The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Browse Items (324 total)

  • Small circular iron ring that was most likely part of a bigger link of chain. This link was found in a Kentucky basement said to hold enslaved people. It is an example of the type of restraints used on those in bondage and a stark reminder of the inhumane conditions enslavers forced upon those they enslaved. By 1800, there were more than 40,000 enslaved men and women living on the Kentucky frontier.
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  • Letter dicsusses enslaved persons working on a plantation.
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  • An inventory and appraisal of household goods, including enslaved people, in the estate of Jonathan Clark. Includes the name of the enslaved individuals and the allotment of "dower slaves" of the estate. Also included is a division of a lot in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and a sketch of Mulberry Hill.
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  • Photograph of Jerry Abramson during his term as general counsel during Gov. Jerry Brown's term in Kentucky. The photograph was taken on the steps of the KY Capitol building in Franfort, KY. Staff members' of Gov. Jerry Brown are also in the photograph.

  • Advertisement for A. Markham Builders published in a 1914 issue of the YMHA Chronicler.

    This item is included in the Bricks and Mortar, Soul and Heart: The Evolution of Louisville's Young Men's Hebrew Association and Jewish Community Center 1890-2022 digital exhibit at: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits/show/ymha-jcc-louisville/second-and-college-1913-1955

  • Coverpage of the YMHA Chronicler Success Number, Volume I, No. 3.

    This item was featured in the Bricks and Mortar, Soul and Heart: The Evolution of Louisville's Young Men's Hebrew Association and Jewish Community Center 1890-2022 digital exhibit: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits/show/ymha-jcc-louisville/founding-and-early-years

  • Page from Louisville, KY- Resources and Industries highlighting the Carter's Dry Goods Company, located at 727 W. Main Street in Louisville.

  • Drum of Louisville Legion. The drum has a wooden cylindrical body which supports on three sides a layer of green paint, and in front an image of a soldier. To the left of the image, is painted, "Louisville Legion 1840," and to the left of that, "Kentucky Rifles 3'd CO. L.L.," which stands for third company of the Louisville Legion. Brass brads secure the cylinder. The bottom and top are similar, both having leather stretched on thin wooden hoops which fit over the edge of the cylindrical body. Also, on each end are two thick wooden bands, painted in red, which contain holes through which the ropes were tied.

    This drum was used in the field band of the Louisville Legion during the march to the Mexican War in June 1846. The drum was also used in the Civil War by the Louisville Legion, known as the Fifth Kentucky Infantry and was used during the Spanish-American War.

  • An undated tin type photograph of an unidentified Black woman, possibly enslaved, holding an unidentified white child. The fabric label has a faded caption that may say: "Batsy/Patsy/Becky - Mammy with one of Tom Bullitt's." It is unknown which of Thomas Bullitt's children is pictured, nor the exact name of the woman holding him. Due to the short-lived popularity of tin type photographs, this photograph may be dated around the mid-1860s to mid-1870s.
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  • An image of John Filson published in the flyleaf of his monograph, The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke published in Delaware in 1784.

  • Title Page of John Filson's The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke published in Delaware in 1784.

  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Lee Werschulz (1925-) on November 20, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Reports to her brother of social news, the impending marriage of Ann Bullitt to a widower, Mr. Howard. Says it was generally thought that Ann would never marry because “she would have no person that would ever think of her fortune but must marry her for herself alone.” Tells of an enslaved man who was executed for burning down his master’s house with the anxiety to kill his mistress, who hid in the corn field.
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  • Transcript of a speech given by The Raven regarding relations with the Americans and the need for gun powder. He advises people to turn to the Spanish in Pensacola and to not get it from the Virginians/Americans.
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  • In second letter dated 7 October 1789 Tardiveau writes St. John de Crevecoeur regarding the growing of cotton in Kentucky and Cumberland (Tennessee), trade possibilities with Spanish Louisiana, and the planned manufacture of cotton cloth in Kentucky for local use and export, including the establishment and activities of a manufacturing "society." He also relates the suicide of a Major Dunn in Kentucky due to an unfaithful wife. Everyone is trying to depict him as a madman but Tardiveau does not agree. Tardiveau asks Creveoeur not to mention it to John Brown because his friend Harry Innes was Mrs. Dunn' s "Knight-errant in this affair." Tardiveau relates that it is hard for him to collect the topographical data he would like to send him. "Those of our surveyors whom I asked promised a great deal, but are in no hurry to keep their word; and they all live at such great distances from here and from each other that it's very seldom I have a chance to see one of them. The area Tardiveau was interested in was apparently Kentucky and Cumberland (Tennessee).
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  • Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Judy Sweitzer (1920-) in May 2012. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

  • Letter in which Rebecca Stoddert discusses women's fashion, cooking, and shopping. Discusses symptoms of a sickness and having blood drawn, ladies socializing, and vulgar dancing that reminded her of a "black woman dancing a jig".
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  • Title page of The Wilderness Road, a description of the travel routes by which white settlers first came to Kentucky.
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  • Front and side views of Mitcher's Distillery in downtown Lousville, 2022. The building, also known as the Fort Nelson Building, dates back to the 1870s. The cast-iron, limestone, and brick structure survived the 1890 tornado and the 1937, but sat vacant for several decades until Mitcher's Distillery occupied the space in 2019. The space was revitalized by Joseph & Joseph + Bravura Architects.

  • Front of the Kentucky Science Center. The sign at top of the building says "Carter Dry Goods Co."

    Founded in 1871 as a natural history collection, the museum was known as Louisville Museum of Natural History & Science and the Louisville Science Center before becoming the Kentucky Science Center.

    Built in 1878 by J. Clarke, the front features a distinctive cast-iron facade with geometric designs and head panels on the windows. The cornice on the top of the building reads "Carter Dry Goods." The city purchased the property in 1975 and the museum moved to the premises in 1977, serving as another example of a successful revitalization project to preserve the building.
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