Lexington Businesses & Clubs
Fayette County's local businesses and organizations contain a wealth of information about local residents.
To see the list of Lexington directories, click here.
The current collection includes:
- Concise History of Lexington Lodge No. 1 F. & A. M., by Alexander St. Clair Mackenize, November 17, 1788 – November 17, 1913
- A Pioneer Railway of the West by Maude Ward Lafferty, 1916
- A Record of Lexington Lawyers by Geroge Allison Holland, 1920
- Kentucky Association Racetrack program, Spring 1926
- Golden Anniversary: St. Joseph’s Hospital, 1877-1927
- Proceedings at Presentation of Portrait of Colonel John Rowen Allen to the Fayette County Bar, 1945
- Lexington Optimist Club, Twenty-Fifth Anniversary 1921-1946
- Rules of Practice of the Fayette Circuit Court, 1946
- Knights of Columbus, Bluegrass Council 762, documents and images from 1903-1959
- Kentucky Mountain Club, 1946, 1949, 1958-1959
- Directory and Wage Scales, Lexington Musicians’ Association Local 554-635, 1976
- Good Samaritan Hospital Auxiliary Yearbook, 1976-1977
- Lexington Public Library History, documents and images from 1887-1989
Other Archive Collections:
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Kentucky Pioneer Genealogy and Records Magazine
The Kentucky Pioneer Genealogy and Records Magazine published various articles about early Kentucky history. -
Kentucky County Events and Histories
The archive contains many county events and histories. -
The Reporter (1808-1817)
The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817. The name of the paper changed to Kentucky Reporter in October 1817. -
United States Army Armor School, Fort Knox
The US Army Armor School collection contains yearbooks of basic training graduates from Fort Knox. -
Lena Hart Tobey Collection
The Lena Hart Tobey Collection contains photos of people in Lexington in the 1880s. -
Kentucky Directories
Kentucky directories include non-Fayette County directories of various types. -
Kentucky Military Institute
The Cadet Adjutant was the student magazine of KMI for many years. -
Milam Diary Community Collection
The Milam Diary Community Collection contains the WWII USS Yorktown diary of Frank Milam. -
The True American
The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. It ran until 1847. -
Daily Lexington Atlas Newspaper
The Daily Lexington Atlas was published from late 1847 through early 1849. The paper was supportive of the Whig party, and was against ending slavery. -
League of Women Voters Community Collection
The League of Women Voters Community Collection contains assorted membership rolls, photographs, and documents for the local chapter. -
Brown-Hocker Community Collection
The Brown-Hocker Collection contains African American photos and realia from Kentucky history. -
The Cochran Chronicle
The Cochran Chronicle is a neighborhood paper from 1960, centered on Cochran Road in Lexington, KY. -
The Daily Argonaut (Lexington, KY)
The Daily Argonaut began in 1895 and seems to have ceased publication in 1899. This collection includes scattered issues from 1896, 1897 and 1898. -
The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)
The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established and printed west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. -
Junior League of Lexington Community Collection
The Junior League of Lexington Community Collection contains photos, posters, and objects from the organization's history. -
Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices
The Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notice collection contains 667 funeral cards of Lexington residents during the years of 1806-1886. -
Lexington City Reports
Lexington city reports and ordinances contain the department information from the city government. -
Aunt Tiny Belle Community Collection
The collection contains various images and materials of Lexington's LGBTQ history. -
Lexington History Museum "Our Fair City: the 1999 Lexington Fairness Ordinance" Exhibit
The 2019 exhibit celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Lexington Fairness Ordinance. -
Lexington History Museum Community Collection
The Lexington History Museum Community Collection contains items from the museum's collection and exhibits. -
Kentucky Schools & Yearbooks
This collection has various non-Fayette County historical school items. -
Kentucky School for the Deaf
The collection includes school history and student information -
Lexington and Fayette County Government Documents
The collection contains city and county documents for Fayette County. -
Diaries of Etta Evans Gilmore (1885 - 1959)
The Gilmore Diary Collection contains 11 Bath County diaries from 1944-1955 -
Johnston Young WWII Letter Collection
