Kentucky Proud™
Our Kentucky Proud™ agricultural program supports Kentucky farmers to bring healthy foods to the table. Nothing else is close when it comes to investing for success in our citizens. As consumers, we face the challenge of making smart food choices for our families. Did you know the average meal travels 1,500 miles from the farm to your plate, resulting in lost nutritional value and taste every mile of the way? Kentucky Proud™ products decreases this distance and ensures that we’re eating fresh and nutritious foods while supporting Kentucky’s farm families. We strengthen our local economy by buying local products. We keep our dollars at home. We build a sense of community in the process. Kentucky Proud™ is not only a way to provide safe and nutritious foods for our loved ones, but it is an investment in Kentucky’s land, people and its future. Kentucky Grown Keeps Kentucky Strong!
What else makes Kentucky proud?
With over 63,000 acres, Lake Cumberland in South-Central Kentucky is the destination of choice for millions of people every year. With its rugged beauty and 1,255 acres of wooded shoreline, it’s ideal for house-boating, fishing and other water sports. Located near Russell Springs, Cumberland City, Monticello, Mill Springs, Somerset and Jamestown, its original purpose was to provide flood control and generate power.
Craving adventure? Don’t have time or money for an African Safari? Take a few days and join one of Kentucky’s Wildlife Adventures. Eastern Kentucky is home to more than 11,000 elk, the largest elk herd east of the Rockies. Explore all Kentucky has to offer.
A special interaction between the mist from the base of the waterfall and the light from the full moon produces a phenomenon that you can witness in south-central Kentucky. We call it Moonbow…or Lunar Rainbow…or White Rainbow…or Lunar Bow. Cumberland Falls is one of the very few places in the world you can witness this spectacular event. Located in the Daniel Boone Forest close to Corbin, Cumberland Falls may be the second largest falls in the Eastern U.S. This amazing experience provides an unforgettable memory.
The Jefferson Davis Monument commemorates his birth site in the town of Fairview in western Kentucky. The 351-foot monument is the tallest concrete obelisk in the world and the 5th tallest monument in the US. Inside the tower, an elevator takes you to the observation platform at the top where you can view the 20acre park with its picnic sites, playground, museum and shops. The museum features a video about Davis’s life and the construction of the monument. The monument is open daily from May-October. The museum and Kentucky Handcrafters Shop are open all year. Jefferson Davis was born June 3, 1808.
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives? Yes, all over Kentucky you’ll find great food. But in Kentucky’s southern and eastern regions, known for mouth-watering country cooking and great hospitality, there are four scenic byways that lead to unique restaurants and good eats. The Cumberland Cultural Highway leads you to Columbia where you can get a slice of Sand Pie at OK Country Cooking. The Wilderness Road Heritage Highway gets you closer to a fantastic Chicken Filly found at the London-Corbin Airport. Print your copy of “Byway Bites,” a listing of tempting treats the locals consider “must-eats, and take your appetite for a drive around Kentucky.
Barbecue on your mind? On the northern most tip of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area, Grand Rivers is the jumping off point for seasonal fun and great food. Patti’s 1880 Settlement Restaurant is a popular tourism sport with eclectic décor. It features “flower pot bread” and other unique goodies with generous portions that keep people coming back. Try their truly amazing desserts…or take a few home with you.
History buffs will enjoy a trip to northern Kentucky to Big Bone Lick State Park. This significant lick lured Pleistocene mammals, whose bones provide evidence of their presence many years later. Native Americans called Kentucky “happy hunting grounds,” and one reason was the attraction salt licks had to the wildlife. Explorers Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton were quite familiar with the area. Literature about the park sates, “It was the origin of the greatest escape-from-Indian-captivity epic which ever took place.” If you’d like to know more, visit the park or read “The Frontiersmen,” which chronicles Simon Kenton’s life.
Giant human remains were located in a burial mound in Madison County in 1874. The race of giants was located on five high points on Caldwell Campbell’s farm and on the adjoining farm of Samuel and Walker Madison. Located 8 miles southwest of Richmond, these are fully three acres of burial grounds of pre-historic inhabitants. John Campbell was 6’4” tall. Comparison of the bone size with his own indicated a race 7 to 8 feet tall. More giant human skeletons have been discovered near Richmond, KY than anywhere else in the state.
High rollers and low-lifers were both common to Newport…back in the day. Boot-legging once pegged Newport as the premier gaming destination in the U. S. Now, walking tours take curious visitors past the buildings that housed casinos, brothels, and speakeasies. Today, Newport is a family destination with riverside shopping and dining. The only sharks you’ll find are in the Newport Aquarium. It opened in 1999 with 70 exhibits and 14 galleries, including five seamless acrylic tunnels totaling over 200 feet (61 m) in length. It’s a fun family experience.
Looking for vintage? Penn’s Store is the oldest country store in American run continuously by the same family. It is located near Gravel Switch. The Penn clan has operated it since 1850. It’s hidden away on a back road in the central region, known as the Knobs Region on the southern end of the outer Bluegrass. Penn’s Store has not been restored. It’s retains its vintage beauty, featuring shelves around the single room looking much as they have for more than 160 years. It takes you back in time. Mind their rules while you’re there!
The Kentucky State Police run a summer camp for disadvantage kids on Trooper Island. The camp is a long-range program of public service to the youth of Kentucky. It’s a place where the tensions and turmoil of everyday life can be forgotten for one week and replaced with a touch of hope and desire for a better tomorrow. Located in a secluded corner of Dale Hollow Lake near the Cumberland and Clinton County line, the island was leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is a non-profit charitable corporation.
Glendale is a popular stop for railroad and food buffs. The Whistle Stop, the most famous restaurant in town, is located on the main street next to the railroad. The restaurant began as a hardware store with 20 seats for lunch.
Near Pikeville, in the far southeastern corner of Kentucky, is a wonderful park that we share with West Virginia. Breaks Interstate Park is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of the South.” The views are amazing. The park encompasses 4,600 acres with a 5-mile gorge that plunges 1,650 feet. A picture is worth a thousand words.
If you thought Kentucky was all about bourbon, horses and log cabins, you could be wrong. You’re never bored living in or visiting Kentucky, unless you want to be. Kentuckians are proud of the happy, satisfied feeling they experience when sharing our quality of life with others .
Tourism is a growing industry in Kentucky for good reason. Each area of the state offers unique vistas, activities and history to enjoy and enchant. You can “expect…the unexpected” in Southeastern Kentucky. Check out the 50 awesome things to do in Kentucky’s Northeastern River Region. Discover the “mountains, lakes and music” of Eastern Kentucky. Enjoy the inviting and unique Western Waterlands bordered by the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, featuring the two largest lakes in the state. The Southern Shorelines Region features many lakes and rivers, historic small town southern charm, Kentucky artists and authentic Kentucky cuisine. We’re located in the magnificent playgrounds of the Central Bluegrass Region, in the center of it all. Find more Fun Things to Do in Kentucky.
Speaking of “proud,” we’re proud of FTM Construction’s business we’ve built in Richmond. It’s a source of personal satisfaction that our history of hard work and expert craftsmanship is respected by the community. We enjoy achieving something worthwhile. If you’re looking for an experienced homebuilder, a local Madison County contractor you can trust to guide you every step of the way, you’ve come to the right place. Contact us. In this time…in this place…with interest rates still below the national average, we would be proud to work with you to create yet another Kentucky home that can house your family now and leave a legacy for another generation.