It’s the final step to become a US citizen, and the Frazier is proud to be hosting another naturalization ceremony this Friday.

It will include the Pledge of Allegiance and the Oath of Allegiance with new citizens swearing to support the US Constitution.

What a way to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with this meaningful ceremony in our Great Hall.

We hosted one a few years ago and jumped at the chance to do it again.

Two members of our staff, Hayley Harlow and Mick Sullivan, will perform the national anthem before about thirty new citizens, not counting their family and friends.

Adrienne’s Bakery is making red, white, and blue treats for the occasion as we welcome these new citizens with open arms.

We know the Frazier Kentucky History Museum is where the world meets Kentucky, and this is another way to truly live into that mission and be reflective of the world! We can’t wait to celebrate.

We celebrated big time this past Friday with our Night at the Gala, and we have pictures to share. Join us Wednesdays for special tours of our new exhibit, Louisville to Liberty: The Blackburns’ Journey. Learn how World War II led to the Turtle Derby in Louisville. And, on this International Museum Day, we share some of our favorite museums!

This Week in the Museum

2026 Gala was a Red, White, and Bluegrass Bash

We’re still recovering from Friday night’s gala!

The 2026 Night at the Frazier gala was a huge success. Gala-goers filled all four floors of the museum, enjoying delicious food, cocktails and Bourbon tastings, fun activations, and live music from Bernie Lubbers, the Bottled in Bond Boys, and V-Groove. I supervised the Kentucky Karaoke lounge, where I did my best to keep the energy up. Thank you to everyone who turned out in their red, white, and blue attire to help Kentucky’s largest history museum celebrate America250!

We’ll see you again next year!

Curator’s Corner: Animal Bone Fragments from the Blackburns’ House, mid-1800s

The Frazier’s new exhibition Louisville to Liberty: The Blackburns’ Journey tells the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, who were enslaved in Louisville and escaped to freedom in Canada in 1831 via the Underground Railroad. The exhibition includes artifacts excavated from the Blackburns’ Toronto home, which are on display for the first time in the United States. These artifacts are so fascinating because they are tiny fragments of objects that can tell us so much about the lives of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn.‍

For example, three fragments of bone were found near the house and in the area where the Blackburns discarded and burned their trash. These bones show signs of butchering and likely belonged to a pig. The Blackburns could purchase fresh meat inexpensively from the City Pound where stray livestock animals were slaughtered. The butchered ham bone was likely cut to extract the marrow inside. Bones like these were used to make dishes such as bone marrow soup.‍

These bones help us to understand the types of foods that the Blackburns ate. Other bones found in the home’s fireplace came from fish, birds, and rabbits that lived in the marshes at the nearby mouth of the Don River. This shows that, when the Blackburns first built their home, they were hunting and fishing local game to help supplement their food. However, later in life, the Blackburns had enough income that they could afford to purchase more desirable livestock meat such as pork.

To learn more about Thornton and Lucie Blackburn and to see more artifacts excavated from their home in Toronto, visit our exhibition Louisville to Liberty: The Blackburns’ Journey. And if you would like a more personalized experience, you can join a guided tour of the exhibition every Wednesday at 1 p.m.

A Community Partnership to Commemorate York on June 16

What an incredible lineup we have to commemorate York, a key member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, as part of the city’s Juneteenth celebration.‍

Mark your calendars for June 16 to join us at George Rogers Clark Park to pay tribute to this American explorer with insight from experts like sculptor Ed Hamilton, poet Frank X Walker, historian Jim Holmberg, and Juneteenth Commission member Dr. John Chenault.

York was the enslaved Black servant to William Clark, and a good portion of Clark’s young life and York’s was spent at Mulberry Hill, now known as George Rogers Clark Park.

This program is a community partnership among so many, including the Frazier, Filson Historical Society, Roots 101, Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Louisville Parks and Recreation, Louisville Public Media, and the city’s Juneteenth Commission.

Mayor Craig Greenberg will start the program with an official greeting, and Locust Grove will make a special announcement that evening. Here’s what I received from Jessica Dawkins, the President and CEO of Locust Grove.

“As part of this special public commemoration on York’s life and legacy, Historic Locust Grove seeks to honor a man whose service to the nation was never recognized during his lifetime. As the site connected to Yorks’s enslavers, we feel a profound responsibility to meet this moment with care, and plan to share an important announcement regarding our ongoing commitment to truth-telling, remembrance, and healing.The event is free and open to the public. You can visit our website to learn more about the evening’s lineup.

The program gets underway at 6 p.m. Enter the park by the tennis courts and meet us at the Lodge.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Rachel Grimes Records Album of Kentuckian Henry Hart’s Music

Rachel Grimes has made an impact on the world from her piano bench for decades. Indie music lovers know her from King’s Daughters and Sons and Rachel’s, while others know her as a composer and arranger who has released classical recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Nonesuch Records. The Frazier worked with her when she released her folk opera, The Way Forth, in 2019.

In recent years she has focused her artistic eyes and ears on the legacy of a Kentucky family who played a role that same folk opera. Her newest release this month continues that story through the music of Henry Hart. Henry’s grandmother was Dolly, an enslaved woman with the first party to live at Fort Boonesborough. Henry’s father was born to Dolly in 1775 and was the first child born at Fort Boonesborough. The Hart family was enslaved to Orlando Brown of Liberty Hall in Frankfort, until the family paid for their manumission. Born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1839, Henry studied violin and as an adult worked for much of his life as a professional musician, initially on Ohio River steamboats. He also was one of very few published African American composers of the late 1800s.

In her new recording Waltzes and Love Songs of Henry Hart, Rachel has put together an incredible ensemble of musicians to play her arrangements of Henry Hart’s original music, which Hart published for solo piano between 1870 and 1877. In addition to the auditory glimpse of history the record provides, it’s also a moving listen that immediately takes a listener to 1800s America. Both the album and Rachel’s original musical arrangements are available on her Bandcamp page.

