Lexington Public Library

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The governance of Lexington Public Library is under the direction of 7 Trustees and up to 10 Advisors who guide the long-term strategies for the Lexington Public Library, including the long range plan, annual budget cycle, advocating for the library and for library customers, and policy recommendations.

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Meet the Lexington Public Library's Board, Administrative Team, and Leadership Team.  Apply to work or volunteer at the library.

The Materials Selection Policy was initially adopted February 25, 1987 by the Lexington Public Library Board of Trustees and was revised March 24, 1993. The Materials Selection Policy was updated and renamed the Collection Development Policy which was approved by the Board on January 14, 2009. The Board of Trustees assumes full responsibility for all legal actions which may result from the implementation of any policies stated herein.

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices cover the years 1806-1886. Jones donated his collection to a trustee of the Lexington Public Library prior to his death in 1887, who then added some notices and donated the collection to the Lexington Public Library in 1900.

Collection Topics

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Board Member
Board of Trustees
Chair

Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President Membership & Engagement, Commerce Lexington

Board Member
Board of Trustees
Secretary

Yajaira Aich West is a Vice President at PNC Bank and serves as the Director of Client and Community Relations for central, eastern and southeast Kentucky.

741.5 is written and designed by Lexington Public Library staff member Bill Widener. The inaugural issue came out in January 2017. Sub-titled The Comics & Graphic Novel Bulletin of the Lexington Public Library, its intent is to promote new arrivals to the Library's comics collections. 741.5 takes its name from the numeral designation within the Dewey Decimal System that covers comics and cartooning.

Board Member
Board of Trustees
Treasurer

Stephanie has been in the financial industry since 1993 and has a bachelor’s degree in finance is from the University of Kentucky.  She is passionate about community involvement and that includes current board positions on the Lexington Public Library and a member of the finance council of the Diocese of Lexington. She is a past board member of Surgery on Sunday, Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center, the Lexington Chapter of the American Red Cross and a past Trustee for Lexington Catholic High School, which she chaired for several years.

Board Member
Advisory Board

Jason Hall is the Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the public policy voice of Kentucky’s four Catholic bishops. Prior to his time with the Conference, Jason served as Deputy General Counsel to the Kentucky State Senate Majority Leadership.

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Imperial Court of Kentucky

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of Kentucky “one dollar at a time” through drag shows, social programs, and fundraisers. The Court uses the modus of English peerage to establish male and female lines of descent, with the female line comprising of drag queens (i.e. performers in drag), with each year an empress and emperor being elected. These “royals” represent the court throughout the upcoming year. The Court is a charter member of the International Court System with kingdoms in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Member courts are autonomous organizations bound together in a shared structure, policies, and goals, fundraising for HIV/AIDS services, human rights advocacy, and other LBGTQ+ stakeholders.

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Board Member
Board of Trustees

Casandra Hockenberry is a Program Manager with The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation, where she works across a broad number of initiatives at the crossroads of data, technology and improved outcomes for citizens. She manages the Apprenticeship Data Alignment and Performance Technical Assistance Center, which is dedicated to assisting states to improve their data collection on apprentices in order to support successful programs throughout the country, the Overseas Voting Initiative, which researches ways to improve the voting process for military and overseas citizens.

Board Member
Advisory Board

I am a retired electrical engineer after 32 years working at IBM / Lexmark in various areas of the business and as a manager of employees in Lexington and the Philippines. I received my electrical engineering Bachelor of Science from the University of Kentucky. After retirement, I utilized my first Bachelor of Science in mathematics from George Peabody College in Nashville as a teacher of mathematics and volunteered at Carnegie Literacy Center and Homework Help with the Lexington Public Library. I have also volunteered in many capacities at St. Raphael Episcopal Church.

Walking Tour

Join us for a walking tour highlighting Lexington's unique role in Abraham Lincoln's life.

Tour Length: 1.42 miles

This tour is adapted from the 2009 Tour created in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth by a partnership between the Lexington Public Library, the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum, and the Mary Todd Lincoln House.

The music clips used in this tour are from “Walking Barefoot on Grass” by Kai Engel, and are used with a CCBY license. It is available here.

Join us for a walking tour highlighting Lexington's unique role in Abraham Lincoln's life.

Tour Length: 1.42 miles

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky Progress Magazine” was used by the board to promote Kentucky, and features local interest stories, photographs of people, places, and activities. It also features ads placed by various cities around the state. It was published monthly from September 1928 through August 1932, and continued quarterly until the Spring issue of 1936.

Some issues contain material that is under copyright, but qualifies for display by libraries under Section 108(h) of US Copyright Law. It is the user's responsibility to determine the copyright status of the material they want to use. 

