Nicholas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,135. Its county seat is Carlisle, which is also the only incorporated community in the county. Founded in 1799, the county is named for Col. George Nicholas, the "Father of the Kentucky Constitution".
Big Bone Lick State Park is located at Big Bone in Boone County, Kentucky. The name of the park comes from the Pleistocene megafauna fossils found there. Mammoths are believed to have been drawn to this location by a salt lick deposited around the sulfur springs. Other animals including forms of bison, caribou, deer, elk, horse, mastodon, moose, musk ox, peccary, ground sloths, wolves, black bears, stag moose, saber-toothed cats, and possibly tapir also grazed the vegetation and salty earth around the springs that the animals relied on for their diet. One mastodon bone was unearthed here with a noticeable cut mark on it, implying that the Clovis people lived in the area thousands of years ago. The area near the springs was very soft and marshy causing many animals to become stuck with no way to escape. It bills itself as "the birthplace of American paleontology", a term which dates from the 1807 expedition by William Clark undertaken at the direction of President Thomas Jefferson. In Nicholas Cresswell's journal, dated 1774 to 1777, he records a visit in 1775 to what was then called "Elephant Bone Lick." In this account, Cresswell describes finding several bones of "prodigious size", as well as tusk fragments, and teeth—one weighing approximately 10 pounds. While he assumed the bones were from ancient elephants, the local native traditions claimed the bones to be those of white buffaloes that had been poisoned by the salty water.
Cave Run Lake, located south of Morehead, Kentucky, USA along Kentucky Route 801, is an 8,270-acre (33 km2) reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 148 ft (45 m), half-mile dam construction began in 1965 and was completed in 1973. Cave Run Lake is in the northern part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Cave Run Lake provides flood protection to the lower Licking River valley, supplies water to the area's communities, improves the Licking River's water flow conditions, and offers a habitat for various species of fish and wildlife. It is in Rowan, Morgan, Menifee, and Bath counties.
My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park located in Bardstown, Kentucky, United States. The park's centerpiece is Federal Hill, a former plantation home owned by United States Senator John Rowan in 1795. During the Rowan family's occupation, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting dignitaries.
The Battle of Barbourville was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It took place on September 19, 1861, in Knox County, Kentucky during the campaign known as the Kentucky Confederate Offensive. The battle is considered the first Confederate victory in the commonwealth, and threw a scare into Federal commanders, who rushed troops to central Kentucky to try to repel the invasion, which was finally stopped at the Battle of Camp Wildcat in October.
Flemon Davis "Flem" Sampson was the 42nd Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1927 to 1931. He graduated from Valparaiso University in 1894, and opened a law practice in Barbourville, Kentucky. He formed a political alliance with future Representatives Caleb Powers and John Robsion, both prominent Republicans in the eastern part of the state. By 1916, he was serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and had previously served as a county judge and circuit court judge. In 1923, he was elevated to chief justice of the Court of Appeals. He served until 1927, when he became the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
James Dixon Black was an American attorney who was the 39th Governor of Kentucky, serving for seven months in 1919. He ascended to the office when Governor Augustus O. Stanley was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park is a state park located in the northwest corner of Perry County, Kentucky. The park itself encompasses 856 acres (346 ha), while Buckhorn Lake, a mountain reservoir lake which serves as its major feature and which was created by damming the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River, covers approximately 1,230 acres (500 ha). The park is adjacent to the northern edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is a park located just southwest of Corbin, Kentucky and is contained entirely within the Daniel Boone National Forest. The park encompasses 1,657 acres (671 ha) and is named for its major feature, 68-foot-tall (21 m) Cumberland Falls. The falls are one of the few places in the western hemisphere where a moonbow can frequently be seen on nights with a full moon. The park is also the home of 44-foot (13 m) Eagle Falls. The section of the Cumberland River that includes the falls was designated a Kentucky Wild River by the Kentucky General Assembly through the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Wild Rivers System. The forest in the park is also a dedicated State Nature Preserve.
General Butler State Resort Park is a state park located near Carrollton, Kentucky in Carroll County. The park is named for General William O. Butler, a soldier in both the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. The 791-acre (320 ha) park features a lodge, cabins and campground, fishing and canoeing on Butler Lake, trails for hiking and mountain biking.
Lincoln Homestead State Park is a state park located just north of Springfield, Kentucky in Washington County. The park encompasses 120 acres (49 ha), and features both historic buildings and reconstructions associated with Thomas Lincoln, father of President Abraham Lincoln.
Old Fort Harrod State Park is a park located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky in the United States. The park encompasses 15 acres (6.1 ha) and features a reconstruction of Fort Harrod, the first permanent American settlement in the state of Kentucky. The park was founded in November 1934 as Pioneer Memorial State Park, and dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Governor Ruby Laffoon.
Isaac Shelby Cemetery State Historic Site is a park in Lincoln County, Kentucky. It marks the estate and burial ground of Kentucky's first governor, Isaac Shelby. The site became part of the park system in 1951.
Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic Site is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) park in Monroe County, Kentucky. It features the Old Mulkey Meetinghouse, a Baptist church built around the turn of the 19th century, and its adjacent cemetery. The site became part of the park system in 1931.
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is a 745-acre (3.01 km2) park near Perryville in Boyle County, Kentucky. The park continues to expand with purchases of parcels by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and the American Battlefield Trust. An interpretive museum is located near the site where many Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Perryville were buried. Additionally, monuments, interpretive signage, and cannons mark notable events that occurred during the battle. The site became part of the Kentucky State Park System in 1936.
White Hall State Historic Site is a 14-acre (5.7 ha) park in Richmond, Kentucky, southeast of Lexington.
William Whitley House State Historic Site is a park in Crab Orchard, Kentucky. It features the home of Kentucky pioneer William Whitley and his wife, sharpshooter Esther Whitley. The home was built as a fortress against Indian attacks sometime between 1787 and 1794. The first brick house in Kentucky, its construction marked a transition in the area from log cabins to more formal homes. The site became part of the park system in 1938, and the house was restored by locals between 1948 and 1955. Additional property has been purchased for the park by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund, including Sportsman's Hill, the first horse racing track west of the Appalachians. In 2019 management of the site was adopted by the Lincoln County Fiscal Court with assistance from local historians.
Brinton Beauregard Davis was an architect in Kentucky. More than a dozen of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