A live performance of the music will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in Frankfort on Friday, May 29, at 7 p.m. It is free but registration is required.

Honors for Two Transformative Women in Horse Racing

What a treat to be in the room where it happened, honoring two women who have left an indelible mark on horse racing.

Mayor Craig Greenberg recently honored both Cherie DeVaux, the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby, and Donna Barton Brothers, a former jockey who has been part of NBC’s Derby broadcasting team for twenty-six years.

DeVaux was named an honorary citizen of Louisville during the news conference, and Donna Barton Brothers received a day named after her.

Both women breaking barriers.

This past Kentucky Derby was Brothers’s last in the broadcasting saddle for NBC. She bought her first home in Louisville in 1996. “I claimed Louisville as my city,” she said. “Thank you for claiming me back. I appreciate it.”

DeVaux, who won the Derby with Golden Tempo, is being credited with helping to reshape the sport and opening the door for others.

By the way, Brothers was the only one on the broadcasting team to pick Golden Tempo to win.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

When Louisville Armory Hosted a Turtle Derby, May 5, 1945

The first Saturday in May. We all know what that means. For over 150 years, it has meant that the Kentucky Derby takes place. Every first Saturday. But what if I told you that is not the case?

This story is about the 1945 Derby. Due to WWII, the government issued a ban on horse racing to conserve gasoline, rubber, and transportation resources. For the first time in its history, there would be no Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.

What? No Kentucky Derby? The people of Louisville would not stand for it! And so, a Derby was run on the first Saturday. Just not with horses. In 1945, on the first Saturday in May, the race was won by a turtle. Yes, that’s right: a turtle.

Two crates that held 167 turtles were imported to Louisville to participate in a turtle Derby. The turtles were divided up into eight races. Six thousand bettors attended the race, which was held at the Armory. It cost fifty cents to bet, and all the money went to children’s charities. The winner was Broken Spring, who some say was an apt name for the winner given the circumstances. The race, sponsored by the American Legion, created a windfall in excess of $100,000.

Where did turtle racing come from? We can thank a Kentuckian, George Miller, for making turtle or terrapin racing popular. Miller, who ended up as Oklahoma’s largest landowner, noticed that the turtles would scurry in the heat and thought it would be a moneymaker to race them. Races were held at his 101 Ranch, with up to 1,000 turtles racing at a time. Turtle races continue to be popular throughout the Midwest, with over a hundred races held on the Fourth of July alone. But that is a different story!

VE day was announced two days after the turtle Derby. The government lifted the ban, and the horses ran in June. Hoop Jr. was the winner, with Eddie Arcaro winning the Kentucky Derby, his third of five Derby wins.

There are so many reasons to love this story, but none more than our community coming together and finding a way to celebrate and connect in spite of the challenges of a war. The 1945 Derby is a testament to the spirit and cultural resilience of Kentuckians!

Hope for the “Best”: A Reminder to Vote for Frazier!

Last summer, Kentucky Living magazine readers crowned the Frazier the Best Museum in Kentucky. Now, the polls are open for the 2026 awards.

If you want us to keep that crown, vote for us! You can vote once per day, per email address.

Polls are open May 1 to May 31.

Thanks for your support!

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Cool Kentucky Shop: Museum Nerd Tote

Do you make a point to visit museums in every city you travel to? Plan trips around special exhibitions? If your vacations include museum maps, exhibit calendars, and museum gift shop hauls, you may just be a Museum Nerd—and we say that with admiration, because you are our people. And his tote was made for you! Find it in our Cool Kentucky Shop and online.

Frazier Staff Pick Favorites for International Museum Day

Frazier staff members announce their favorite museum, May 2026.

From ours to yours—happy International Museum Day! To celebrate, I asked my teammates to name their favorite museums, some from all over the world!

· International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.—Nicole Clay, Education Specialist.

· Newfields in Indianapolis, Indiana.—Megan Schanie, Sr. Manager of Education.

· The City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.—Mick Sullivan, Curator of Guest Experience.

· Couldn’t pick just one: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and Planet Word in Washington, DC.—Tori Kennedy, Manager of Youth & Family Programs.

· National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.—Gage McClure, Guest Services Supervisor.

· Frazier Kentucky History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.—Alanis Harris, Guest Services.

· The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.—Nick Cook, Exhibits and Design Manager.

· History Colorado in Denver, Colorado.—Amanda Briede, Sr. Curator of Exhibitions.

· Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany.—Marcy Werner, Manager of Collections & Registrar.

· 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, New York.—Heidi Janes, Sr. Manager of Operations.

· Museum of Hopkinsville in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist.

· Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.—Stella Mastropaolo, Social Media Intern.

· The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.—Trace Rawlins, Events Staff.

· Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, Mexico.—Samantha Wilcox, Event Sales Manager.

· The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.—Georgie Wilson, Event Sales Coordinator.

· Fashion Archives and Museum of Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.—Gwendolyn Gray, Membership Coordinator.

· Rachel’s favorite museum is the Newseum in Washington, DC., which has unfortunately closed!—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission.

· Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.—Becky Morris, Director of Development.

· Frazier Kentucky History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.—Stephen Yates, Community and Corporate Sales Manager.

And for me? I could die happy at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. We tried to keep our bias to a minimum, but it’s hard when you work at the Best Museum in Kentucky! Click here to help us keep that title for the second year in a row.

Naturalization Ceremony, 1800s Animal Bone Fragments, Legacy of York at George Rogers Clark Park, and More

Gala this Friday, $1 Million Award from General Assembly, Going Bananas for Jackson Purchase Bourbon, and More