FROM THE FRONTIER TO NATIONAL INFLUENCER It started with a guy, a gap and an unquenchable thirst to explore. Daniel Boone hacked his way through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky and set the course of American history on a Westward trajectory. And Kentucky has been impacting and influencing the nation ever since. Kentucky bourbon turned Elijah Craig’s late-18th-century discovery in Georgetown into a multibillion-dollar global industry that has bourbon lovers around the world toasting the state. In Henderson, John James Audubon laid the foundation for creating his masterwork, “Birds of America,” benefitting science and inspiring conservation. The Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology? Union’s Big Bone Lick National Natural Landmark, where William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame, excavated fossils at President Thomas Jefferson’s behest. As the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln united a divided country. Muhammad Ali mesmerized the world with fancy footwork in the boxing ring and championing social justice outside of it. Harland Sanders blended 11 secret herbs and spices, helping kick-start the fast-food industry and setting the world to licking their fingers. Rosine’s Bill Monroe took the stage by storm as the Father of Bluegrass established a new musi-cal genre. As the First Lady of Country Music, Van Lear-born Loretta Lynn also blazed trails. Other legendary homegrown, world-renowned superstars — Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds, Chris Stapleton, Billy Ray Cyrus, Crystal Gayle, Tom T. Hall and Patty Loveless — are celebrated on the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway. From a prehistoric mining site to early-19th-century tourist magnet: It’s Mammoth Cave, the world’s longest-known cave system, beckoning explorers from across the country and the world. Speaking of mammoth, a biblically proportioned Noah’s Ark brings visitors two by two and more to see the world’s largest timber-frame structure at Ark Encounter. Photo: Annual All-American Fourth of July, Owensboro 4 #TravelKY
The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2026: Page 4
