Georgetown and Scott County Museum

10/16/2026

The Museum is excited about the upcoming Downtown Georgetown Art Gallop, October 16th, 5-8 PM, and October 17th, 9 AM - 12 PM. On Saturday, enjoy all the local artisans at the businesses downtown, have some lunch, then stop by the Museum to view some of our art collection. In our Equine Gallery, we have paintings by locally famous horse artists, Edward Troye and Thomas J. Scott.

A work you will see by Scott is "Alice Carneal", who produced the infamous horse, Lexington. Also, in the gallery is a painting of Glencoe by Troye. This painting shows some of Alexander Keene Richard's Bluegrass Park, which also had a racetrack and was located in Georgetown.

Another local artist, Will T. Hunleigh, has his own gallery wall. Hunleigh painted mostly landscapes, but his talent was discovered in a unique manner involving a horse! As a child, Hunleigh mashed berries that he collected to make a type of "watercolor" paint. He then painted different landscapes on the family's white horse. His family, of course, noticed their beautiful horse and encouraged young Will to pursue his talent in art (this time on canvas)!

10/09/2026

If it is October there must be vibrant leaves, bright blue skies, pumpkins (and spice), and of course Keeneland! At the Museum, you can spot another October treasure. Enjoy the pictures and come see the real artifact. Then, I know you can answer the following questions. What is this musical instrument and to whom did it belong? Go!

09/26/2026

Happy Saturday Friends!

Last week’s question was a tough one! Attached you will see the United States Constitutional Bicentennial Quilt piece that will tell you the answer to the first Georgetown newspaper.

The Telegraph was established by Shadrach Penn, an influential frontier journalist. Reports indicate that it ran from September 25, 1811 to December 22, 1813 and was printed on paper from the local paper mill. While there are no known samples of this first paper, historian, B. O. Gaines described it as “well printed and very
readable “.

So, there’s your history tidbit for today!

09/17/2026

Happy Constitution Day!

This is the day we celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which was 239 years ago. At the Museum we have a United States Constitutional Bicentennial Quilt. The quilt was designed and constructed by the Scott County Extension Homemaker Association to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing, as well as the early settlement and development of Scott County.

The center square is pictured here and other squares tell about our county. Our question today is about the square representing Freedom of the Press. It tells about Scott County’s first newspaper. Our question today is: Do you know the name of that very first paper and when it was established? You can find the answer in the beautifully crafted quilt at the Museum. Please visit us Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. I will be looking forward to your thoughts on the answer!

09/17/2026

Yesterday, GSCM had a wonderful time with Garth alumni, staff, and students. We were honored to host Garth Elementary's 4th and 5th graders and give them tours of our exhibit, "Garth Memories." We are truly thankful for this opportunity and for the chance to collaborate with Garth Elementary, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary tonight, September 17th, from 5 PM to 7:30 PM. If you would still like to visit our exhibit, "Garth Memories" will be open until October 31st!

09/04/2026

At the Museum we were thrilled with the great discussion about Georgetown and Scott County factories. We loved your memories and really enjoyed LEARNING new things from you!

Just as a recap, even though all the answers were probably in your posts, here are the answers for the original products made by these four factories:
Electric Parts-electric blankets
Hoover-car seat springs
Johnson Control-thermostats
Clark Equipment-small fork lifts

So, there’s your history tidbit for today!

Keep an eye out for new questions and please visit our “Garth Memories” exhibit. I know many of you are Garth Alumni! 🥰

09/03/2026

08/28/2026

Let’s get one last question in for August. We are still thinking about old Georgetown businesses, particularly factories. Before Toyota began to be discussed in 1985, there were some other notable factories in the 1950s - 1970s. One or two have survived in varying forms today. These include:
Electric Parts
Hoover Corporation
Johnson Controls
Clark Equipment
Your question is. . . What was the original item that each of these factories started out making when they came to Georgetown?

And just for fun. . . Did you or a family member work in any of these four factories? I’ll start. My sister, Wanda, after graduating from Fugazzi Business College, got her first job in the office at Electric Parts! Your turn!

Rowena

08/28/2026

"Garth Memories" is still available for visits. Make sure you stop by while you have the chance!

08/15/2026

We are excited to read your stories through your comments on our questions! It is a great way for the Museum to keep history alive and hopefully help you be a bit nostalgic every now and then. This question was an easy one. The Mallard Pen and Pencil company was in business from the mid 1940s to 1995 on the corner of Bourbon Street and Chambers.

The Blue Ribbon Pen and Pencil Company operated in about the same timeframe. It was divided into two locations - the first was on West Main where Galvin’s is now and the second location was around the corner on Water Street.

There was also Nash Pen Company on Constitution Street which employed about 10 people.

So, there’s your history tidbit for today!