Mission and History
Promoting the understanding of our past to create a better future.
“With a greater knowledge of history, we can fully appreciate the great difficulties and the great opportunities that lie ahead. By reconnecting with our past, we can renew a sense of who we are, what we stand for, and where we are headed.”
—Owsley Brown Frazier, Founder
About Us
Where the world meets Kentucky.
Founded in 2004 and located in the West Main District of downtown Louisville, the Frazier History Museum is where the world meets Kentucky. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Frazier documents stories from history using artifacts, exhibitions, and guided tours led by a talented staff of educators. With the opening of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center and the Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition in 2018, the Frazier became the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. As the host of many weddings, corporate parties, and exclusive events, the Frazier is a beautiful spot with many unique event spaces.
Nonprofit Mission
The Frazier History Museum is a nonprofit that encompasses everything Kentucky. Proceeds from memberships, admissions, group sales, facility rentals, and donations support the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs, including free or reduced admission for Title 1 students; Frazier Weekly, the “Let’s Talk: Bridging the Divide” series; summer, fall, and winter camps; guided tours, guest engagements, and Stories in Mind, which brings the Frazier into long-term care communities. Annual fundraisers include Summer Beer Fest at Frazier and the Owsley Brown Frazier Classic Sporting Clay Tournament.
History of the Museum
Founded in 2004 by local philanthropist Owsley Brown Frazier, the Frazier was originally called the Frazier Historical Arms Museum; it subsequently rebranded with a focus on the state of Kentucky, adopting the slogan “where the world meets Kentucky.” Subjects of permanent exhibitions include the pop culture of Kentucky, the history of Kentucky, Bourbon whiskey, and Lewis and Clark. The Frazier houses of one of the largest collections of toy soldiers and historical miniatures on permanent public display in the world, The Stewart Collection, donated by Charles Stewart of Frankfort. In 2018, the Frazier became the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Permanent Exhibitions
Opened in 2020, the pop culture–themed Cool Kentucky spotlights artists, craftsmen, scientists, chefs, musicians, and other notable figures from the Bluegrass State. On display are objects from such famous Kentuckians as frontiersman Daniel Boone, giant Jim Porter, trendsetter Mona Bismarck, inventor Garrett Morgan, mystery novelist Sue Grafton, explorer Tori Murden McClure, actor George Clooney, Paralympic athlete Oksana Masters, and rapper Jack Harlow.
Opened in 2022, The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall depicts the lives of everyday Kentuckians from the Ice Age to the present. Visitors learn from diverse figures about Shawnee storytellers, Choctaw students, trappers and frontierswomen, freedom seekers and abolitionists, Confederate and Union soldiers, trade unionists and women’s suffragists, Appalachian coal miners, and corn and tobacco farmers. Selected objects include the arrest warrant issued for Mary Todd Lincoln, an original clock face from the Town Clock Church, and the Bloedner Monument, the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War.
The Spirit of Kentucky® serves as a visual guide to the history, craft, and culture of Bourbon; its features include a covered bridge, a touch-screen library, and a bottle hall stocked with hundreds of different Bourbons. The Lewis and Clark Experience simulates the journey the US Army’s Corps of Discovery undertook from 1804 to 1806 to learn about the flora, fauna, and geography of the Louisiana Purchase. And, with over 30,000 figurines, vehicles, and accessories representing some 170 different toy soldier and miniature makers, The Stewart Collection at the Frazier constitutes “one of the finest collections of rare historic toy soldiers on permanent public display in the world today,” according to Old Toy Soldier.
Permanent Collection
The permanent collection features a wide array of historically significant arms and artifacts of American, American Indian, Asian, and European origin. Arms of notable provenance include Teddy Roosevelt’s “Big Stick,” Custer’s pistols, and Geronimo’s bow and arrows. Other rare and noteworthy objects include a surplus grave marker from the Battle of Little Bighorn and a first edition copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center
In 2018, the Frazier partnered with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association to build the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center. Located on the museum’s first floor and open to visitors free of charge, the KBT® Welcome Center is the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® tour. A professional concierge service is on hand to help visitors plan trips to Bourbon distilleries throughout the state and navigate the hot spots of Louisville’s burgeoning Bourbon, culinary, and nightlife scenes.
