Research Guides: History: Kentucky

Primary Sources

The links below include Kentucky archives and the Library of Congress. For more primary sources potentially related to Kentucky, see the primary sources links under this guide's United States tab, or search/browse the Library of Congress collections.

Kentucky Museum
The Kentucky Museum, on WKU's campus, houses Special Collections, which includes primary and secondary source material specifically for Kentucky in their Research Collection and Manuscripts and Folklife Archives. Visit Special Collections to search their library.
The Kentucky Museum also displays history, arts & culture, with an outstanding quilt and textile collection, extensive archeological and ethnic holdings, also fine and decorative arts
Documenting the American South Collections
DocSouth collections include 16 primary source collections for southern history, literature, and culture, with at least 12,000 Kentucky related items.
Kentucky Digital Library
Historic newspapers, images, maps, books, and oral histories from collections around the state provided by KYVL. A member of Digital Public Library of America.
Kentucky Historical Society
Collects, preserves, conserves, interprets and shares information, memories and materials from Kentucky’s past to assist those interested in exploring and preserving that heritage.
Library of Congress: American Memory
Open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky oral history projects online
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

Find Library Resources

Type keywords in the Library Search box below to search most of the SKYCTC, KCTCS, and KYVL databases to find articles, books, and other resources.

How to Find Resources in Library Search
A short introduction to searching and saving favorites in Library Search.
Tutorial on How to Use Library Search
For an in-depth tutorial on how to do effective searches in Library Search.

Secondary Sources: Books

Below is a small sample of the ebooks SKYCTC has in the collection. Use the Library Search Tool above to find books and eBooks online, and visit the SKYCTC Learning Commons on the Main Campus (Building L, Room 119) to check out print materials. If you need help finding resources:

Ask a Librarian or Tutor
Submit a question here, and a librarian or tutor will get back with you during business hours. You may also call our Help Desk at 270-901-1171 for assistance.

eBooks from the University Press of Kentucky This link opens in a new window
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KYVL has partnered with the University Press of Kentucky to make more than 1,300 titles in the collection freely available to KYVL members. This collection includes topics ranging from architecture to business, education to law, Arts & Humanities and studies in Romance languages to social & behavioral sciences and STEM fields.

