Kentucky’s historical marker program one of oldest, largest in the United States

I’ve often shared about growing up in a family that regularly took day trips around Kentucky, and how those trips impacted me enough to write books and a weekly column about the Commonwealth.

Part of the allure was coming across historical markers placed strategically in many of the places we visited. Concise accounts about Daniel Boone, the Civil War, our governors, and important heritage events came through those solidly built sign structures alongside highways or in front of important buildings.

• RELATED: Christian County’s historical markers tell stories of the past

Nostalgia and the thought that my readers would also be interested led me to contact the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) to find out about the emergence and present status of the marker program. I met Dr. Jim Seaver in downtown Frankfort at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, headquarters for KHS. Jim, KHS Community Engagement Coordinator, was friendly and generous in answering my questions. His cohorts in the building were also quite welcoming.

So how did the Historical Marker Program, now including about 2400 markers around the state, get started?

“Most people are surprised to learn we have one of the oldest and larger marker programs in the country,” Jim said. “It dates to 1949, as far as the state being in charge of it. The Kentucky Department of Highways and KHS partnered up to basically install those roadside markers.” Before that time, he noted that a private group called the Historical Markers Society (HMS), made up of businessmen, local politicians, and university professors from UK, was founded in 1935. In part, its additional purpose was to boost the local economy.

That group produced about two dozen markers, mostly around the central part of Kentucky. “We call them the ‘first generation markers’,” he said. “They don’t look like the ones we put up today.” The first one was put on the grounds of Ashland, the Henry Clay home, and the second was the number two was placed in front of Keeneland.

By 1962, KHS took on the total management of the Historic Marker Program, though the Highway Department is still very involved. “They are the unsung heroes of what we do. They help us get the markers put up and if someone backs into a marker, I can ask the Transportation Cabinet go out and help us with it,” he said.

Jim gave credit to Walter Wentworth, a retired advertising executive, for his leadership in expanding the markers to more areas of Kentucky. “There was a marker boom in the 1960s and ‘70s,” he noted. “He got involved with the Historical Society. He looked around and realized that 80 per cent of the markers at that point had ended up in Central Kentucky.” Wentworth believed strongly that markers should have a state reach and be in every county. Very much through his efforts, all 120 Kentucky counties have a marker presence today. Wentworth now has a historical marker, #1420, standing in his honor behind the Old Capitol Building, a short walk from KHS.

In all, Jim described the three generations of marker styles, here with brief descriptions (edited for brevity):

• FIRST GENERATION: Used from 1936, when the private and nonprofit HMS, Lexington, sponsored the markers. The state government took over in 1949. In 1962, the state highway department relinquished the two-way partnership with KHS and the program became wholly under KHS control. Those markers featured the state seal, two stars, and short narratives.

• SECOND GENERATION: From 1962 to 2000, new designs allowed for longer narratives and featured scrolls and design work on either side of the seal. Second generation were painted to look weathered, with olive green backgrounds with burnt umber centers to look like rust. If it’s been repainted in the years since to eliminate the color scheme, it’s considered a third-generation design.

• THIRD GENERATION: The paint color today is called “shading green,” with the letters and numbers covered with gold enamel paint. Note that with the rise of electrostatic painting, starting at about the year 2000, made it too cumbersome to try to put a different paint design in the middle of the marker, as opposed to running with a solid color without.

Kentucky contracts with Sewell Studios, in Marietta, Ohio, to make the markers, each taking about a week to produce. A short video on Sewell Studios’ process is available on Youtube.

We’ve likely all come across markers around the state that are difficult to read because they are weathered or just plain dirty. I asked Jim what one might do to clean them.

“You can use a regular scrub brush, but first do a rigorous safety check,” he emphasized. “If it’s unstable or wobbly, it’s best to leave it alone and contact us. Use a nylon bristle brush and Dawn dish detergent to take off grime, moss, and lichen.”

Jim recommends doing such cleaning in conjunction with “National Historical Marker Day,” held on the last day of April every year. It is sponsored by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

So how does one proceed if they have a topic idea to institute a new historical marker? First, some general things. The KHS marker guidelines mandate that a person has to be deceased a minimum of fifteen years before consideration, Jim emphasized. The topic considered should not only be of local interest but somehow rises to the level of state or national interest. And a “letter of interest” must be submitted by February 15.

“They also need to demonstrate that the topic has a lot of community support in the area where the marker will be installed,” Jim said. “When they nominate a topic, they need to send letters of support and I always say, ‘cast a broad net,’” such as (having) the mayor, city council, scouting groups, veterans’ organizations, or people who have an affinity for certain topics in the area—helping to see that is not just a ‘pet project’.”

Visit history.ky.gov for detailed information of the process.

The final decision for the words inscribed on markers belongs to KHS. They want the information to be both concise and undeniably factual, and that requires careful processing. A standard marker can only fit 125 words. “Our team of historians write the first draft of the narratives and then we work with partners and kind of ‘push and pull’ on the language,” Jim explained. “We are using state taxpayer money to put up new markers, so we want to be very judicious and stewards of that funding.” From 1992 to 2021, a private model for paying was used.

Jim said that the Kentucky General Assembly’s budgeted amount to the program “creates a level playing field, where any, regardless of ability to pay,” has a shot to have a marker put up “as long as they put in the work and fit the guidelines of the program.”

Email Jim at james.seaver@ky.gov for questions, and for those who simply want to know what markers are presented around Kentucky, an easy-to-use database is also available online. New markers coming this year include one showcasing the Packhorse Library Project and one in Sturgis, in Western Kentucky, about the 1956 contentious racial desegregation issue in a local high school.

This story is republished with permission from the Nothern Kentucky Review. Read the original.