This is the 1-8-13 media release from the Kentucky Historical Society.

1. Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Chelsea Compton
502-564-1792, ext. 4504
chelsea.compton@ky.gov
KHS Launches Danville Tour on ‘Explore Kentucky History’ Smartphone App
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 8, 2013) — The Kentucky Historical Society features historic downtown Danville in
a new smartphone application tour.
KHS launched a series of “ExploreKYHistory” smartphone tours in summer 2012. Available tour themes
now include Civil War, War of 1812, Abraham Lincoln and University of Kentucky. Explore Danville,
Kentucky is the first community-based tour.
“Explore Danville, Kentucky,” includes 19 historical markers, all within walking distance of Danville’s
downtown business district, pertaining to Kentucky’s pioneer past, the state’s founding, early medical
advancements, education, the Civil War and more.
“Danville is a treasure trove for history enthusiasts,” says Jennifer Kirchner, executive director of the
Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our community is grounded in preservation of
our buildings, traditions and heritage, and now because of this useful and well-designed app, it is very
easy for visitors to take a stroll through our rich past at their own pace. Danville is a beautiful small town
with a picturesque Main Street that has many interesting stories to tell through its history. We are so
thrilled to have this resource in place to share our alluring and captivating piece of Kentucky with the
rest of the world. Danville is a truly a unique town where preservation meets progress.”
“This app has been created to allow local historical societies, museums, tourism offices, libraries, Main
Street programs and others to use ‘ExploreKYHistory’ as a platform to develop their own tours based
upon historical markers in their communities,” said Stuart Sanders, KHS professional services
administrator. “The Danville tour, the first community tour to be added to the app, will be a sample tour
for these organizations to help guide them as they create their own community tours.”
Tour content and images were collected by KHS in partnership with many community organizations
including Centre College, the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Ephraim
McDowell House, Mary Girard at the Boyle County Public Library and Jim Holmberg at the Filson
Historical Society.

2. Based on the Kentucky Historical Marker Program, the “ExploreKYHistory” smartphone app combines
historical markers, related items in the KHS collections and community-submitted images and stories
into mapped points of interest. Related historical markers across the Commonwealth are then grouped
together into tours.
The Kentucky Historical Marker Program, administered by KHS in cooperation with the Kentucky
Transportation Cabinet, tells Kentucky’s story through the people, places and events that have shaped
local communities across the Commonwealth. These markers highlight the importance of place in
Kentucky’s collective history, in order to build strong communities for the future. The markers are on-
the-spot history lessons that make connections between history, place and historical evidence housed in
the Commonwealth’s many historical organizations. Through the program, Kentucky’s history is made
accessible to the public on markers along the state’s roadways.
The Explore Kentucky History smartphone application is available free of charge at iTunes, Google Play
and http://explorekyhistory.ky.gov. Users who have already downloaded the app will have immediate
access to the “Explore Danville, Kentucky” tour and previously released Lincoln, Civil War, War of 1812
and University of Kentucky tours. More tours are set to be released soon. For more information about
submitting a community tour, contact Stuart Sanders at 502-564-1792, ext. 4420 or
stuart.sanders@ky.gov.
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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society,
established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history by
providing connections to the past, perspective on the present and inspiration for the future. The KHS
history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the
Kentucky Military History Museum at the State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky
Historical Society and its programs, visit www.history.ky.gov.