African American Heritage Trail in Lexington, Kentucky

African American Heritage Trail in Lexington, Kentucky

African Americans in the Bluegrass -The public square at the center of downtown was platted in 1780 as the site of the courthouse for the newly established town of Lexington. The square has always been, and still is, a place where significant events and community activities have occurred.

Archive records tell of a fight between a school teacher and a wildcat, controversial slave auctions, military drills, Civil War skirmishes, riots, hangings, speeches and fires that destroyed previous courthouses.

This history has been inclusive of African Americans both enslaved and free.