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Kentucky National Historic Landmarks

Belle of Louisville (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
A steamboat originally named Idlewild in 1914, she operated as a passenger ferry between Memphis, Tennessee, and West Memphis, Arkansas; she also hauled cargo such as cotton, lumber, and grain and is now a tour vessel

Camp Nelson Archeological District (Nicholasville) - 4/22/2021
Founded in 1863, it was constructed by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and the 9th Corps of the Army of Ohio to serve as a supply depot, hospital facility, and training and recruiting center for the Union Army

Churchill Downs (Louisville) - 8/4/1994
A thoroughbred racetrack and home of the Kentucky Derby

Covington and Cincinnati Suspension Bridge (Covington) - 9/27/1997
(Photo 5/30/2011)
Completed in 1866, and also known as the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, it spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky

Ephraim McDowell House (Danville) - 4/23/2021
This was the home of the medical doctor Ephraim McDowell, the site of the world's first ovariotomy, performed without anesthesia by Dr. McDowell in 1809

Fort Boonesborough Site - 4/22/2021
Founded by Daniel Boone and his men following their crossing of the Kentucky River in 1775, this was a frontier fort in Kentucky, and Boonesborough, the settlement they founded, is Kentucky's second oldest European-American settlement

George T. Staff Distillery (Frankfort) - 4/22/2021
Now Buffalo Trace, and known historically by several other names, distilling started on the site around 1775, with a full distillery constructed in 1812

GLabrot & Graham’s Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (Versailles) - 4/22/2021
Now known as Woodford Reserve, distilling began on the site in 1812 and it is noted for its well-preserved distillery architecture and its role in the development of the bourbon industry

Henry Clay Home (Ashland) (Lexington) - 4/22/2021
Buying land for his plantation in 1804, this became the plantation and home for the Kentucky statesman

Jacob’s Hall, Kentucky School for the Deaf (Danville) - 4/23/2021
Founded in 1823, it was the first school for the deaf west of the Allegheny Mountains, providing education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school levels

Keeneland Race Course (Versailles) - 4/22/2021
Founded in 1936, it is an internationally renowned racecourse and the Thoroughbred industry’s leading auction house

Liberty Hall (Frankfort) - 4/22/2021
Built 1796-1800 by lawyer and statesman John Brown who was integral to creating the State of Kentucky, it is known for its fine Federal style architecture

Lincoln Hall, Berea College (Berea) - 4/22/2021
Built in 1887 and named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Hall is the administrative center of Berea College, the first school of higher education in the nation established to provide a racially integrated educational environment

Locust Grove (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
The property includes a 1790 Georgian mansion that was the home of the Croghan family and gathering place for George Rogers Clark, Lewis and Clark, and U.S. Presidents

Louisville Water Company Pumping Station (Louisville) - 8/12/2002
Built in 1856, a pumping station disguised in the form of a Greek temple complex, it is the oldest ornamental water tower in the world

Maker’s Mark (Burks’ Distillery) (Loretto) - 4/23/2021
Distilling operations began a short time after a grist mill here became operational in 1805; after changing hands several times, the first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled in 1958

Mayor Andrew Broaddus (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
This is a lifesaving station built by the U.S. Life-Saving Service to protect travelers on the Ohio River from the Falls of the Ohio, with rescue crews for those who fell victim to the rapids

Mill Springs Battlefield - 4/23/2021
The Battle of Mill Springs was a significant Union victory early in the Civil War, helping to bolster morale in the North and keeping Kentucky under Union control

Old Bank of Louisville (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
Built in 1837 and also known as the Southern National Bank building, it is known for its exceptionally fine Greek Revival architecture

Old Morrison, Transylvania College (Lexington) - 4/22/2021
Designed by pioneer Kentucky architect Gideon Shryock and erected in 1833 under the supervision of Henry Clay, it is the main administration building for the university

Old State House (Frankfort) - 4/22/2021
Designed like a temple in Greek Revival style with no front windows, this was the third capitol of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and served as home of the Kentucky General Assembly from 1830 to 1910

Perryville Battlefield (Perryville) - 4/23/2021
This is the burial site of many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville, fought in October 1862, between the Union Army of the Ohio and the Confederate Army of Mississippi

United States Marine Hospital (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
The sole remaining of the seven hospitals built in the mid-19th century by the Marine Hospital Service, this is considered be the best remaining antebellum hospital in the U.S.

Whitney Young Birthplace (Simpsonville) - 4/22/2021
The birthplace and childhood home of the civil rights leader, prominent for his leadership of the National Urban League between 1961 and 1971

Zachary Taylor House (Louisville) - 4/21/2021
This was the boyhood home of the President, who lived there from 1795 to 1808, held his marriage there in 1810, and returned there periodically the rest of his life