We’re pleased to announce several notebooks and scrapbooks from the Frank Fitch Notebooks, 1867-1873 (University of Kentucky) are now available on KDL.
Biography/History: In operation from 1869 through 1874, Fitchburg Furnace of Estill County Kentucky was designed by Frank Fitch, constructed by Sam Worthley, and financed by a group of New England businessmen. Fitchburg’s twin furnaces, Chandler and Blackstone, were named for two of the project’s investors. One of three iron furnaces in Estill County, and one of dozens in the larger Hanging Rock region of northeast Kentucky and southeast Ohio, Fitchburg Furnace produced railroad wheels and rails. During its 1868 construction a town of 2,000 developed around Fitchburg Furnace, but when the Furnace ceased operations in 1874 the town slowly dissipated.
Scope and Content: The Frank Fitch Notebooks consist of seven notebooks spanning from 1867 through 1873. These document the construction of the furnace Frank Fitch built with his brother, Fred. They include rough sketches of the furnace, maps of the area around the furnace, lists of supplies, and financial information. The collection also contains several pieces of ephemera as well as materials from an exhibit about Frank Fitch and the furnace.
Extent: 0.25 cubic feet
Filed under Fitch University of Kentucky furnace hand drawn maps family photographs
We are pleased to announce additional issues of The Kentucky Kernel, the University of Kentucky student newspaper, are now available on the Kentucky Digital Library. Issues from September 1931 through December 1960 have been added for an expanded date range of 1915-1930.
Filed under Kentucky Kernel University of Kentucky
Above: Horses rounding a turn in the Kentucky Derby, Shropshire Collection (University of Kentucky Special Collections)
Above: Derby Day, Churchill Downs, Postcard Collection (University of Kentucky Special Collections)
Above: Mint Julep silver cup, printed verso reads: “This Hand Made STERLING Cup is copied from an original which was made in Kentucky about the year 1795. It is traditional in every detail - size, proportions, even the hand beading. All cups are extra heavy and stamped with the maker’s name and mark. Also, each cup is marked at the time it is made with the initials of the President of the United States, which dates the cup for posterity. Made Exclusively By Mark J. Scearce, Shelbyville, Kentucky - Jewelers, Silversmiths, and Antiquarians.” Postcard Collection (University of Kentucky Special Collections)
Above: Start of the Derby, circa 1909, Postcard Collection (University of Kentucky Special Collections)
Filed under Kentucky Derby
