State of the USA (104,661 km 2 with 4,269,245 inhabitants in 2008); capital Frankfort. Towards the north it is bounded by the course of the river Ohio, to O from Mississippi; numerous rivers: among them the Tennessee, the Cumberland, Kentucky, Licking and Big Sandy. The territory is mainly flat. The climate is continental, with abundant rainfall. The basis of the economic structure of the state is agriculture, especially in the central region (Blue grass region), where the surface soil is made up of fertile red earth (decomposition clay). Notable the production of cereals and the cultivation of tobacco, for which the country ranks second in the US; also renowned are horticulture and cotton. Forests line the Cumberland Plateau. Breeding is widespread. Various mineral resources. The industry is active in the steel, mechanical, metallurgical, electrotechnical, chemical and food sectors. The most economically important center is Louisville.
According to abbreviationfinder, European exploration of the Kentucky began in 1669, when R.-RC La Salle went up the Ohio River. The first commercial relations were established with the Indians Shawnee by settlers of Albany (1692); but it was the French who took military possession of the Ohio valley which, at the end of the Seven Years’ War, with the Treaty of Paris, became part of the English domains (1763). The Kentucky represented the first objective of the grandiose colonization movement promoted to the west of the Alleghany Mountains by the British. In 1774 J. Harrod founded a permanent colony (Harrodsburg); other commercial establishments followed shortly thereafter. The victory of Point Pleasant (1774), in which Virginia defeated the Indian tribes, assured the settlers the enjoyment of the region to the west and south of the Kentucky River. From the need to defend oneself from the Indians, during the American Revolution, the movement for the conquest of state autonomy took shape; in 1775 the Kentucky was elevated to county and Congress finally admitted it as a member state of the Confederation (1792). The capital was first Lexington and then, with the entry into force of the Constitution, Frankfort.
Economy
The basis of the economy of the state is agriculture, the main products of which are corn and tobacco. For the latter, indeed, Kentucky, has, for some time, the primacy of the United States (164,000 tons. In 1929, accounting for nearly 1 / 5of the total US), and as for maize, the average harvest fluctuates around 2 million tons. yearly. Potatoes, sorghum, oats, hemp, cotton and fruit also allow substantial gains. Corn is grown mainly in the western regions, wheat in the central ones, tobacco and other cereals in the east. The forests, once spread over almost the whole territory of the state, are now greatly reduced in extent, and cover no more than the slope of the Cumberland plateau and the banks of the rivers; however, the variety and the value of the essences allow a good development to the wood industry. Breeding is widespread, especially with regard to pigs (2 million head) and sheep (but also horses and cattle). Meats and wools therefore enter, to a considerable extent, among the products of Kentucky. The riches of the subsoil are not lacking; the most notable are coal and oil (in the southern regions: Wayne, Allen, Floyd and Knott districts), but iron, copper, zinc and asphalt are present in several places. Among the industries, above all the food, distillery (whiskey), wood and clothing industries were developed.
Population
The population has gone from 1.5 mil. of ab. in 1860 to 2, 1 in 1900, 2.3 in 1910, 2.4 in 1920 and currently counts (census 1930) 2,614,589 residents, with a density, therefore, of 24,9 residents per sq. km. Kentucky is therefore in 17th place among the states of the Confederation for the absolute population, in 14th place for density. The black element represents 12% of the total; of those born abroad, Germans alone make up about half (48%); followed in order by the Irish, the Russians and the English. The urban population is as rural as i a 4. The state capital is Frankfort, Kentucky, a small town of 11,000 inhabitants; the most populous city is Louisville, Ohio (308,000 inhabitants in 1930).
According to countryaah, Kentucky has the following main cities:
Frankfort
Capital of the state of Kentucky (United States) and at the same time capital of Franklin County. It is located on the Kentucky River and was founded in 1786 by General J. Wilkinson; in 1792 it became the state capital. It had 628 residents in 1800, 3308 in 1850, 9487 in 1900, 10,465 in 1910, 9805 in 1920, 11,626 in 1930. Its trade with the surrounding region, which largely produces tobacco and hemp, is remarkable. Frankfort is touched by various railway lines and is joined with Cincinnati and Louisville by internal shipping lines.
