at KHS, visit www.history.ky.gov. For photos from 2012 KHEC and the field study bus tour, visit the photo album on the KHS Facebook page.