ERIC ED383629: Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region. Pathways in Geography Series, Site Guide Title No. 10.

77 Pages·1994·3.3 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 383 629
SO 024 990
AUTHOR
Ulack, Richard, Ed.; And Others
TITLE
Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region.
Pathways in Geography Series, Site Guide Title No.
10.
INSTITUTION
National Council for Geographic Education.
REPORT NO
ISBN-1-884136-02-8
PUB DATE
94
NOTE
83p.; For related documents in this series, see SO
024 988-991. Publication prepared for the Annual
Meeting of the National Council for Geographic
Education (78th, Lexington, KY, November 2-5,
1994).
AVAILABLE FROM
National Council for Geographic Education, 16A
Leonard Hall, Indiana University-of Pennsylvania,
Indiana, PA 15705 ($9.50).
PUB TYPE
Guides
Classroom Use
Teaching Guides (For
Teacher) (052)
Speeches/Conference Papers (150)
EDRS PRICE
MF01/11C04 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
Area Studies; Cultural Traits; *Geographic Concepts;
*Geographic Regions; *Geography; Geography
Instruction; Higher Education; *Human Geography;
Physical Geography; Regional Characteristics;
Secondary Education
IDENTIFIERS
*Kentucky (Bluegrass Region); *Kentucky
(Lexington)
ABSTRACT
This meeting site guide for Lexington, Kentucky and
the Bluegrass region around Lexington illustrates why
the state of
Kentucky and this region are excellent examples of how
geography
plays out on the land, how regions
emerge, and how human events and
processes, in the context of the physical environment, lead to
differentiation and distinction, and long-term
boundary maintenance.
This guide also shows how and why the Inner Bluegrass'
central
location and ex
'lent situation, in both Kentucky and the eastern
United States, have recently become key
reasons for businesses and
services to locate in the region. The introduction (Richard Ulack)
focuses on:
(1) "Early Settlement of the Inner Bluegrass";
(2) "From
the 1790s to Today"; and (3) "Inner Bluegrass Attractions."
Chapter
1
titled "Creating the Bluegrass Environment" (John
F. Watkins and Gary
O'Dell) describes Kentucky's physical regions.
Chapter 2. "Creating
Places and Regions," includes the following: (1) "The
Countryside"
(Karl B. Reitz); (2) "The Region's Towns and Cities" (Richard
Ulack);
(3) "The Population of the Inner Bluegrass" (Richard Ulack);
(4)
"Bluegrass Culture" (Karl B. Reitz); and (5) "Lexington"
(Richard
Schein). Chapter 3, "Interactions and Connections,"
has the
following: (1) "Lexington
as Center for Transportation,
Communications, and Information" (Stanley D. Brunn);
(2) "Modern
Lexington as Regional Center" (Richard Schein); (3) "Horse
Breeding
and Racing" (Karl B. Reitz); and (4) "Automobiles and the
Japanese
Connection: Toyota in Kentucky" (Susan Roberts). Chapter 4, "Learning
Activities" (Nijel Clayton; Kate Greer Fischer), contains
the
following: (1) "Kentucky's Physical Landscapes"; (2) "Tobacco:
King
or Curse?" (3) "Studying Land Use through City Directories";
(4)
"Black Settlement Patterns in the Bluegrass"; (5) "The
Horse Industry
in Kentucky"; and (6) "On the
Road Again...." Maps, tables, and
figures accompany the text." Contains
22 references.
(EH)
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Lexington and
PATHWAYS IN GEOGRAPHY
Guide
Kentucky's Inner
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Bluegrass Region
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National Council for
'graphic Education
Richard Ulack, Karl B. Raitz, and
Hilary Lambert Hopper, Editors
Prepared for the 78th annual meeting of the
National Council for Geographic Education
Lexington, Kentucky
November 2-5, 1994
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Office OI F locahonal Research and improvement
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Pr.
Titles in the PATHWAYS IN GEOGRAPHY Series
Gersmehl, Philip J. 1991. The Language of Maps.
1.
Andrews, Sona Karentz, Amy Otis-Wilborn, and Trinka Messenheimer-Young. 1991.
2.
Beyond Seeing and Hearing: Teaching Geography to Sensory Impaired Children
An Integrated Based Curriculum Approach.
Waterstone, Marvin. 1992. Water in the Global Environment.
3.
Martinson, Tom L. and Susan R. Brooker-Gross, eds. 1992. Revisiting the Americas: Teaching and Learning the
4.
Geography of the Western Hemisphere.
An Annotated
LeVasseur, Michal. 1993. Finding A Way: Encouraging Underrepresented Groups in Geography
5.
Bibliography. A PATHWAYS Resource Publication
Ennals, Peter. 1993. The Canadian Maritimes: Images and Encounters.
6.
Slater, Frances. 1993. Learning Through Geography.
7.
Baumann, Paul R. 1994. Up Close From Afar: Using Remote Sensing to Teach the American Landscape.
8.
