LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Basketball, bourbon, and the best horses money can buy; this is synonymous with the state of Kentucky.
Have you ever wondered how bourbon whiskey got its name? Or when and where bourbon was first manufactured?
On Nov. 8, 1789, it is said Baptist minister Elijah Craig first distilled bourbon whiskey from corn after setting up a still in Georgetown.
Thanks to the work of Charles K. Cowdery in “The Bourbon Country Reader”, FOX 56 learned Craig’s still is believed to be one of the first ones in Kentucky, and customers in surrounding towns named his corn-based beverage Bourbon County Whiskey.
In Cameron Ludwick and Blair Thomas Hess’ book, “The State of Bourbon: Exploring the Spirit of Kentucky“, the pair corroborated this story and confirmed Craig started a distillery in what is now present-day Woodford and Scott counties.
Ludwick and Hess also assert Craig was the first to age his whiskey in charred oak barrels, which gave Bourbon its renowned honey-brown coloring.
Other significant dates this week in Kentucky history
Calvin Faribank
On Nov. 9, 1851, abolitionist minister Calvin Fairbank was taken from Indiana by Kentucky marshals and taken back to Kentucky to be tried for helping a slave escape. This led to Fairbank’s second 15-year sentence for the same crime, the first being in 1845 before being pardoned in 1849.
The Battle of Mount Ivy
On Nov. 8, 1861, the Battle of Mount Ivy took place in Kentucky, as the Union was trying to further hinder Confederate activity in eastern Kentucky.
In this battle, Union forces under the command of William “Bull” Nelson were ordered to confront enemy Confederate forces by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.
This battle resulted in the loss of six dead Union soldiers and 24 wounded, while the Confederate forces sustained 10 deaths, 15 wounded, and 40 more were declared missing.
The first female governor of Kentucky
On Nov. 8, 1983, Martha Layne Collins, a University of Kentucky alum, was elected the first female governor of Kentucky.
Collins served one term as governor, from Dec. 13, 1983, to Dec. 8, 1987, since governors weren’t eligible for reelection at that time.
Collins prioritized education and economic development during her tenure, which resulted in a $300 million school improvement package and a new Toyota plant in Georgetown.
