Publication Date

January 16, 2025

Perspectives Section

Features

AHA Topic

Research & Publications

Geographic

  • United States

Thematic

Public History

This essay is part of “What Is Scholarship Today?

I think my hand might have trembled slightly when I clicked the Submit button on my first state historical marker order two years ago. Before that moment, each fact in the drafted text had been painstakingly verified. Every word had been selected to ensure that it helped convey a full story while also complying with the foundry’s formatting guidelines. Dates and the correct spellings of names and places had been triple-checked. Nevertheless, I still feared the possibility that an error might have slipped through.

A white man in a blue shirt stands with his arms posed to present a historic marker next to him. The marker reads: "Old Gristmill-Distillery. Formerly known as Burks' Mill and distillery. At the site of the present stillhouse, Charles Burks erected, September 1805, a waterpowered gristmill. The limestone walls of that early structure still stand, providing foundation support for the present stillhouse. Except during time of prohibition, milling of grain has been continuous since 1805. Over"

James B. Seaver inspects a state historical marker on the grounds of Maker’s Mark Distillery near Loretto, Kentucky. Courtesy James B. Seaver

After all, when the words you write will be cast in metal to be placed on the physical landscape for decades to come, the publishing stakes are raised. Passersby and even other historians will look to your historical marker for official confirmation of key dates, notable figures, and significant events in state or local history. It’s only fair that the anonymous authors and editors of this unconventional publication should approach that work with humility and deliberation.

As coordinator of the Historical Marker Program of the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS), I am the commonwealth’s official custodian of over 2,400 state historical markers that span all 120 counties. The oldest date to 1936. Many of the markers are weathered and leaning after decades of standing along the state’s roadways. Quite a few reflect the eras of historical scholarship and popular thinking about the past during which they were erected. And some, we now know after further scrutiny, fall short of the standards to which we hold ourselves today. My colleagues and I aim to do better as we add new historical markers to the landscape each year.

Kentucky’s Historical Marker Program is community driven, meaning that citizens nominate topics for consideration for new markers that seek, above all, to educate Kentuckians and visitors about all aspects of the state’s history. In this way, markers differ from monuments and memorials, which have the added intention of inspiring an emotional reaction from the reader. When a constituent submits their nomination, they must demonstrate that their topic rises to the level of state or national significance and enjoys broad community support. If an external committee of historians approves the nomination, public funding covers the cost of the marker’s creation.

Drafting the text of a new historical marker is a collaborative endeavor between KHS staff and our community partners. Historians at KHS take the lead on writing and editing the short narratives that will later be cast into metal. In recent years, they have taken great care in condensing stories about important and sometimes complicated topics in our state’s history. Among these are the surrender of the last band of Confederate guerrillas on Kentucky soil in July 1865 (some of whom went on to form the notorious James–Younger Gang); the life of Nancy Green, a formerly enslaved woman who became the first brand ambassador for Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour; and the formation of the Louisville Gay Liberation Front in July 1970 after the denial of a marriage license to a lesbian couple.

With a maximum word count of only about 125 words per marker and 33 characters per line of text, the placement of every letter, number, and punctuation mark matters. For the sake of space, much is sheared away during the editing process, which involves discussions with our local project partners. The tightly constructed narratives that are placed in close proximity to where historic events happened do their jobs best when they serve as the inspiration for longer conversations about, and deeper explorations of, those topics within their respective communities.

There is no byline on a Kentucky state historical marker. Privately, I take pride in the dozens of marker projects for which I have also served as the primary author during my tenure as program coordinator. But as I’m an employee of KHS, my authorial voice is subsumed within the voice of the state government I serve (as it should be). Even so, I have great satisfaction knowing that my words—and those of my colleagues, collaborators, and predecessors—are read by hundreds, if not thousands, of people every day as they move about the commonwealth. I hope every marker they encounter gives those readers a better sense of Kentucky’s history and their places within it.

James B. Seaver is community engagement coordinator at the Kentucky Historical Society.

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