Benhart, John E. and Alex Margin. 1994. Wetlands: Science, Politics, and Geographical Relationships.
9.
10. Ulack, Richard, Karl B. Raitz, and Hilary Lambert Hopper, eds. 1994. Lexington and Kentucky's
Inner Bluegrass Region.
Special Publications Advisory Board
Salvatore J. Natoli, Editor of Special Publications, Washington, DC
Janice Monk, University of Arizona
John E. Benhart, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Carolyn Prorok, Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania
National Council for Geographic Education Officers 1994
M. Duane Nellis, President, Kansas State University
Douglas A. Phillips, Past President, Anchorage School District, Alaska
Edward A. Fernald, Vice President, Curriculum and Instruction, Florida State University
James Marran, Vice President, Curriculum and Instruction, Wilmette, Illinois
Donald Zeigler, Vice President, Research and External Relations, Old Dominion University, Virginia
Martha B. Sharma, Vice President, Publications and Products, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC
James F. Peters._ n, Vice l'resident, Finance, Southwest Texas State University
Sandra Pritchard, Recording Secretary, West Chester University, Pennsylvania
Ruth I. Shirey, Executive Director, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
National Council for Geographic Education
16A Leonard Hall
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, Per.nsylvania 15705
01994
Lexington and
A PATHWAYS IN GEOGRAPHY
Site Guide
Kentucky's Inner
Bluegrass Region
The National Council for
Geographic Education
Richard Ulack, Karl B. Raitz, and
THE PATHWAYS IN GEOGRAPHY series has
Hilary Lambert Hopper, Editors
Publications
by
the
Special
created
been
Advisory Board of the National Council for
Geographic Education to support the teaching
Prepared for the 78th annual meeting of the
and learning of themes, concepts, and skills in
National Council for Geographic Education
geography at all levels of instruction.
Lexington, Kentucky
November 2-5, 1994
PATHWAYS IN GEOGRAPHY Series Title No. 10
Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region
Site Guide prepared for the 78th annual meeting of the National Council for
Geographic Education, Lexington, Kentucky, November 2-5, 1994
Richard Ulack, Karl B. Raitz and Hilary Lambert Hopper, Editors
Richard Gilbreath and Gyula Pauer, CartographersUniversity of Kentucky Cartography Laboratory
Copyright ©1994 by the National Council for Geographic Education.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the piblisher.
Materials may be copied by educators for classroom use only without obtaining permission.
For information about this title or about the series:
National Council for Geographic Education
16A Leonard Hall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA 15705
ISBN 1-884136-u2-8
Printed in the United States of America.
0
Table of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION
Richard Ulack
3
Early Settlement of the Inner Bluegrass
3
From the 1790s to Today
3
Inner Bluegrass Attractions
5
1. CREATING THE BLUEGRASS ENVIRONMENT
Kentucky's Physical Regions and the Inner Bluegrass
S
John F. Watkins and Gary O'Dell
5
Geologic and Geomorphic Character of the Bluegrass
7
Bluegrass Weather and Climate
9
Inner Bluegrass Karst Landscapes
10
Environmental Issues
12
2. CREATING PLACES AND REGIONS
12
The Countryside
Karl B. Raitz
12
Country Roads and County Seats
14
Inner Bluegrass Farms
16
The Region's Towns and Cities
Richard Ulack
16
Early City Growth
16
Lexington's Development
18
Emergence of Other Towns and Cities
20
The Population of the Inner Bluegrass
Richard Ulack
20
Suburbanization Led the Changes
21
Jobs, Education, and Growth
23
Bluegrass Culture
Karl B. Raitz
23
The Common People Arrive
24
Links to the Outside
24
Two Centuries of Juxtapositions
25
Lexington
Richard Schein
25
Showing Great Promise, Early
27
Into the Twentieth Century
29
Lexington as Unique Yet Typical
6
Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region
3. INTERACTIONS AND CONNECTIONS
31
Lexington as Center for Transportation, Communications, and Information
31
Stanley D. Brunn
Transportation
31
Communications
33
Information
34
Lexington's Role in the Future
36
Modern Lexington as Regional Center
36
Richard Schein
Nineteenth Century Brings a New Role
36
All Roads Still Lead to Lexington
37
Symbolic Heart of the Bluegrass and Beyond
38
Horse Breeding and Racing
39
Karl B. Raitz
The Obvious Geographical Question
39
After Historic Precedent, Environmental Circumstance
40
Other Geographical Factorsand Good Genes
41
A Happy Coalescence
41
Automobiles and the Japanese Connection; Toyota in Kentucky
42
Susan Roberts
Japanese Cars in the U.S.: Why and Where
42
Kentucky as an "Activist State"
44
The Regional Impact
45
A Kentucky Window on the Global Economy
45
4. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
47
Nijel Clayton and Kate Greer Fischer
Kentucky's Physical Landscapes
48
Tobacco: King or Curse?
