All Non-Digital Titles

Located in Northern Kentucky, Newport is a small, historic river town bustling with business in a respectful and developing community. While it is now known for its charm, Newport once had a dark and sinister past known as its Sin City years.

Newport earned its reputation for vice, crime, political corruption, bootlegging, casinos, brothels, and bookie joints early in the city's history. During the Civil War, soldiers stationed at the Newport Barracks were offered entertainment from various saloons and bordellos located in the city. At the turn of the 20th century, John Thompson, a Newport native, invented the Thompson Machine Gun. The tommy gun was made infamous by gangsters during Prohibition. Citizens of Newport, fed up with the city's sordid reputation, eventually banded together to drive out the vice and reclaim their city. After a long struggle, Newport is now a pleasant and enchanting community.

Journey back in time for a visual history of the Derby City in the Victorian Age!

On August 1, 1883, the eyes of the nation turned to Kentucky as thousands crowded the lanes of Louisville's Southern Extension. Tugging a silken cord, President Chester Arthur set the machinery in motion for an event that changed the town forever. Touted at home and abroad as the 100 Days that Louisville Opened Its Doors to the World, the occasion was the inauguration of the Southern Exposition, an early world's fair with a wide variety of mechanical, scientific, and cultural displays showcasing the latest advances in the cotton industry.

In the first 88 days, an astounding 770,048 visitors came. As a result, tremendous growth occurred, the city's first suburb eventually sprang up, and the site became populated with a new neighborhood containing architecturally opulent residences. Known as Old Louisville today, it counts as one of the country's largest historic preservation districts, with hundreds of magnificent structures providing a glimpse into a fascinating Victorian past.

Explore the fascinating history of Owensboro, Kentucky through its rich postcard heritage.

Postcard History Series: Owensborois a window into our past, offering a fascinating pictorial view of this city and some surrounding areas in earlier, simpler times of Sunday afternoon picnics in Chautauqua Parkand May Dayparades down Main Street.

Refreshing the long forgotten and illustrating the legendary, this book reveals details about the rich social tapestry unique to this thriving rivertown community. Captured in these precious pages are the faces, places, buildings, and buggies of Owensboro's past. This is a place where much is the same but little remains of our grandparents' day.

Author Terry Blake shares a sample of his vast postcard collection, previously seen by only a very lucky few. With the help of David Edds Jr., Blake details the historical significance of each panel, providing entertainment and enlightenment to eager readers.

Rare and vintage photographs provide a glimpse into the history of Paducah, from its development to its unique annual events.

Located in the westernmost area of Kentucky known as the Jackson Purchase, Paducah has witnessed tremendous change since its beginnings in the early 19th century. Founded by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Paducah officially became a town in 1830 and gained the McCracken County seat a year later. Thanks to the area's river resources, the arrival of the New Orleans and Ohio Railroads, and the installment of the telegraph line, Paducah experienced considerable growth, despite the occurrence of natural disasters, before the Civil War when Grant seized the town. Since then, Paducah has become a bustling center of industry, education, and tourism.Images of America: Paducah contains a multitude of photographs that provide a glimpse into the city's period of growth, featuring the contributions of the rivers, the development of accredited Kentucky community colleges, and the unique events, such as the annual quilt show, which attracts 30,000 visitors.

Paducah, Kentucky details the historical transformation of this town, from its rural beginnings to its modern-day urbanization.

Established in 1830 and named by the famed pioneer William Clark, the city of Paducah thrived as a result of its position along the waterways. From its beginnings as a rural western outpost to its status today as a UNESCO-designated City of Crafts and Folk Arts, the tenacity of Paducah's people has sustained the city throughout remarkable challenges and changes. After enduring a brief Civil War battle, several catastrophic floods and a stint as an atomic city, Paducah has bloomed into a flourishing arts community. The City of Murals, the Quilt Museum and many other unique jewels attract visitors from around the world. Join historian John E.L. Robertson as he reveals the stories behind how this enduring river and rail town came to be the innovative, creative city it is today.

Paducah: Frontier to the Atomic Age tells the story of a community torn apart from the start between Chickasaw and American claims, then Confederate and Union invasions. Exploring the expanding city streets and the ever-busy waterfront, readers will meet natives Quintus Quincy Quigley, chronicler of events on the eve of the Civil War; the "Dean," Dr. Robert Gordon Matheson, who revolutionized two-year colleges; and Mrs. Houston "Dolly" McNutt, among the first female mayors in Kentucky.