The Young WWII letter collection contains 68 letters from 1944-1945. -
Bath County Memorial Library Collection
The Bath County collection contains two handwritten local collections, dating from the 1940-1950 time period. -
Fayette County Buildings & Architecture
Lexington architecture reflect local history -
Fayette County Churches
Church information includes directories, records, and informational brochures -
Fayette County Schools & Yearbooks
The collection contains yearbooks, class pictures, and graduation leaflets. -
St. Paul Catholic Church Ledger Collection
As a church over 150 years old, the records for St. Paul Catholic Church go back to 1854. -
Morton School
The Morton School was the city’s first public school in 1834, and was later a high school, then junior high, and today is a middle school. -
Old Kentucky Architecture
The book contains photos and architectural plans from several dozen historic Kentucky buildings. -
Knights of Columbus, John A. Mueller Bluegrass Council 762
Bluegrass Chapter 762 of the Knights of Columbus was chartered in 1903. -
St. Paul Catholic Church Collection
The collection contains materials from the church's archive. -
Around the Town in Lexington, Kentucky
"Around the Town in Lexington, Kentucky" is a short travel pamphlet highlighting local attractions and schedules of events in Lexington, Kentucky. -
The Blythe Scrapbook
Loose scrapbook pages show images of African American families and clubs in the 1930s and 1940s in Lexington. -
David's Fork Baptist Church
The pamphlet provides a brief history of the church and bylaws. -
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
Books and pamphlets give history and images of the Shaker community of Pleasant Hill. -
Lexington Musicians' Association
The directory contains names and contact information for Kentucky musicians. -
Ashland McDowell Photograph Collection
The photo collection contains images from an unknown event circa 1894. -
Kentucky Mountain Club
The Kentucky Mountain Club directory contains organizational information about the club’s history, activities, officers, auxiliary, articles of incorporation, and member names. -
Kentucky Almanacs
The Kentucky almanac collection contains old regional almanacs. -
Dunbar High School (1923-1967)
The Dunbar Echo was the magazine created by the students of Dunbar High School. Yearbook issues include students, alumni, faculty, sports, classes, photos, and clubs. -
Council of Defense Records
The Council of Defense records contain information about the soldiers, sailors, marines, and nurses who served during World War I. -
Illustrated Lexington Kentucky
Illustrated Lexington Kentucky contains photographs, demographics, commerce and financial information about Lexington up to 1919. -
Lexington Public Library History
The Lexington Public Library has over 200 years of history. -
Old Homes of the Blue Grass
A photographic collection highlighting historic homes of the Bluegrass Region. -
Kentucky Progress Magazine
The “Kentucky Progress Magazine” was used by the Kentucky Progress Commission to promote Kentucky, and features local interest stories, photographs of people, places, and activities. -
Kentucky Suffrage
The Kentucky Rally Songs pamphlet, published circa 1914 by the WCTU, contains 42 songs advocating women’s suffrage and prohibition. -
Knowles Postcard Collection
Images of notable Kentucky locations, such as Ashland, Keeneland, and Mammoth Cave -
Fayette County Street and Residential Directories
The Fayette County directories contain local information regarding resident addresses, government and officials, schools, land ownership, businesses, and other local organizations. -
The Town Branch
The Town Branch was presented as a brief history of Lexington and the Town Branch, given as a speech by Maude Ward Lafferty in 1917. -
Fayette County Postcards
The Fayette County Postcard collection contains 55 images of sites in central Kentucky. -
Kentucky Chautauqua
The brochure for the Kentucky Chautauqua includes information and pictures of presenters and events. -
Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection
The Elmer L. Foote Collection is a group of 190 lantern slides. They were created by Elmer L. Foote, a Cincinnati photographer and library staff member whose pictures appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. -
Mountain Ballads for Social Singing
The Mountain Ballads pamphlet is 15 songs originally compiled for English Folk Songs in the Mountains of the Southern Appalachians. -
Hamilton Female College Collection
The Hamilton Female College catalogs list the school’s Board of Trustees, faculty, alumnae, graduates, directory of students, courses of study, and the members of each department.