KHS Acquires Colonel Sanders Collections at Historic Auction

The Kentucky Historical Society is proud to announce the acquisition of several items and collections from July 28th's auction at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville. For the first time in more than fifty years, the personal collection preserved by the Settle family, along with the historic Dinner House and Blackwood Hall itself, was offered to the public. The auction drew national attention, with coverage in the New York Times and Garden & Gun, as well as widespread interest across social media.

With financial support from the KHS Foundation's Kentucky History Treasures Fund, staff selected and bid on several lots. Among the items KHS successfully secured:

• A butcher block table used by the Colonel and Mrs. Sanders in their kitchen at Blackwood Hall. According to family lore, this was the very table where new franchise owners trained under the Colonel himself. KHS also holds copies of photographs showing both him and Mrs. Sanders at work there.
• A collection of photographs, most previously unpublished, in varying condition. Standouts include a candid image of the Colonel with former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins.
• A collection of menus kept by the Colonel spanning the 1930s through the 1960s — including menus from Kentucky establishments like Talbott Tavern and Cumberland Falls State Park, the very first menu from the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, and menus from restaurants in New York and beyond.
• An award plaque presented to the Colonel in 1973 by the Restaurant Managers Guild, recognizing his fried chicken as the "Best Tasting Fried Chicken" of the American Bicentennial.

These new additions will help KHS preserve and share the story of one of Kentucky's most iconic figures for generations to come.