Images for Essay Contest

Pioneers settle in frontier Kentucky

John Bowman letter to Isaac Hite, March 6, 1780, relating news from Kentucky. add pg1 pg2 pg3

George Rogers Clark (1752-1818), attributed to Matthew H. Jouett, ca. 1825. This portrait was copied from one by John Wesley Jarvis, painted ca. 1820, and based on family descriptions, depicting the Hannibal of the West in younger, better days.

The Lewis and Clark expedition travels west from the Ohio Valley

Portrait of William Clark painted by Joseph Bush, ca. 1817.

First printed word announcing the successful return of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, published in the Frankfort Palladium, October 2, 1806.

The October 9, 1806, issue of the Palladium reprinted William Clark's September 23, 1806, letter to his brother Jonathan providing details of the journey (excerpt).

William Clark's letter to his brother Jonathan Clark announcing the return of the Corps of Discovery from its journey to the Pacific, September 23, 1806 (p. 1).

William Clark's letter to his brother Jonathan, September, 24, 1806, the day after the Corps of Discovery's return from the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Tecumseh's defeat in the War of 1812

Black and white print depicting the idealized killing of Tecumseh by Richard Mentor Johnson at the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813.

A much idealized depiction of the death of Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813.The image is from an unidenitified book, It is filed in our 8x10 Individuals photographs for Tecumseh.

Circular letter issued by Governor Isaac Shelby urging the raising of militia for General William Henry Harrison's 1813 Northwestern expedition during the War of 1812, Beall-Booth Family Papers.

Pipe, catlinite w/wooden stem. ca. 1810. This pipe descended in the General William Henry family. Henry served in the Northwestern Campaign in the War of 1812 and family tradition states that this pipe belonged to the famous Native American leader Tecumseh,

Henry Clay's antebellum presidential campaigns

Henry Clay campaign song broadside for the 1844 presidential election.

Two Henry Clay presidential campaign ribbons, probably from the 1832 election.

Henry Clay campaign ribbon for the 1844 presidential election.

Engraving of Henry Clay by John Wood Dodge circulated for the 1844 presidential election.

Henry Bibb escapes slavery in Kentucky

Henry Bibb and family Narrative of the life and adventures of Henry Bibb : an American slave / written by himself ; with an introduction by Lucius C. Matlack.
by Bibb, Henry, b. 1815.

The Song of the "Contrabands" ("O Let My People Go!") words by Rev. L. C. Lockwood Music by Rev. L. C. Lockwood; Arr. by Thomas Baker; 1861; Filson sheet music collection

image of Henry Bibb and his family from
Narrative of the life and adventures of Henry Bibb : an American slave / written by himself ; with an introduction by Lucius C. Matlack.
by Bibb, Henry, b. 1815.

The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act

Humphrey Marshall Papers, Mss./A/M368/7, letter from Thomas B. Bryan, 26 January 1852, to C. F. Mercer, regarding the difficulty in legally reclaiming an escaped slave

Letter from Theodore Garnett to C. F. Mercer 26 January 1852 discusses difficulty in reclaiming slave who absconded in Cincinnati,Humphrey Marshall Papers, Mss./A/M368/7, Special Collections Department, FHS

letter concerning the compromise Marshall family : papers, 1815-1897. Manuscript collection

Broadside announcing the sale of slaves in Shepherdsville, KY, 1854manuscript collection

reproduced from a broadside asking for a reward for a runaway salve, 1822, the Family Bullitt papers, Filson Manuscript Collection

Kentucky's response to secession

Kentuckian and federal official Joseph Holt was a strong supporter of the Union.

C. L. S. Matthews' secessionist calling card.

William Bodley writes A. Burwell from Mississippi on November 26, 1860, regarding the secession crisis. pg1 pg2

Hector Green writes his son (probably John) on August 14, 1861, with news from Kentucky, especially concerning union and secessionist feeling. pg 1, 4 pg 2,3

George Howard Gondy writes a friend regarding pro-union and secessionist feeling in Kentucky, June 3, 1861. pg 1, 4 pg 2, 3

A divided Kentucky in the Civil War

Broadside address to the People of Kentucky requesting volunteers to join the Confederate army. The sign-ups will be held in Bardstown, Kentucky on September 29, 1862. Interested parties are to apply to General S. B. Buckner per the request of Braxton Bragg

Print of Landing of Ohio Troops at Louisville, Ky., sketched by Mr. H. Mosler., ca. 1860-1865 Print collection

The Confederate Raid into Kentucky - The fight at the Licking Bridge, Cynthiana between the Federal Troops and the Morgan Confederate Guerrillas, shows John Hunt Morgan's troops firing upon the Union troops at Cynthiana on 17 July 1862. Harpers Weekly. Print

Watson's Civil War journal documents the operations of the 47th Virginia Cavalry Battalion (part of "Jackson's Brigade") from 2 June to 25 December 1864. The journal provides cursory descriptions of Confederate General Jubal A. Early's 1864 raid on Washington

Confederate broadside poem, printed in Louisville, Ky., in 1861. Urges Kentuckians to rise, arm, stand, dare, and strike in succeeding stanzas. Manuscript Collection

Patriotic cover supporting Kentucky remainig loyal to the Union. From the manuscript collection of patriotic stationery.