Collection Topics

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The lectures were apparently delivered before the Historical Society of Fayette County of which McCullough was a member. The lectures begin with a discussion of McCullough's early childhood, followed by reminiscences on local inventors, railroads, turnpikes, jails, punishment of crimes, mills, and the theater. Among Lexington inventors, McCullough details the careers of acquaintances Thomas H. Barlow (1789-1865), John Jones (d. 1849), Edward West (d. 1827), and Nathan Burrowes (d. 1846) Correspondence (2 items; 1869, 1870) consists of a note accompanying the donation of a pamphlet to the library and a letter to fellow members of the historical society concerning an historical map of Fayette County which McCullough proposed to create. Samuel D. McCullough was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1803 and attended Transylvania College, graduating in 1824. For fourteen years he conducted a female academy, after which he engaged in the manufacture and sale of mustard, having inherited a recipe from a relative, Nathan Burrowes.

Collection Format
Collection Topics

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Black Community News Collection

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Collection Topics

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

Collection Format

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Miscellaneous Newspapers

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Collection Format

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Highlight

Discover free events, books, and resources exploring Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating when the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. 

Please note that all locations will be closed on June 19 in observance. 

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Almanac Collection

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's collection contain monthly calendars containing weather predictions, zodiac changes, and significant events, as well as the schedule of Kentucky court days, anecdotes, recipes (receipts), and essays on a variety of topics.

Collection Format
Collection Topics

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Congregations and Religious Materials Collection

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…

Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Architecture Collection

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over 200 years of history reflected in its buildings all around the county. The contents of this collection show some of the published works about local architecture.

All Digital Archives Collections

 

The first Kentucky almanacs were printed by John Bradford, on the same printing press that published the Kentucky Gazette. The Kentucky almanacs in the library's…

Fayette County's buildings contain a great deal of history about the region and its inhabitants. The earliest structure in Lexington was built in 1779, the Blockhouse. Lexington currently has over…

Aunt Tiny Belle Collection

The collection consists of an image, homemade brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and programs covering LGBTQ+ events and places from 1983 to 1999 in both Lexington and Louisville. Subjects include…

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

The Bath County Memorial Library was founded in 1949 by the Owingsville Women’s Club, and opened in January, 1950. It expanded into a bookmobile in 1953, and in 1963 moved into the old Farmer’s…

Black Community News

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding…

Brown Hocker Collection

The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history.

The objects in the collection are…

Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Ministry of Mark Collis

This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.

 

Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices…

Mast head of Daily Lexington Atlas

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It was…

Directory Collection

The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks,…

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

 

Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection. 

 

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune …

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

 

Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building…

Government Documents Collection

 

Until 1974, Lexington and Fayette County had two separate governing bodies. Lexington itself was founded in 1775 and chartered in 1782 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly,…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

 

Founded in 1982 by Gigi Galore (Greg Butler) and Blanche Pink (Marlon Austin), the Imperial Court of Kentucky, Inc., is a nonprofit charity that supports the LGBTQ+ community of…

Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection

The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local…

 

The Junior League of Lexington (JLL) is a local nonprofit organization of women committed to improving community through volunteerism. The first Junior League was established in 1901…

Katherine Pettit Diary

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in…

 

The Dunn Photograph Collection contains images of Lexington, KY taken in the 1960s and 1980s. Keller J. Dunn (1917-2000) born in Lexington, KY, shot hundreds of pictures of…

The library's collection contains many event pamphlets for Lexington and Kentucky counties, including county anniversary celebrations, suffragette songs, chautauquas, and community events and…

 

The photographs in the library's collection are donated from a variety of individuals. 

The Ashland-McDowell Collection shows an unknown gathering of friends and…

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board. The “Kentucky…

 

The League of Women Voters of Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1920. It is the local chapter of a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages informed and…

The Lexington History Museum began in 1998, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history…

 

The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former…

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

 

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture,…

The military history collection contains relevant histories and records that focus on Kentuckians involved at home and abroad, and includes a collection of United States Army Training Center…

Miscellaneous Newspapers

The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

 

The collection contains various postcards featuring places in and around Kentucky and includes a selection donated by the Knowles family. The postcards in the library's collection were donated by…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house. The…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

The Schools and Yearbooks collection contains historical and modern yearbooks and other school documents owned by and donated to the Lexington Public Library.

The Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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 paper focuses more on sensational news and…

The Independent Gazetteer (1803-1804)

 

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming…

The Kentucky Gazette (1787-1840)

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news,…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

 

The Kentucky Reporter was published from October 1817-April 1832, by William W. Worsley and Thomas Smith. It is the direct continuation of the The Reporter. Politically, it was a…

The Reporter (1808-1817)

The Reporter was published from March 1808-September 1817, by William W. Worsley. It was a Republican paper (Jeffersonian Democratic Republican - liberal at the time). The paper was published…

The True American (1845-1847)

 

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an…

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated…