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The Commonwealth of Kentucky i/kᵻnˈtʌki/ is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth (the others being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts). Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 it became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th largest state in terms of total area, the 36th largest in land area, and ranks 26th in population. Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that native bluegrass is present in many of the pastures throughout the state, based on the fertile soil. It made possible the breeding of high-quality livestock, especially thoroughbred racing horses. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park; the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the Lower 48 states; and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, the largest free-ranging elk herd east of Montana, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing, tobacco and college basketball. Show new selections Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music. It has its own roots in Irish, Scottish and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants in Appalachia), as well as that of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. In bluegrass, as in jazz, each instrument takes a turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others revert to backing; this is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Bluegrass is distinctively acoustic, rarely using electrical instruments. Since the late 1990s, several mainstream country musicians have recorded bluegrass albums. Ricky Skaggs, who began as a bluegrass musician and crossed over to mainstream country in the 1980s, returned to bluegrass in 1996, and since then has recorded several bluegrass albums and tours with his bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder. Skaggs went on to form a recording company called The Skaggs Family Records signing new bluegrass artists and bands such as Cadillac Sky to carry on the legacy of bluegrass music. Photo credit: C. Bedford Crenshaw John Hunt Morgan Memorial features testicles placed on a mare. Bardstown is a city in Nelson County. The population was 10,374 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. It is named for David Bard, the man who obtained the land for the city from the governor of Virginia, and his brother William Bard, the surveyor who laid out the town. Bardstown is the second oldest city in Kentucky. It was settled in the 1770s, and received its charter in 1790. Bardstown was the first center of Catholicism west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Diocese of Bardstown was established on February 8, 1808, and served all Catholics between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, an area now served by 44 dioceses and archdioceses in 10 states. Its cathedral still stands as the Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral. The seat of the diocese was transferred to Louisville in 1841. Bardstown is still the home of a Catholic high school, Bethlehem High School. Bardstown is the home of My Old Kentucky Home State Park, on which the Federal Hill mansion ( the alleged inspiration for Stephen Foster's song "My Old Kentucky Home") was built by Judge John Rowan and his wife Ann Lytle Rowan of the Lytle family, from whose father William Lytle they had been deeded the land as a wedding gift. The Federal Hill mansion is depicted on the reverse of the Kentucky state quarter issued by the United States Mint in 2001. ...that the Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument (pictured) in Hart County, Kentucky is unique for being built with geodes, and for honoring a Louisiana soldier who died accidentally by his own rifle? ...that Bullitt's Lick was the first industry and supplier of salt in what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky? ...that pioneer James Harrod established the first permanent settlement in the U.S. state of Kentucky on June 16, 1774? ...that despite two centuries of exploration nobody has found evidence of the legendary silver mine of Jonathan Swift? ...that during his administration, Kentucky governor William J. Fields forbade drinking alcohol and dancing in the Governor's Mansion? ...that members of the Appalachian Volunteers were charged with sedition in 1967 for plotting the violent overthrow of Pike County, after the group's successful efforts led to closure of a Kentucky coal mine? ...that in his 1915 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign, Augustus O. Stanley advocated a one dollar tax for every dog a person owned? ...that Basil W. Duke became the chief consul and lobbyist for the L&N Railroad after the American Civil War, even though he led many efforts in destroying their property during the war? State Bird Beverage: Milk Bird: Cardinal Butterfly: Viceroy Butterfly Dance: Clogging Fish: Kentucky Spotted Bass Flower: Goldenrod Fossil: Brachiopod Fruit: Blackberry Grass: Kentucky Bluegrass Horse: Thoroughbred Instrument: Appalachian Dulcimer Mineral: Coal Tree: Tulip Poplar Wild Animal Game Species: Gray Squirrel More State Symbols... Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the most elongated cave system known in the world. The official name of the system is the Mammoth Cave System for the ridge under which the cave has formed. The park was established as a national park on July 1, 1941. It became a World Heritage Site on October 27, 1981, and an international Biosphere Reserve on September 26, 1990. The guide traditions at Mammoth Cave date back to the period just after the War of 1812, and to guides such as Stephen Bishop. The style of this humor itself is part of the living tradition of the cave guides, and is duly a part of the interpretive program. Jillian Hall (born September 6, 1980), the ring name of Jillian Faith Fletcher, is an American professional wrestler who currently performs for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand. Jillian Hall made her World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut on the July 28, 2005 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown with a gimmick of a "fixer" for the heel stable MNM. She also had a "growth" on the left side of her face, which she referred to as a "blemish", that announcers constantly speculated on the nature of. Her current gimmick is that she is a bad singer and doesn't realize it, as a spoof on Brooke Hogan. During Raw's 15th Anniversary show held on December 10, 2007, Hall wanted to sing a song from her album, but a returning Trish Stratus cut her off. As Stratus was talking about being part of the show, Hall told her that she (Trish) had the biggest ego in WWE History. This brought out Lita, a long time rival of Stratus. Hall attempted to encourage Lita to attack Stratus, however both returning divas attacked Hall. Template:/box-header “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” -- Abraham Lincoln “I was brought up to believe that Scotch whisky would need a tax preference to survive in competition with Kentucky bourbon.” -- Hugo Black “Tough girls come from New York. Sweet girls, they're from Georgia. But us Kentucky girls, we have fire and ice in our blood. We can ride horses, be a debutante, throw left hooks, and drink with the boys, all the while making sweet tea, darlin'. And if we have an opinion, you know you're gonna hear it.” -- Ashley Judd Soon after, I returned home to my family, with a determination to bring them as soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which I esteemed a second paradise, at the risk of my life and fortune. 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