Patriotic cover urging Kentucky to remain loyal to the Union and quoting Henry Clay. From the manuscript collection of patriotic stationery.

Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation in Kentucky

Photogaph of President Abraham Lincoln taken by Matthew Brady. No date.

Engraving from an 1864 painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter depicting Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet discussing the Emancipation Proclamation. Filson Print Collection.

Willie to Mattie Webber relating the life and opinions of a soldier, including emancipation, March 5, 1863. (pp. 1 & 4)

Willie writes Mattie Webber regarding the life and opinions, including emancipation, of a soldier, March 5, 1863. ( pp. 2 & 3)

Speech of Nathaniel Wolfe, February 11, 1863.

African Americans in Reconstruction-era Kentucky

An African American family, almost certainly former slaves, living in former slave quarters on the Winston farm in Boone County, Ky. No date (ca. 1870).

Illustration from either a Harper's Weekly or Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper depicting four African Americans sentenced to hang for murder and the scene outside the jail in Louisville on execution day. No date. Filson print collection.

Photograph by Louisville photographer Paul Gunter of an unidentified African American musician and possibly his family. Ca. 1900. Paul Gunter Collection.

The tobacco wars of the early twentieth century

Letter to Honorable Z. F. Smith from Governor Augustus Wilson dated 31 March 1909 describing his tenure as governor for Smith's book on KY history. He describes the Ky Night Riders on pg 2. From the Z. F. Smith papers, 1889-1909.

Military called in to protect tobacco farmers from the Night Riders during the Black Patch War, ca. 1904. Photo is property of the Brown Bros.

Tobacco wagon, pre-1902, by Fowler. Hauling tobacco in from field to be hung in barn. From Filson Photographic collection.

Coal mining, labor organizing, and environmental issues in eastern Kentucky

Image of a coal team at Muddy Branch, Johnson County, Ky. mining for domestic ore. Image from the Filson Photographic collection.

Image of a coal tipple, 1930. Image by McClure, from the FilsonPhotographic collection.

Coal Mine, Matewan, Va. Miners Tents near a coal mine in Matewan, Va., May 1922. Image by Taylor Studios, located in the Filson Photographic collection.

Mouth of the Kentucky Union Land Company's coal mine at Elkatawa, KY on Cane Creek in Breathitt County, 1890. From the Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston mountain collection.

Voting rights for women

Portion of a speech by Ms. Teed Withers Smith on women's suffrage, ca. 1910.

Minute book of the Louisville Equal Rights Association, 1889-1895. Also known as the Louisville Woman Suffrage Association, p. 1 includes its constitution and by-laws.

image 3

The Depression, the New Deal, and the Tennessee Valley Authority

Cumberland Falls State Park. Falls from upper lookout point below. Aug. 26/ 28, 1939- by Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston

Family studies during the depression conducted by the Neighborhood House, a Louisville social services settlement. From the Frances Ingram papers, 1894-1953.

Family study of Failey family during the depression pg 1, from the Francis Ingrahm papers.

'Family study' of Failey family of Louisville,KY during the depression, pg 2, from the Frances Ingram papers, 1894-1953. Conducted by the Neighborhood House.

Excerpt from the Division of Forestry Relations Tennessee Valley Authority Annual Report 1951. From the Tom Wallace Papers.

News clipping in the John Bishop papers about the potential effects of a TVA project proposed in Kentucky.

The impact of World War I and World War II in Kentucky

Members of an American Expeditionary Force field artillery unit in France, 1917.

Machine gun mounted a plane, Soissons, France, October 1917.

American soldiers among the ruins of war in France, July 1918.

Government telegram informing Mrs. William Harrison that her husband is missing in action in North Africa, 1942.

Instructions for sending packages to prisoners of war, 1942. pg1 pg2 pg3

Newspaper clipping picturing Mrs. William Harrison accepting a medal on behalf of her husband, who was a prisoner of war at the time, March 1943.

The horse racing industry in Kentucky

Stereocard of the famed Twin Spires of Churchill Downs, ca. 1900.

Horses and riders on the backstretch at Churchill Downs, ca. 1960s.

Exercising a thoroughbred at Churchill Downs. No date.

Horses parading on the track before a race at Keeneland. No date.

Broadside advertising the trotter Norman standing at stud in Boyle Co., Ky., March 19, 1859.

A thoroughbred getting rubbed down.

The Civil Rights struggle in Kentucky

A Louisville demonstration for desegregation. No date, probably the early 1960s.

This photograph document in part the racial unrest in Louisville following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in April of 1968. The Kentucky National Guard was called out regarding possible disturbances in the wake of this tragic event.

Industrialization and environmental protection in the Kentucky and the Ohio Valley

Street scene in downtown Louisville showing pollution (probably smoke) from an unknown source 1940s,

Photo of an air pollution deomonstration in downtown Louisville, ca. 1970s.

Letterhead of the Belknap Manufacturing Co. illustrating industry and transportation - and pollution.

The Filson Historical Society