A message from SHPO and Executive Director Donna Neary
Welcome to the Kentucky Heritage Council, the State Historic Preservation Office. Our mission is to identify, preserve and protect the cultural resources of Kentucky. Heritage Council staff administer all state and federal historic preservation and incentive programs in Kentucky, including the National Register of Historic Places. Sixteen Kentucky Heritage Council members are appointed by the governor of the state to serve four year terms on the Heritage Council. Chaired by Ms. Gail Melvin, council members live across the state representing the citizens of the Commonwealth and engaging in historic preservation projects.
 Kentucky is proud to celebrate the bicentennial of native son Abraham Lincoln’s birth throughout 2008 and 2009. In partnership with the Kentucky Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Kentucky Historical Society, the Heritage Council’s signature bicentennial project, the Kentucky Lincoln Kentucky Heritage Trail [ ], honors the life and legacy of our 16th president and pays tribute to the Kentucky places that influenced him throughout his presidency. The first heritage trail marker was unveiled the afternoon of February 12 in Hodgenville by Governor Steve Beshear.
In addition, the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission recently awarded three Lincoln Preservation Grants to projects that highlight African American heritage in relation to President Lincoln. These include an original play centered on Lincoln’s authorship of the Emancipation Proclamation, a museum exhibit focusing on Logan County General Stephen Burbridge, and an investigation seeking to identify and preserve the burial site of an African American regiment ambushed near Simpsonville during the Civil War.
The Heritage Council is a repository of a priceless assemblage of survey forms, maps, photographs and other images in its unique archival collection of inventories of historic structures and archaeological sites in the state. Our rural heritage is highlighted in a variety of programs including the Kentucky Crossroads Rural Heritage Development Initiative, an rural preservation/economic development partnership with Preservation Kentucky. The Kentucky Archaeological Survey, a partnership with the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology, promotes the preservation of archaeological sites and educates the public about protecting these resources.
The Heritage Council seeks to build a greater awareness of Kentucky's historic places and to encourage the long-term preservation of Kentucky's significant cultural resources. Kentucky leads the nation in the number of Preserve America communities, is fourth in the number of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and offers a statewide income tax credit for rehabilitation projects.
To those of you who live in Kentucky, I invite you to read more about our programs on this Web site and let us know how we can help serve your project or community. We welcome those outside our state to plan a visit to enjoy the beauty and wonder of our historic places for yourselves!
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Recent Kentucky Heritage Council Press Releases |
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- Communities invited to learn more about marketing sites along the new Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail
Monday, May 12, 2008
A series of workshops on Marketing Lincoln and the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail is planned over the next two weeks to assist local communities and historic sites in cooperatively promoting places associated with President Abraham Lincoln as well as nearby businesses and attractions of interest to the traveling public.
- Kentucky Main Street Program communities announce Downtown Living Tours in May, June
Monday, May 05, 2008
To highlight the variety of downtown housing options available in communities of all sizes across the state, a series of Downtown Living Tours is being offered throughout May and June by local programs that participate in the Kentucky Main Street Program, administered by the Kentucky Heritage Council / State Historic Preservation Office. The tours are free.
- Preservation of Historic Buildings: The Ultimate in Environmental Conservation
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
As an effort to focus the world’s attention on our home planet and support policies and programs that help create a safer, healthier and cleaner environment, Earth Month 2008 offers the perfect opportunity to remind Kentuckians why preserving our state’s historic buildings is the ultimate in environmental conservation.
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