History of Kentucky

Common card · No. 390706

Kentucky's prehistory spans thousands of years, shaped by its diverse geography and location. Human occupation dates to approximately 9,500 BCE; a shift from hunter-gatherer to agriculture occurred around 1800 BCE. By 900 CE, a Mississippian culture emerged in western and central Kentucky, while a Fort Ancient culture developed in the east. Europeans first visited Kentucky in the late 17th century traveling on the Ohio River and in the late 18th century through the Appalachian Mountains. Following the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768), early settlers clashed with regional Native Americans over hunting grounds, eventually leading to Lord Dunmore's War (1774) and the Cherokee–American wars. Kentucky politically evolved from Virginia's Kentucke County (1777–1780) into the District of Kentucky (1780–1792), eventually becoming the 15th state on June 1, 1792. Kentucky's early economy relied on slave labor, family farms, and southern style plantations growing tobacco for the national market. Slavery...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Filson, John; Pursell, Henry D.; Rook, Ternon, Public domain