KHS Accepting Historical Highway Marker Applications for October 1 Deadline

Frankfort, KY - (July 24, 2008) The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is now accepting applications for the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program. The application deadline is October 1.

The fee for a highway marker is $2,075 for a one-sided marker and $2,300 for a two-sided marker. This fee has increased from last year due to the rising cost of maintenance, which includes the cost for replacements, missing or severely damaged markers, new posts, or refurbishing.

“This increase will enable KHS to deal more promptly and effectively with maintenance issues without imposing an inordinate burden on the marker sponsors,” says Kent Whitworth, executive director of KHS.

The Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program, administered by the Kentucky Historical Society in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, commemorates historical sites, events, and personalities throughout the commonwealth.

Through the program, the wealth of Kentucky history is made accessible to the public as they travel along the state's roadways on markers which stimulate an interest in the history of local communities. The markers are on-the-spot history lessons that add drama and interest to the countryside for native Kentuckians as well as tourists.

The goal of the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program is to connect events and personalities with their place, to bring the past to life, and to increase the awareness of what we owe to those who came before us. The subjects of the more than 2000 markers in Kentucky are varied. There are markers that tell of a duel of honor, a seven-year-old boy who served as a drummer in the Revolutionary War, and the 1937 Ohio River flood. Others highlight Moonlight Schools that were established to combat illiteracy, an Indian academy, and the first state-supported school for the hearing-impaired in the United States.

Fifteen applications will be accepted after the October 1 deadline. Prospective applicants can download the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker application from the Kentucky Historical Society Web site by clicking on the "Community Historians" link.

For more information, contact Becky Vittetow, Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program Coordinator, by phone at 502-564-1792, ext. 4474.


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