The Kinkead House was built as a two-story, single-family 1840s Greek Revival dwelling. Alterations that occurred during the Kinkead family’s long occupancy included a third-floor attic addition in the Italianate style and a two-story ell extension…

In 1904, the Trustees of the Colored Public Schools petitioned the city council to use funds from taxes paid by African Americans to build the East End’s Constitution School (also known as Colored School No. 2). The resultant brick, vaguely…

Dr. Zirl Augustus Palmer was born in 1920 in Bluefield, Virginia. He attained a BS in chemistry from Bluefield College and sought to further his studies in the field of pharmacy in neighboring West Virginia. But at the time, African Americans were…

Fifth Street Baptist, a white congregation, began as a mission church in 1888 for a presence in the newly developing northside section of the city – north of Fourth Street and east of Limestone. But times change and church buildings receive new…

The parcel on N. Upper St. where the Dunbar Community Center is presently situated has contained several notable buildings over the past century. In 1901, it was the location of the Blue Grass Commission Co. Feed and Meal Mill; by 1907, the Society…

The African Cemetery No. 2 was originally established in a rural setting and was known as the old Union Benevolent Society No. 2 Cemetery. 159 African Americans critical to the horse industry are buried in this cemetery, as well as 121 Civil War…

Built around 1903 by J. T. Christian, a produce merchant and manager of the Lexington Cold Storage Company, this unusual house is composed of rough-hewn sandstone blocks. Subsequent owners included K. C. Kirtley, an occasional saloon keeper and…

Ansel Williamson was sold to A. Keene Richards of Kentucky after working as an enslaved trainer in Alabama. He was later sold to the owner of Woodburn farm, Robert A. Alexander. After emancipation he was employed as a trainer to H. Price McGrath,…

In the late nineteenth century, Isaac Murphy was the highest-paid jockey in the United States and had the best win percentage in Thoroughbred-racing history. He was a frequent rider of magnate James Ben Ali Haggin’s horses, including the famed…

As you begin your tour, please enjoy the Blue Grass Trust's recording of Frank X Walker reading his poem, "Ode to the East End." The poem is displayed as a mural on the side of the MET at 576 E. Third Street and functions as the beginning of this…