About the Kentucky Historical Society
The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) was formed in 1836 by a group of prominent Kentuckians who wanted the Commonwealth's history preserved. It lapsed for seven years after 1889 and was revived in 1896; today it is both a membership organization and an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. KHS holds full accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian affiliate, and was a founding member of the History Relevance Campaign. Its mission statement is short: to educate and engage the public through Kentucky's history in order to meet the challenges of the future.
The society runs a three-site campus in downtown Frankfort. The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History at 100 West Broadway, opened to the public in 1999, is the headquarters and main museum. Across the street at 300 West Broadway stands the Old State Capitol, designed by Gideon Shryock, the state's first native-born professionally trained architect, and used as the seat of government from 1830 to 1910. The Kentucky Military History Museum occupies the State Arsenal of 1850 at 125 East Main Street. Daily exhibit tours run at 1:00 p.m. (military museum), 2:00 p.m. (Old State Capitol) and 3:00 p.m. (history center), with an 11:00 a.m. gallery talk.
KHS also administers the state historical marker program, publishes the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (continuously since 1903), and produces the ExploreKYHistory app, a video archive and the Kentucky Chronicles podcast.
Collections and Research Services
The Martin F. Schmidt Research Library, on the second floor of the Clark Center with elevator access, is the statewide stop for genealogists. Its holdings cover all 120 Kentucky counties and include published county histories and family histories, manuscripts, maps and atlases, oral history interviews and microfilm; the collection runs to more than 90,000 books and periodicals, 16,000 rolls of microfilm, 30,000 vertical files and some 200,000 historic photographs. Library hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and library use is included in general admission or free with membership. First-time visitors register at the lobby desk; bags, pens and personal scanners stay in the lockers outside, and photocopies cost $0.50 a page. Catalog and digital collections can be searched online before a trip.
If you cannot get to Frankfort, KHS offers fee-based research by mail: a single-record lookup of one person in one indexed source is $21.20, and staff research runs $47.70 per hour for members and $53.00 for others, with payment in advance and up to eight weeks for a reply (forms are on the website; call (502) 782-8080 with questions). To prepare, work through our guide to free family history research so you arrive with names, counties and dates, and see how to find where someone is buried for Kentucky cemetery sources.
Planning Your Visit
All three sites are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closed Mondays and major holidays. One ticket covers every location, exhibits and the daily tours: $8 for adults, $6 for youth 6 to 18 and for active-duty military and veterans, free for children 5 and under and for KHS members. Tickets are sold online and at the door. The Clark Center is at 100 West Broadway; confirm holiday closures and parking at history.ky.gov. About 45 miles south in Bardstown, My Old Kentucky Home State Park preserves the Federal Hill mansion that inspired Stephen Foster's song.
Explore Kentucky's Historical Landscape
Use the When It Was app to discover historical businesses, landmarks, and buildings throughout Kentucky. See how your community has transformed over the decades.
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