53
Studying Land Use through City Directories
56
Black Settlement Patterns in the Bluegrass
58
The Horse Industry in Kentucky
61
On the Road Again
64
Further Readings and References Cited
68
iv
Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2
Kentucky's Physical Regions and the Inner Bluegrass
1.
6
Physiographic Diagram of Kentucky and the Bluegrass Region
2.
8
Climography: Lexington
3.
13
Major Highways in Kentucky and the Inner Bluegrass
4.
Population Growth of Inner Bluegrass
5.
19
Cities and Towns: 1970, 1980, and 1990
21
Kentucky Population Growth, 1970-1990 (%)
6.
26
7. Downtown Lexington
28
Lexington's Urban Growth, 1940-1990
8.
32
Central and Eastern Kentucky's Historic Routes
9.
43
10. Japanese Automobile Factories in the United States
46
11. Toyota's Kentucky Suppliers, 1993
Other Figures (unnumbered): Kentucky outline maps for class use
50
Drainage
51
Physiographic regions (with names)
52
Physiographic regions (without names)
66
Counties (with names)
67
Counties (without names)
Tables
The Inner Bluegrass: Population of
1.
17
Cities and Towns: 1870, 1910, 1950, and 1990
Population, 1990 and Percent Population Growth, 1950-1970 and
2.
20
1970-1990, Inner Bluegrass Counties and Kentucky
22
Non-Agricultural Employment by Type of Industry, 1991
3.
55
Burley Tobacco - County Estimates, 1990
4.
8
INTRODUCTION
Richard Ulack
counties, some
key, produced in a number of
second
This annual meeting site guide is the
illegal to sell
of which are still dry (where it is
annual meeting site guide in the
PATHWAYS IN
alcoholic beverages).
state
GEOGRAPHY series. It illustrates why the
region are ex-
of Kentucky and its Bluegrass
the
The Bluegrass region is encireed on
plays out
cellent examples of how geography
the east,
north by the Ohio River and on
regions emerge, and how
on the land, how
region. The
south, and west by the Knobs
context of
human events and processes, in the
sub-
Bluegrass includes three topographic
differentia-
the physical environment, lead to
the Eden
regions called the Outer Bluegra3,
boundary
tion and distinction, and long-term
Bluegrass. The
Shale Hills, and the Inner
how and
maintenance. This guide also shows
areasLouis-
state's three major metropolitan
location and
why the Inner Bluegrass' central
adjacent to
ville, the northern Kentucky cities
the
excellent situation, in both Kentucky and
and
Newport,
(Covington,
Cincinnati
recently become
eastern United States, have
places), and
Florence, among other, smaller
to lo-
key reasons for businesses and services
Lexingtonstand at the apexes of what is
cate in the region.
that com-
called the Golden Triangle, an area
state's population
prises the majority of the
regions
Of Kentucky's six major physical
and most of its industrial and commercial ac-
1), the best-known is the Bluegrass
(Fig.
tivity.
recognizable to
Region. A place name that is
conjures
outsiders far and wide, the Bluegrass
is with the Inner
Our concern here
thoroughbred
images of grassy rolling hills,
includes all
Bluegrass subregion, an area that
region's
horses, and beautiful farms. On the
Anderson, Bour-
or parts of eleven counties:
have
limestones
Ordovician
phosphatic
Harrison,
bon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin,
in the
developed some of the most fertile soils
Woodford (Fig.
Jessamine, Mercer, Scott, and
rolling sur-
world. Sinkholes dot the gently
eleven counties
1). The population of these
and the
face, many streams run underground,
numbered more than 465,000 in 1990, account-
together, these fea-
area is laced with caves;
population
ing for 12.5 percent of Kentucky's
American ex-
tures constitute one of the best
Inner
of 3.7 million. Lexington is the largest
addition to
amples of karst topography. In
Bluegrass city; also within the eleven-county
the area's farms also
horses and cattle,
and
subregion is the state capital, Frankfort,
the
produce burley tobacco and corn and, in
(Anderson
the county seats of Lawrenceburg
the heart of the
past, hemp. Lexington, at
Danville
(Boyle),
(Bourbon),
Paris
market for
Co.),
Bluegrass, is the world's largest
(Harrison),
Winchester (Clark), Cynthiana
winter
burley tobacco and in the late fall and
(Mer-
Nicholasville (Jessamine), Harrodsburg
being
there is a prevalent aroma of tobacco
and
Versailles
(Scott),
Georgetown
warehouses. The
cer),
processed in the
city's
(Woodford).
whis-
Bluegrass is also noted for its bourbon
Lexington and Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass Region
Figum 1: Kentucky's Physical Regions and the Inner Bluegrass
state capital
C)
0
county seat
town
0
Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass
SOURCE: Kentucky Land Use Suitability Map
UK Agricultural Experiment Station, 1933
0
20 miles
10
i
I
1
Scale
-4--- ?.
BLUEGkASS'
RigOITekr)
.de_
dito
0
100 miles
SO
I
I
I
Scale
Ai
SOURCE: adapted from The Geological Seery of Kenrucks Preston McGratn. 1963
2
1U