The Lexington History Museum will open its newest exhibit, Lexington: 1810, at Noon today!
The exhibit notes the life and times of the Town of Lexington 200 years ago. Barely 30 years old, the town was the largest in the West with a population of more than 4,300. Ironically, 1810 was Lexingtons zenith year. As river trade opened up, the landlocked town went into commercial decline, a trend only overcome in the years following World War II.
”1810 is a fascinating year for Lexington,” observed Bradley C. Canon, Ph.D., the retired University of Kentucky political science professor who conducted research for the exhibit. “Lexington saw itself as one of the great cities of the nation, if not the world. The year represented the citys vision of itself that continues today.”
Displays include newspaper articles from The Kentucky Gazette and The Lexington Reporter, a book published in Lexington that year, and a letter written by Henry Clay while he was serving as a Congressman in Washington, D.C. The latter two artifacts are on loan from the Special Collections & Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries. The newspaper articles are from the Kentucky Room, Lexington Public Library.
Lexington: 1810 will run through June 2010, after which it will be replaced by Lexington: 1910, recounting the city 100 years ago.
Located at 215 W. Main St., The Lexington History Museum is open Friday-Monday, Noon-4 p.m. It also opens early Saturdays at 10 a.m. Admission is free. For more information call 859-254-0530 or visit http://www.LexingtonHistoryMuseum.org.
The Lexington History Museum engages all people in the discovery and interpretation of the history of Lexington, Ky., and the Bluegrass Region.