Bluegrass region
38°00′N 84°30′W / 38.0°N 84.5°W
The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford.[1] It is part of the Interior Low Plateaus ecoregion.
"Bluegrass" is a common name given in the United States for grass of the Poa genus, the most famous being the Kentucky bluegrass.[2] Despite its name, Kentucky bluegrass is native to Europe and was likely introduced around 1600.[3][4]
Geology
The Bluegrass region is characterized by underlying fossiliferous limestone, dolomite, and shale of the Ordovician geological age. Hills are generally rolling, and the soil is highly fertile for growing pasture.
The Kentucky Bluegrass is bounded on the east by the
History
Prehistory
Before European-American settlement, various cultures of
Post-colonial
During the decades which followed the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Americans settled in great numbers in the region. They migrated mostly from Virginia. By 1800 these planters noticed that horses grazed in the Bluegrass region were more hardy than those from other regions; this is due to the soil's high calcium content.[8] Within decades of increased settlement, the remaining herds of bison had moved west. The breeding of Thoroughbred horses was developed in the region, as well as of other quality livestock. Kentucky livestock was driven to Tennessee and other areas of the Ohio River valley for sale.
Planters, supported by slave labor, also cultivated major commodity crops on plantations, such as tobacco, hemp (see Hemp in Kentucky), and grapes (see Kentucky wine). The first commercial winery in the United States was opened in the Bluegrass region in 1801, in present-day Jessamine County by a group of Swiss immigrants.[9] It was authorized by the Kentucky General Assembly.
20th century to present
Since the
Although Bluegrass music is popular throughout the region, the genre is named after the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, which in turn took their name from the state nickname of Kentucky.
Gallery
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Kentucky River in the Bluegrass region -
Narrow country roads bounded by stone and wood plank fences are a fixture in the Bluegrass region.
References
- ^ Hammon, Neal O. "Early Kentucky Land Records, 1773–1780". Genealogy Trails History Group. Genealogy Trails. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Dag Ryen (letter to the editor) (June 3, 1993). "What Makes Kentucky's Bluegrass Blue". The New York Times. p. 22. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Kentucky Bluegrass". TruGreen.
- ^ "Kentucky Bluegrass" (PDF). library.nd.gov.
- ISBN 978-0-8131-6566-0.
- S2CID 133557743.
- ^ Dag Ryen (letter to the editor) (June 3, 1993). "What Makes Kentucky's Bluegrass Blue". The New York Times. p. 22. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Bluegrass region - region, Kentucky, United States". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ^ "Home". www.firstvineyard.net.
Further reading
- Klotter, James C. and Daniel Rowland, eds. Bluegrass Renaissance: The History and Culture of Central Kentucky, 1792–1852 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2012),
- Raitz, Karl, and Nancy O'Malley, "The Nineteenth-Century Evolution of Local-Scale Roads in Kentucky's Bluegrass," Geographical Review, 94 (October 2005), 415–39
- WPA, Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State (1939); classic guide from the Federal Writers Project; covers main themes and every town online
External links
- Bluegrass Heritage Museum
- Local Directory for Frankfort, the State Capital
- Slayman, Andrew (Spring 2007). "A Race Against Time for Kentucky's Bluegrass Country". World Monuments Fund. Archived from the original on 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- Raitz, Carl; Nancy O'Malley (January 2007). "Local-scale turnpike roads in nineteenth-century Kentucky". Journal of Historical Geography. 33 (1): 1–23. .