This unique volume also recounts the story of the city's central role in nineteenth-century history, thanks to its strategic location at the mouth of the Tennessee River on the Ohio. At that time, the Civil War struggle for control of border states tested Paducah's loyalty even while the rest of Kentucky fought to remain neutral, and Reconstruction brought new challenges in race relations to a region deeply divided by the ghosts of slavery. In the twentieth century, the city developed tremendously with the advent of new industry and was the adopted home of President Truman's pioneering Vice President Alben Barkley, among the most effective and groundbreaking statesmen to fill that office.

A variety of vintage images of long-forgotten treasures are included in this book. Some of the rare snapshots show the Interurban, which ran between Paris and Lexington; the Paris Opera House; early stores; church buildings and church groups; as well as many early schools. While time has changed many of the physical sites pictured in this volume, some-like the Cane Ridge Meeting House and the Bourbon County Courthouse-live on. Also showcased are the many people who contributed to the unique character of Bourbon County and its towns and hamlets, including renowned author John Fox Jr., Confederate soldiers, African-American church deacons, and lots of "everyday folks."

The Battle of Perryville, fought on October 8, 1862, was the largest and most significant Civil War battle fought in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The Battle of Perryvillelaid waste to more than just soldiers and their supplies. The commonwealth's largest combat engagement also took an immense toll on the community of Perryville, and citizens in surrounding towns.

After Confederates achieved a tactical victory, they were nonetheless forced to leave the area. With more than 7,500 casualties, the remaining Union soldiers were unprepared for the enormous tasks of burying the dead, caring for the wounded, and rebuilding infrastructure. Instead, this arduous duty fell to the brave and battered locals.

Former executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, author Stuart Sanders presents the first in depth look into how the resilient residents dealt with the chaos of this bloody battle and how they rebuilt their town from the rubble leftover.

Scientists and inventors who lived, worked or were educated in the Bluegrass State have made fundamental contributions to biology, chemistry, physics and technology. Biologist Thomas Hunt Morgan laid the foundation for modern genetics. Chemist William Lipscomb made important discoveries about the structure of molecules and chemical bonding. Astrophysicist J. Richard Gott is a leading expert on cosmology, general relativity and time travel. And inventor George Devol built the world's first programmable industrial robot. Kentucky scientists have also been awarded four Nobel Prizes. Science teacher Duane S. Nickell offers a glimpse into the lives of seventeen scientific heroes from Kentucky.

Vintage and historical postcards document the fascinating history of South Central Kentucky.

Postcards from the early twentieth century reveal much about America's past, portraying almost every subject imaginable and offering modern readers a snapshot glimpse of life in days gone by. The collection within these pages explores the history of Adair, Barren, Green, Hart, and Taylor Counties, documenting the people and places, the lifestyles and landmarks of the South Central region of the Bluegrass State. From the evolution of transportation in Kentucky to such varied activities as wheat threshing, molasses production, and even ""moonshining,"" the images captured on these cards are of great social and historical significance. Rare glimpses of churches, schools, hotels, and businesses that no longer stand make this a must-see for present-day residents of the area.

Through hundreds of scarcely-seen images, follow authors John E. Findling and Tom Morton as they take you around the booming neighborhood that was once a small agricultural community.

St. Matthews, once a prominent neighborhood of Louisville, is now a fourth-class city within metro Louisville. The first settlers came to the area in the 1780s, and for more than a century St. Matthews was largely an agricultural area where farmers specialized in growing potatoes. By 1900, a commercial district had grown at the intersection of several roads, known locally as the Point, and the land devoted to farming was gradually taken over by new commercial and residential development. After the great flood of 1937 and World War II, Shelbyville Road, the principal east–west street in St. Matthews, was the site of a commercial boom that included malls and other shopping centers, automobile dealerships, and a wide variety of other businesses. Today, the town of St. Matthews is a vibrant economic and cultural center that attracts people from all parts of metropolitan Louisville.

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door.

Learning about Louisville's interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun!

On January 19, 1862, Confederate and Union forces clashed in the now-forgotten Battle of Mill Springs.

Armies of inexperienced soldiers chaotically fought in the wooded terrain of south-central Kentucky as rain turned bloodied ground to mud. Mill Springs was the first major Union victory since the Federal disaster of Bull Run. This Union triumph secured the Bluegrass State in Union hands, opening the large expanses of Tennessee for Federal invasion. From General Felix Zollicoffer meeting his death by wandering into Union lines to the heroics of General George Thomas, Civil War historian Stuart Sanders chronicles this important battle and its essential role in the war.

