Two Kentucky Sites Added To National Historic Landmark Registry
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Two new Kentucky sites have been added to the list of National Historic Landmarks by the US Secretary of the Interior. The sites have close ties to Prohibition and the Civil War.
Rounding out the list of 13 new historic sites are Kentucky’s Camp Nelson Historic and Archeological District in Jessamine County and the George T. Stagg Distillery in Franklin County. National Park Service spokesperson Mike Litterst says the former played an important role in the integration of African-American troops in the Civil War.
"After the Union army started accepting African-American soldiers and created the United States Colored Troops, Camp Nelson become one of the largest training grounds for those men and it also became a very large refugee camp for the wives and children of those men," Litterst says.
Meanwhile, the Stagg Distillery is being recognized as a rare example of an intact distillery operating before, during, and after Prohibition. Litterst says the new landmarks are usually announced twice a year.