Kentucky Giants

Season Two!

We're excited to launch our second Season of Kentucky Wide. This season will run longer and feature stories that connect to the 250th Anniversary of America and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.

Feed Swap - Kentucky History Podcast: Shawnee in Kentucky

While we work on a new season, we’re excited to partner with Kentucky History Podcast for a special podcast feed swap! Host Jameson Cable shares one of his most-listened-to episodes: Shawnee in Kentucky. In this engaging conversation, Jameson is joined by Dr. Stephen Warren, author of The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795–1870 and The Worlds the Shawnees Made: Migration and Violence in Early America. Together, they explore the Shawnee people’s history, their interactions with governments and borderlands, and the preservation of cultural identity through centuries of change. Launched in 2019, the Kentucky History Podcast has become a leading resource for exploring Kentucky’s rich past. With more than 200 podcast episodes, over 300 videos, and 1 million views on YouTube, the show dives deep into early Kentucky history — from Native peoples and frontier settlements to politics, culture, and everyday life in the Bluegrass. 🎧 Listen to [Your Podcast Title] here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kentucky-history-podcast/id1478069160 [https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fkentucky-history-podcast%2Fid1478069160&data=05%7C02%7Cmsullivan%40fraziermuseum.org%7C8fc4bd214ddc4936ccd608de09f60171%7C5672cc96dc0b406fa94886b716a89c5f%7C0%7C0%7C638959149391705840%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=GHVKRKOh2ektc686AudRKMJGQzqgr2N87WG2pyzme%2FM%3D&reserved=0] ▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KentuckyHistoryChannel [https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%40KentuckyHistoryChannel&data=05%7C02%7Cmsullivan%40fraziermuseum.org%7C8fc4bd214ddc4936ccd608de09f60171%7C5672cc96dc0b406fa94886b716a89c5f%7C0%7C0%7C638959149391721028%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=1QsDGPK6QFgi1%2B4lYew3zMJvrJTTKsdlPkkT4j49E30%3D&reserved=0] 📖 Dr. Warren’s book, The Worlds the Shawnees Made: https://uncpress.org/9781469627274/the-worlds-the-shawnees-made/ [https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Funcpress.org%2F9781469627274%2Fthe-worlds-the-shawnees-made%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cmsullivan%40fraziermuseum.org%7C8fc4bd214ddc4936ccd608de09f60171%7C5672cc96dc0b406fa94886b716a89c5f%7C0%7C0%7C638959149391735658%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6GnS2w2TaYBLwY8tPL6uLEOsPbgVI2jxnZ8ROn2Vkvo%3D&reserved=0] Don’t miss this opportunity to explore Kentucky’s past through the voices of leading historians and storytellers.

Germans Who Cut Stone

The facade of Christian Heigold's 19th Century home is all that remains from the living structure.  Near the Ohio River east of Downtown Louisville, it tells a deep story of that time in America. Similarly, German immigrant August Bloedner carved the oldest Civil War monument in America to honor his fallen fellow soldiers at Kentucky's Battle of Rowlett Station in 1861. It is kept safe from the elements at The Frazier History Museum.

The Bull and Camp Nelson

General William “Bull” Nelson of Mason County, secretly fought to keep Kentucky in the Union and was then famously murdered in Louisville's Galt House Hotel by Jefferson Davis (not the Jefferson Davis you’re thinking of). Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky, was named in his honor. The incredible historic site is now remembered for the hundreds of enlistments of Kentuckians into the U.S. Colored Troops. Poet Frank X Walker has written a collection of poems touching on these people and moments called Load in Nine Times—several of which are included in this episode covering both the history and his modern relationship with Camp Nelson.

Kentucky Giants

"Big" Jim Porter was a world famous man from Portland, Kentucky who stood 7'8" tall.  However, a Letcher County Man named Martin Van Buren Bates would come along and top him by and inch, at 7'9". Bates eventually married Anna Swan, who was tall than both men.