Immerse yourself in Kentucky's largest battle, Perryville, with author Christopher Kolakowski. A must-read for Civil War and Kentucky History enthusiasts.

Desperate to seize control of Union-held Kentucky, a border state, the Confederate army launched an invasion into the commonwealth in the fall of 1862. The incursion viciously culminated at an otherwise quiet Bluegrass crossroads and forever altered the landscape of the war.

The Battle of Perryville lasted just one day yet produced nearly eight thousand combined casualties and losses, and some say nary a victor. The Rebel army was forced to retreat, and the United States kept its imperative grasp on Kentucky throughout the war. Famous Confederate diarist Sam Watkins, whose Company Aytch journals were featured as a major narrative thread in Ken Burns' award-winning Civil War documentary series, declared Perryville the hardest fighting that he experienced. Indeed, history would record that Perryville the second bloodiest battle of the Western Theater after Shiloh.

Few know this hallowed ground like Christopher L. Kolakowski, former director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association, who draws on letters, reports, memoirs and other primary sources to offer the most accessible and engaging account of the Kentucky Campaign yet, featuring over sixty historic images and maps.

Floyd Collins is perhaps the most famous person you've never heard of, but this young man's tragic death made him celebrated as the Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known.

Collins was a Kentucky cave explorer in the early part of the 20th century, characterized by his lack of fear when exploring the most difficult cave passages, and few people could match his persistence and endurance. In the winter of 1925, Collins became trapped for more than two weeks in a cave located within the boundaries of what is now Mammoth Cave National Park. The story of Floyd Collins becoming trapped and ultimately dying alone in a cave held a powerful grip on the hearts and minds of people the world over. The resulting media coverage put Mammoth Cave on the map and helped usher the actual designation of Mammoth Cave as a national park. His explorations laid the foundation for others to later discover the truth of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave in the world.

Author Keven McQueen proposes a new suspect in the famous 1904 attempted poisoning of local poet Judge Mulligan’s family. Join him on a sordid trip through the Horse Capital of the World. From a mayhem-filled day at the county fair in 1854 to the lynching of William Barker at the courthouse a few years later, old-timey Lexington was no place for the faint of heart. This was an age when Lexingtonians sought justice in extralegal ways and sometimes inspired mobs of fellow citizens to join in the villainy, like the assemblage that wreaked awful recompense on adulterous George Grigg for killing his lover’s husband. In 1873, Montgomery Hobbs Parker shot his young farmhand John Wills just outside city limits, but the details remain in dispute, just like the unsolved 1908 murder of traveling circus employee Stephen Diesback at the Bluegrass Fairgrounds.

The initial edition of Images of America: The Kentucky Bourbon Trail was published in 2009, and since then, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® tourist attraction has grown to include 10 of the state's largest and most famous distilleries along with members of the new Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour®.

This revised edition contains nearly 100 new images of the bourbon industry, past and present, making it an essential companion for bourbon enthusiasts as they visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® distilleries. Along the KBT™, tour guides and exhibits offer visitors a variety of interesting facts and often a taste of this uniquely American spirit. This book offers a look back at some of the pioneers of whiskey distilling, the distilleries that have come and gone, and the history of those brands that carry on the craft today. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® are experiences that rank among Kentucky's most famous and fastest-growing tourism attractions, with over 3 million visits in the last five years

Images of America: The Land Before Fort Knox illuminates the past while images bring to light people and places of yesterday.

Located south of the Ohio River and Louisville, Kentucky, the Fort Knox military installation is the location for the training of U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry forces. Known as the home of Mounted Warfare, Fort Knox is also the location of the U.S. Treasury Department Gold Vault that opened in February 1937. Fort Knox covers 178 square miles and spans parts of Hardin, Meade, and Bullitt Counties. The area was once home to Thomas Lincoln, father of the nation's martyred 16th president, as well as the burial place of Abraham Lincoln's grandmother, Bathsheba Lincoln. Images of America: The Land Before Fort Knox illuminates the past while images bring to light people and places of yesterday.

A book that looks to stir emotions. It holds a lot of anger.--LEO Weekly. Part of Belt's City Anthology Series.