Education
The Frazier History Museum offers camps in the summer, fall, and winter seasons; youth, family, and homeschool programs, including Family Days, field trips (in-person and virtual), and the Great Louisville Hunt; Teacher Professional Development sessions, and more. In 2022, the Frazier’s education team introduced The Journey: Unsung Stories of the Underground Railroad—a free walkable and drivable audio tour of significant Underground Railroad locations and landmarks along both sides of the Ohio River in Kentuckiana.
Facilities for Rent
The museum rents out select spaces for weddings, meetings, and other private events. Spaces for rent include the Gateway Garden, a linear courtyard populated with native Kentucky plants; the First Floor Great Hall, an atrium with a sweeping terrazzo staircase; and the Rooftop Garden, which has seasonal blooming flowers and a view looking out across the Ohio River. Other rental spaces include the Classroom, the Speakeasy, the Order of the Writ, the Boardroom, and the Fourth Floor Loft.
Frazier Weekly
Frazier Weekly is the first and best place to learn what’s new at the Frazier History Museum, where the world meets Kentucky. Launched March 17, 2020, the day the museum shut its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frazier Weekly features original articles, videos, and educational content written by Frazier staff members and guest contributors. Readers get to learn about exhibitions, artifacts, upcoming programs, camps, promotions, and guest engagements. There are recurring columns (“Curator’s Corner,” “From the Collection,” “Object in Focus,” “History All around Us”) as well as video interviews (“Commonwealth Shorts,” “Sippin’ with Stephen,” “Bridging the Divide,”) with staff members, Bourbon industry professionals, and community leaders. Each issue goes out Monday, 7 a.m., to our 40,000 subscribers—and subscription is free!
Interior and Layout
The Frazier has three floors of exhibit space totaling 7,500 square feet. Visitors enter through the Cube, a glass vestibule at 825 West Main that abuts the Gateway Garden, a courtyard situated between the Frazier and the neighboring brick building. Facilities on the museum’s first floor include the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center, the Museum Store, the Marshall Charitable Foundation Education Center, and the Brown-Forman Theatre. Offices for museum staff are located on the fourth floor and in the basement.
Building and Architecture
The museum occupies the Doerhoefer Building, a Chicago-style commercial structure of 100,000 square feet. Its construction was commissioned in 1897 by tobacco baron John Doerhoefer, who hired D. X. Murphy & Bros., the architectural firm that had designed the iconic Twin Spires at Churchill Downs, to draw the plans. Established in 1898 and built with yellow-buff brick and cast-iron, the building spans four Main Street fronts before rounding the corner of 9th Street with an oriel topped with a cornice roof.
Bourbon District
The Frazier is a proud member of the Bourbon District, a unique walkable experience featuring distillery attractions located in the heart of downtown Louisville. The Frazier’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center serves as the starting point for both the Bourbon District and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. We at the Frazier are devoted to sharing our love of Bourbon and our commitment to drinking responsibly.
Affiliations
The Frazier Museum is a member of the Smithsonian Affiliate Membership Program and the American Association of Museum (AAM) and participates in a reciprocal membership network through the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM).
Our Mission
Ignite the human spirit with thoughtfully crafted stories to spark curiosity about who we are and our connection to the future.
Our Vision
To be a compelling destination about Kentucky's culture, its heritage, and its relationship to the world.
Our Founder
Owsley Brown Frazier
May 7, 1935 – August 16, 2012
In addition to founding and serving as chairperson of the Frazier History Museum, Owsley Brown Frazier was a fourth generation descendant of Brown-Forman Corporation founder George Garvin Brown and a retired vice chairman of the company.
Frazier joined Brown-Forman in 1955 and trained in sales, personnel, and law, then became assistant to the resident counsel in 1959. He was named company attorney in 1960. In 1964, he was appointed corporate secretary and executive director of personnel and corporate services and elected to the board of directors. In 1983, he was elected vice chairman, a role he would continue to serve until his retirement from management in 2000. He remained a member of Brown-Forman’s board of directors until 2006.
