George Washington once owned land in what became Grayson County. Doug Flynn talks with Alicestyne Turley of Berea College about the Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education at Berea College. Also featured: the second installment in our profile of the Louisville Zoo and a trip to Hickman to explore the riverport and ferry.
Washington’s Land
George Washington never got to visit it, but he did own land in Kentucky. Like many land deals at the time, though, it involved double dealing and even horse trading. Jim Holmberg, curator of collections at the Filson Historical Soceity in Louisville, said Washington bought 5,000 acres in what is now Grayson County.
Washington was among the landowners intrigued by the works of John Filson, a surveyor and land speculator, who came to Kentucky in 1783 and within a year published a book and map of Kentucky. “These really were promotional tracts,” Holmberg said. “They were publications that were touting Kentucky as this land of opportunity.”
Continue reading about Washington’s Kentucky land and watch the video.
Berea’s Carter G. Woodson Center
The Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education, established in 2011, supports Berea College’s fifth Great Commitment, to interracial education.
Housed in the Alumni Building, the center is open to both students and the public. “This is where the dialogue happens. We want everyone to feel welcome here, to find themselves in this story,” said Alicestyne Turley, Ph.D., director of the center.
Read more about the Carter G. Woodson Center and watch the video.
Louisville Zoo, Part Two
How do zoo veterinarians get up close to the animals they need to treat?
Dr. Zoli Gyimesi, senior staff veterinarian at the Louisville Zoo, helps treat the 1,300 animals at the zoo, everything from invertebrates like tarantulas, to birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.
Continue reading about the Louisville Zoo and watch the video.
Hickman Riverport
Farmers and industry send their goods to the world from the Hickman Riverport on the Mississippi River.
The harbor is 6,000 feet long and about 450 feet wide, according to Keleia McCloud, assistant director of the Hickman-Fulton County Riverport Authority.
“Being the only stillwater harbor on the Mississippi River definitely has its advantages as far as loading and unloading barges,” she said. “We don’t have to deal with the current that comes off the main Mississippi River channel at all.”
Continue reading about the Hickman Riverport and watch the video.