Agrarian Kentucky by Thomas D. Clark
Call Number: F455 .C55 1977
ISBN: 9780813190525
Publication Date: 2003-03-01
Clark's classic history of agrarianism prepares readers for a new era that promises to bring rapid change to the land and the people of Kentucky.
A Brittle Sword by Richard G. Stone
Call Number: UA 210 .S76 2009
ISBN: 9780813150253
Publication Date: 2014-07-11
A Brittle Sword provides a lively interpretation of Kentucky's citizen-soldiers and their role in the military history of both the state and the nation.
Cities in the Commonwealth by Allen J. Share
Call Number: F459 .L6 S53 2009
ISBN: 9780813150260
Publication Date: 2014-07-11
Cities in the Commonwealth examines the crises that have shaped the history of Kentucky's cities and sheds light on such continuing concerns as urban competition, provision of essential services, the importance of the arts, and the struggle for racial justice.
The Civil War in Kentucky by Lowell H. Harrison
Call Number: E509 .H37 1975
ISBN: 9780813114194
Publication Date: 1975-04-01
Harrison traces the movement of troops and outbreaks of violence, what it meant to the social and economic fabric of Kentucky and its postwar political stance, as well as the life of and division between ordinary citizens amidst such dissension and uncertainty.
The County in Kentucky History by Robert M. Ireland
Call Number: JS451.K45 I73 2009
ISBN: 9780813102290
Publication Date: 1976-10-01
The County in Kentucky History shows the bitter strife of countywide feuds and the conviviality of court day, the sporadic outbreaks of ill-feeling between town and country and the high-spirited brawls that regularly accompanied elections. Robert M. Ireland traces the structural changes in county government from the days when justices of the peace made up a self-perpetuating county court to the more democratic period when the buying of votes replaced the buying of offices.
A Darkness at Dawn by Harry M. Caudill
Call Number: HC 107 .K4 C27 2009
ISBN: 9780813150277
Publication Date: 2014-07-11
Outspoken Appalachian writer Harry M. Caudill analyzes the exploitation and decline of the eastern Kentucky mountain lands.
David Wendel Yandell by Nancy Disher Baird
Call Number: R154 .Y25 B34x 2009
ISBN: 9780813192888
Publication Date: 2009-11-10
David Wendel Yandell is an illuminating and well-rounded picture of the strengths and weaknesses of nineteenth-century medicine and of the practitioner, teacher, and leader who shaped the modern medical profession in Kentucky and the nation.
Dear Alben by James K. Libbey
Call Number: E 748 .B318 L5 2009
ISBN: 9780813192895
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
Dear Alben: Mr. Barkley of Kentucky traces Kentucky civil servant Alben Barkley's life from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the seats of power in the nation's capital. James K. Libbey brings into clear focus the role of a forceful Kentuckian in national politics in two eras of rapid change and reform.
Frontier Kentucky by Otis K. Rice
Call Number: F454 .R52 1993
ISBN: 9780813118406
Publication Date: 1993-07-20
Otis Rice tells the dramatic story of how the first state beyond the mountains came into being. The early history of the Bluegrass state is a colorful and significant chapter in the expansion of the American frontier.
The Harvest and the Reapers by Kenneth Clarke
Call Number: GR110.K4 C54 2009
ISBN: 9780813193069
Publication Date: 2009-12-07
The Harvest and the Reapers illuminates the work of those who labor tirelessly to preserve Kentucky's oral history and traditions.
Kentucky and the Second American Revolution by James W. Hammack
Call Number: E359.5 .K5 H35 2009
ISBN: 9780813150635
Publication Date: 2014-07-11
In this compelling narrative, author James Wallace Hammack, Jr., traces the political, social, and psychological consequences for the Commonwealth and Kentucky's role in the developments of the war, which Kentuckians viewed as an effort to secure the American victory won in the Revolution.
Kentucky Fighting Men by Richard G. Stone
Call Number: F451 .S8 2009
ISBN: 9780813193144
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
Kentucky Fighting Men, 1861--1945 features individual Kentuckians who represent the overall context of the American military experience from the Civil War through World War II.
Kentucky Folk Architecture by William L. Montell; Michael L. Morse
Call Number: NA730 .K4 M66 1995
ISBN: 9780813102306
Publication Date: 1976-10-01
" A concise and amply illustrated introduction to Kentucky folk structures--log cabins, houses, cribs, and barns--that should be treasured as irreplaceable expressions of the cultural values of the Commonwealth's past.
The Kentucky Harness Horse by Ken McCarr; Larry Evans (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780813102139
Publication Date: 1978-12-31
This informative book shows how the influence of Kentucky Standard breeding spread across the nation and finally around the world.
Kentucky in the Reconstruction Era by Ross A. Webb
Call Number: F 456 .W36 2009
ISBN: 9780813150345
Publication Date: 2014-07-11
