Frazier History Museum debuts new exhibit detailing centuries of Kentucky's past

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Marking Kentucky's 230th birthday, the Frazier History Museum in downtown Louisville unveiled a new Kentucky-themed exhibit.

Called, "The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall," the exhibit showcases hundreds of artifacts from Kentucky's history. It will include pieces from the "Unknown Project" which highlights stories of enslaved Kentuckians.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said it's important for the future to accurately represent the past.

"Celebrating where we have met the moment, and admitting where we've fallen short: it's that way that hopefully we can get that next moment right," Beshear said. "And we can teach our children to always strive to do the right thing, especially in those important moments."

Museum officials said the exhibit has been years in the making. In a news release on its website, President and CEO Andy Treinen said the exhibit begins with stories tens of thousands of years before Kentucky became a state. It details stories of immigration, industrialization, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War and more.

Visitors can board a replica riverboat from the early-1800s and see an original clock face from Town Clock Church, an Underground Railroad stop in New Albany, Indiana, the museum said in a news release. Displays tell the stories of Shawnee storytellers, Choctaw students trappers, frontierswomen, freedom seekers, abolitionists, Confederate and Union soldiers, trade unionists, women's suffragists, Appalachian coal miners, corn and tobacco farmers and immigrant entrepreneurs.

It is open starting Wednesday, June 1, for a special birthday price of $2.30.