Juneteenth on the Walking Trail

Are you looking for a way to celebrate Juneteenth in Kentucky? A visit to the Walking Trail at 616 Clintonville Road, Paris, KY 40361, can introduce you and your children to the contribution of African Americans in Kentucky.

June 19, 1865 was the day that General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 which proclaimed the freedom of every enslaved person in the whole United States. It became known as Juneteenth and is now celebrated as a federal holiday. Granger is buried in Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky. General Gordon married Maria Letcher from Garrard County, Kentucky, so we can claim a Kentucky history connection to Juneteenth.

We celebrate the lives of 14 African Americans in the Eye-Spy Game on the Walking Trail. They are: Elisha Green, Effie Waller Smith, Peter Durrett, Emma C. Clement, James B. Johnson, Helen LaFrance, Albery A. Wilson, Nancy Green, Carl Brashear, Mary Britton, Rolla Blue, Martha Cross, Samuel Oldham, and Julia Chinn. Select a number. Follow the same number at each of the seven stations around the trail. Each station adds information about a famous Kentucky Christian's story. There are thirty stories hidden along the trail. Odd numbers are men. Even numbers are women. African Americans are numbers: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 29, and 30.

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