In his role as vice chairman of Brown-Forman Corporation, Frazier’s responsibilities encompassed public affairs, stockholder services, community affairs, communications, and corporate services.
Frazier was also owner and chairman of Bittners, LLC, an interior and commercial design firm.
When Frazier retired from Brown-Forman June 1, 2000, he immediately began laying the groundwork to open the Frazier History Museum, which opened in the spring of 2004.
In addition to his responsibilities as vice chairman of Brown-Forman, Bittners owner, and history museum founder, Frazier amassed an impressive public service record, raising more than $300 million over a 30-year period, primarily for educational institutions in Kentucky.
Following in the footsteps of his philanthropist mother, Amelia Brown Frazier, Owsley Brown Frazier’s extensive involvement in business, civic, and charitable organizations over the years gained him a reputation as a concerned citizen who put his money and his muscle to work on behalf of many good causes. At Brown-Forman, he spearheaded a drive for corporate involvement in such social problems as the need for better housing. The company’s Adopt-A-Neighborhood program has resulted in a total investment of more than $6.5 million from various sources for the construction and rehabilitation of more than 50 low-income houses in the California neighborhood of Louisville.
Frazier chaired a $75 million campaign on behalf of the Frazier Rehabilitation Institute to construct a new state-of-the-art facility. He also led an $18 million building campaign at the University of Louisville for a natatorium and swimming complex.
More recently, in 2011, Frazier donated $25 million to the University of Louisville, the largest single contribution in the university’s history. It is believed to be the single largest gift to any university or college in Kentucky.
In June 2000, the National Association of Athletic Development Directors presented Frazier with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Also in June 2000, he was awarded the Jefferson Cup by County Judge Executive Rebecca Jackson. Frazier received an honorary degree of “Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa” from the University of Louisville commemorating his significant philanthropic efforts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He has a second honorary degree, a “Doctor of Humane Letters,” from Bellarmine University. Frazier was presented with the prestigious Sky Ranch Foundation Hall of Fame Pioneer Award in June 1999. Also in 1999, he was honored by the Black Achievers with their Distinguished Service Award. Frazier was named The Voice Tribune‘s 1999 Man of the Year and was awarded the most distinguished Gold Cup Award 1999 from Greater Louisville Incorporated.
Throughout the years, Frazier’s outstanding gifts of time and money have been recognized by the Louisville Rotary Club, the Lincoln Foundation (the Spirit of Excellence Award for humanitarian service to the community), the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, and the Fund Raising Executives of Metro Louisville (the 1998 Volunteer Fund Raiser of the Year Award). In 1990, he received the Louisville Urban League’s Equality Award “in recognition of commendable contributions and leadership in the pursuit of equality and community betterment.” Frazier was the Arthritis Foundation’s Man of the Year in 1989 and the recipient of the Younger Woman’s Club of Louisville Citizen Laureate Award in 1986. In August 2001, Frazier was awarded the “Minerva Medal” from the University of Louisville, “In recognition of his untiring support and dedication to his alma mater.”
Frazier was a former executive member and director of Greater Louisville, Inc.; a director and member of the executive committee of the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation; and a director of the Louisville Housing Development Corporation. He also served on the boards of the Cathedral Heritage Foundation, Jewish Hospital Healthcare Services, and Frazier Rehab Center. He was chairman emeritus of Kentucky Country Day School. He was also past chairman of the Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership, the Downtown Development Corporation, and Business/Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), Washington, D.C.
From 1989 to 1997, Frazier served as a member of the Board of Directors of Liberty National Bank/Bank One, Kentucky. He also served on the board of trustees of the University of Louisville Overseers, including recent service as chairman of the board, and was director/chairman emeritus of the board of Bellarmine University.
Frazier was a member of the Pendennis Club, Louisville Country Club, River Valley Club and Ocean Reef Club (Key Largo, Fl), the Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and Beta Theta Pi and Phi Alpha Delta fraternities.
Born May 7, 1935 and a native of Louisville, Frazier attended Centre College and graduated from the University of Louisville with BSL and JD degrees.