Although Kentucky was not subject to reconstruction as such, the period of readjustment following the Civil War was a troubled one for the Commonwealth with guerrilla violence and racial tensions. In response the federal government imposed the Freedman’s Bureau to protect former slaves as the state increasingly came to be dominated by ex-Confederates. Webb covers both the feuds and eventual future prosperity and reconciliation after Reconstruction.
The Kentucky Shakers by Julia Neal
Call Number: BX9767.K4 N42 1982
ISBN: 9780813102368
Publication Date: 1977-01-01
This absorbing account of the Shakers at Pleasant Hill and South Union is, like so much else associated with the Shakers, simple, functional, and beautiful.
The Little White Schoolhouse by Ellis F. Hartford
Call Number: LA292 .H37 2004
ISBN: 9780813102313
Publication Date: 1977-01-01
Examines the history and significance of the one-room school house in Kentucky's educational background.
Medicine in Kentucky by John H. Ellis
Call Number: R229 .E44 2009
ISBN: 9780813193229
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
In this informed and entertaining essay, John H. Ellis describes the efforts of physicians and laymen to keep illness at bay during Kentucky's first 200 years.
The Newspaper Press in Kentucky by Herndon J. Evans
Call Number: PN4897.K45 E9 2009
ISBN: 9780813193243
Publication Date: 2009-12-07
The story of Kentucky's newspapers is the story of our political, economic, and social life. It is the story of issues and answers, the story of life and death. The Newspaper Press in Kentucky, by revered Kentucky journalist Herndon J. Evans, illuminates the early days of Kentucky newspapers and their influence.
Old Burnside by Harriette Simpson Arnow
Call Number: PS3501.R64 Z47 1996
ISBN: 9780813102085
Publication Date: 1977-01-01
In the early years of this century, Burnside, Kentucky, was a bustling community perched on and above the floodplain formed by the Cumberland River and the South Fork. Though much of old Burnside has disappeared, the way of life Arnow describes is an important part of the fabric of the history of Kentucky and the nation. Evoking vivid scenes of river and railroad, lumber mill and country store, Arnow recreates for us with great artistry a long-vanished place and time.
Religion in Antebellum Kentucky by John B. Boles
Call Number: BR555 .K4B66 1995
ISBN: 9780813102276
Publication Date: 1976-09-01
"An excellent survey of religion and its significance in the first eighty-five years of Kentucky's history.
Thomas Hunt Morgan by Ian Shine; Sylvia Wrobel
Call Number: QH31 .M62 S54 2009
ISBN: 9780813193373
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
For most of his fellow Kentuckians, the accomplishments of Thomas Hunt Morgan have been overshadowed by the Civil War exploits of his uncle, the Confederate raider. Thomas Hunt Morgan: Pioneer of Genetics shows that feats performed on the frontiers of science can be as exciting as battlefield heroics, and that the "other Morgan" was as colorful a man as the general.
Three Kentucky Artists - Troye, Hart, Price by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.
Call Number: N 6530 .K4 C64 2009
ISBN: 9780813193397
Publication Date: 2009-11-13
J. Winston Coleman, Jr. sketches the careers and relationships of the artists who played significant roles in the history of the Commonwealth.
The Three Kentucky Presidents by Holman Hamilton
ISBN: 9780813158440
Publication Date: 2014-10-17
The three Kentucky presidents -- Abraham Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis -- were profoundly shaped by their experiences in Kentucky, poised as it was on the border between the North and the South, the East and the Western Frontier. Holman Hamilton asserts that these leaders were personally and politically influenced by their connections to the state.
Tobacco and Kentucky by William F.Axton
Call Number: HD 9137.K4 A88 2009
ISBN: 9780813193403
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
Axton describes the various forms in which tobacco has been used, its quick adoption by the Old World, and its gradual development into the forms common today, especially the blended cigarette, and the importance that has had in Kentucky life.
Uncle Will of Wildwood by Frances J. McVey; Robert Jewell
ISBN: 9780813102061
Publication Date: 1974-11-01
Uncle Will of Wildwood is a warm and humorous memoir of the nineteenth-century Bluegrass that recalls a defining period of Kentucky's past.
William Goebel by James C. Klotter
Call Number: F456.G64 K57 2009
ISBN: 9780813102405
Publication Date: 1977-12-31
The turbulent career of William Goebel (1856--1900), which culminated in assassination, marked an end-of-the-century struggle for political control of Kentucky.
Women in Kentucky by Helen D. Irvin
Call Number: HQ1438.K4 I742 2009
ISBN: 9780813193458
Publication Date: 2009-11-11
Women in Kentucky tells the stories of the ordinary women of lonely frontier farms, the women both black and white whose lives were shaped by slavery, and the laboring women of the factories and shops in rising urban centers.

