Lexington, Kentucky
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Lexington, Kentucky is the "Horse Capital of the World," located in the heart of the Bluegrass. It is the second largest city in Kentucky and has the second largest metropolitan area (after Louisville).
Lexington is home to the Kentucky Horse Park, Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky. UK's basketball program is immensely popular in the city; for example, the area code (859) spells out UKY. The University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team has won more games than any other team in college basketball.
Lexington was founded in June of 1775, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. A party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped on a branch of Elkhorn Creek. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory at Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, they named their campsite Lexington to commemorate the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. Due to the danger of Indian attacks, permanent settlement was delayed for four years. In 1779, Colonel Robert Patterson and 25 companions came from Fort Harrod and erected a blockhouse. Cabins and a stockade were soon built, making the fort a place of importance. The town of Lexington was established on May 6, 1782, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly.
By 1820, it was one of the largest and wealthiest towns west of the Allegheny Mountains. So cultured was its lifestyle, Lexington gained the nickname "Athens of the West."
Within a day's drive of 75% of the population of the United States, Lexington is strategically located at the intersection of Interstates 64 and 75. Lexington is accessible by air with approximately 100 direct and nonstop flights.
Fayette County consists of 283 square miles (733 km²) of gently rolling plateau in the center of the inner Bluegrass Region. The area is noted for its beauty, fertile soil, excellent pastureland and horse and stock farms. Poa Pratensis (bluegrass) thrives on the limestone beneath the soil's surface, playing a major role in the area's scenic beauty and in the development of champion horses. Numerous small creeks rise and flow into the Kentucky River.
In 1970, the governments of the city of Lexington and Fayette County, Kentucky combined to create the current Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. The estimated 2000 population of Lexington-Fayette was 260,512. The estimated 2000 population of the metropolitan statistical area (MSA), comprised of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Jessamine, Madison, Scott, and Woodford County, is 424,778.
There are over 230 churches and synagogues in Lexington, representing 38 denominations.
Daily morning newspaper: Lexington Herald-Leader
Climate
The mean average temperature in Lexington is 54.9 °F (13 °C). Annual precipitation is 45.68 inches (1.2 m). Lexington and the Bluegrass have four distinct seasons that include cool plateau breezes, moderate nights in the summer, and no prolonged periods of heat, cold, rain, wind, or snow.
Corporations/Industry in the Lexington area
Traditional products of the area include horses, tobacco and handcrafts, but an increasing diversity of products and services contributes to a healthy economy. Major employers in the Lexington area include:
- Ashland Inc.
- Clark Material Handling Company
- General Electric Company
- GTE Products Corporation
- Johnson Controls
- Lexmark International
- Link-Belt Construction Equipment Company
- Long John Silver's
- Quebecor World
- Square D Company
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc.
- Trane
- Valvoline
- United Parcel Service
- University of Kentucky
Universities/Colleges in the Lexington area
- Asbury College
- Asbury Theological Seminary
- Berea College
- Centre College
- Eastern Kentucky University
- Georgetown College
- Kentucky State University
- Lexington Community College
- Lexington Theological Seminary
- National College of Business and Technology
- Midway College
- Sullivan College
- Transylvania University
- University of Kentucky
Kentucky state sales tax is 6 percent. Groceries and horse sales are exempt. Hotel tax is 6 percent.
Famous residents of Lexington have included J. H. Morgan, Henry Clay, Irene Moon and Mary Todd Lincoln.
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