What is Louisville's identity in the twenty-first century? Is it the southernmost midwestern city, the midwestiest southern town, or somewhere in between? Living on the border of two regions creates a hybrid sensibility full of contradictions that can be difficult to articulate beyond from Louisville, not Kentucky. In this collection of evocative essays and poems by natives and transplants, The Louisville Anthology offers locals and visitors a closer look at compelling private and public spaces around town. It's an attempt to articulate what defines Louisville beyond its most recognized cultural exports. Edited by Erin Keene, editor-in-chief at Salon.com, this is a portrait of a city caught between onward and remember-when. Here, readers will encounter stories about:

- Louisville's early punk scene

- Life as a transplant in Butcherville

- A Trip to Cave Hill Cemetery

- A Trek to find Muhammad Ali's Louisville.

A perfect book for Louisville natives or for those looking for a more nuanced look at an often-stereotyped region of the country.

Go inside the story of the battles for Midle Tennessee in late 1862-63 through letters, reports and memoirs.

After the Battle of Perryville in October 1862, the focus of the Civil War in the West shifted back to Tennessee. The Union Army of the Cumberland regrouped in Nashville, while the Confederate Army of Tennessee camped 30 miles away in Murfreesboro. On December 26 the Federals marched southward and fought a three-day brawl at Stones River with their Confederate counterparts. The Confederates withdrew, and both armies spent the winter and spring harassing each other and regrouping for the next round. In the Confederate camp, dissention corroded the army's high command. The critical engagement at Stones River (by percentage of loss the Civil War's bloodiest battle) and the masterful Tullahoma operation will receive detailed attention in this journey through the historic moment in time.

A Major Influence in Kentucky Life

Founding Father Thomas Jefferson had a strong but little-known connection with the constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He had personal and politically motivated influence on the 1792 charter and secretly wrote some controversial state resolutions. Author Denis Fleming draws on firsthand accounts from Jefferson, John Breckinridge and the rarely used papers of George Nicholas, the brain behind Kentucky’s first constitution, to uncover a huge influence from these men. He also demonstrates that modern reforms in job creation, education and the structure of government are rooted in parts of the document favored by Jefferson but dramatically interpreted by today’s governors, legislators and judges.

Take a fascinating journey through the history of Trigg County, Kentucky with more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it.

In January 1820, the acting governor of Kentucky, Gabriel Slaughter, signed a bill put before him by the state's legislature to create a new county from portions of Christian and Caldwell Counties in Western Kentucky.

Trigg County was named to honor Revolutionary Warsoldier and Native American fighter Col. Stephen Trigg. Organization of the county government commenced on May 15, 1820, at the home of Samuel Orr in the community of Warrenton. Justices of the Peace Boyd, Wadlington, Goode, Orr, Scott, Slaughter, Daniel, Fowler, and Dawson swore one another into office and set about the business of the new county. The village of Cadiz, located along the banks of Little River, was soon established as the county seat.

Author Thomas D. Harper is a native of Trigg County and possesses a passionate interest in the county's history. As a teacher of middle school social studies in Kentucky's public schools, Harper is able to share his love of regional, Kentucky, and American history with hundreds of students. He resides in Trigg County with his wife and two daughters, and it is his desire that the unique history of the area be preserved for future generations through Images of America: Trigg County and the works of other committed historians.

Filled with tales of infamous duels, cheating congressmen, and much more, Wicked Lexington, Kentucky offers the first collection the city's rowdy and ruckus history .

Despite its illustrious beginnings as the "Athens of the west," Lexington has always had a darker side lurking just beneath its glossy sheen. It didn't take long for the first intellectual hub west of the Alleghenies to quickly morph into a city with the same scandalous inclinations as neighboring Louisville and Cincinnati. From Belle Brezing's infamous brothel of the late 1800s, frequented by some of the city's most prominent businessmen, and once pardoned by the governor, to historic sports scandals of the 1900s, local author Fiona Young-Brown tracks Lexington's penchant for misdeeds from founding to modern times.

Controlled by the heavy hand of the mob and fueled by government corruption, Newport evolved through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries into a notoriously robust center of criminal activity.

With top political and law enforcement officials often on the take, the seedy status quo became so excessive that a May 1961 issue of Time magazine declared, "Newport has developed such a gaudy brand of gambling and prostitution that it stands today as one of the nation's most blatant sin centers." Eastern Kentucky University Professors Gary Potter and Thomas Barker, both experts on organized crime, along with Jenna Meglen, offer up a captivating chronicle of Newport's criminal development, complete with thought-provoking assessments of the possible advantages that organized crime brought to the city commonly considered to be Las Vegas's predecessor.