SouthCentral students have access to books at WKU Libraries and the Warren County Public Library, see our Partner Libraries page for more information. Use the WKU Courier Service to save a trip and pick up WKU Libraries books at the SKYCTC.

WKU Libraries Homepage
Visit WKU Libraries to search for WKU Libraries books and other resources.
Fill out a WKU Courier Service request
We will deliver books, DVDs, videos, and audiobooks from WKU Libraries to Main Campus, Transpark, Glasgow Health, Glasgow Tech, & Franklin campuses for you to pick up!
Warren County Public Library
For assistance at the Lisa Rice Library (formerly the Main Library), call (270) 781-4882, ext. 4.
Partner Libraries
Visit one of our partner libraries! SKYCTC students, faculty, and staff can check out materials from WKU Libraries or Warren County Public Library free of charge with their SKYCTC ID card.

Search our specific eBook repositories for titles!

EBSCOhost eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
Electronic book collection, including fiction, nonfiction, and reference.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
SKYCTC's ebooks from ProQuest. Includes thousands of ebooks from leading publishers like Wiley, 130 university presses, and more. Collections cover subjects such as: biology, business management, computer science/IT, education, engineering & manufacturing, history, literature, nursing and other health-related fields, physical sciences, psychology, religious studies and sociology.

Secondary Sources: Articles & Documentaries

Use the search engine below to search for articles and primary sources in history and other related disciplines from EBSCOhost Databases. Databases included are: Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Premier, MAS Ultra - School Edition, MasterFILE Premier, Middle Search Plus, Military & Government Collection, Newspaper Source, Primary Search, Religion & Philosophy Collection, Sociological Collection, and TOPICsearch.

For additional research materials, select one of our Gale historical databases. Once you have chosen a database, type in your topic keywords in one of the search engines and narrow results with the menu on the right. Use the Topic Finder feature to discover related subject keywords and sources about your research interests.

See Academic Video Online (AVON) from Clarivate to view our streaming video collection.

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window

Full-text, scholarly articles in physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995
World History (Gale) This link opens in a new window
This collection provides well-rounded coverage of both the current thinking and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field. This compilation of journals provides robust and balanced coverage of this field, useful both to the novice historian as well as to the advanced academic researcher.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
War and Terrorism (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Journals and magazines for analysts, risk management professionals, and students of military science, history, and social science. Covers historic and contemporary topics in the fields of war and terrorism.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Academic Video Online (AVON) spans a wide range of subject areas. Includes content like documentaries, films, and demonstrations from publishers like the BBC, PBS, and Sony.

A-Z Database Guide
To see other databases provided by SKYCTC, see our A-Z Database List.

Kentucky Websites

Military History of Kentucky
A report of the National Guard of Kentucky showing its origin, development and progress, chronologically arranged. Published 1939. See the Kentucky National Guard page for more information.
Kyleidoscope: explore Kentucky history online
An initiative of the Kentucky Virtual Library’s Kentuckiana Digital Library that seeks to create convenient avenues for educators to access primary sources regarding the history of Kentucky.
Kentucky Derby - History of Racing
From the Kentucky Derby website by Churchill Downs. Links to related histories and Derby traditions visitors can learn about, as well as commercial information about attending the Kentucky Derby.
Historic Sites in Kentucky
Kentucky Tourism
Facts, government, traditions, and famous Kentuckians.
ExploreKYHistory
Historical tour of our Commonwealth
Kentucky - History and Heritage
Smithsonian article with key historical locations and photos
Kentucky Heritage Council
Kentucky has a rich heritage expressed in its prehistoric past and in its historic buildings, sites and cultural landscapes. The Kentucky Heritage Council identifies, preserves and protects the historic resources of Kentucky.
Kentucky Educational Television
Digital educational tools