Meetings
The Madison County Historical Society meets on the third Thursday in the months of February, March, April, May, June, September and October at 6:30 primarily in the Madison County Library, Richmond location. Some meetings are held on site of local historic venues. The annual member picnic is held the first Saturday in August.
Interesting speakers and programs highlight the meetings, which are open to members of the Society, as well as to the public.
Publications
The Society publishes the Heritage Highlights, which is published three times a year. This publication keeps members informed of Society and other historical activities, and also includes articles of historical or genealogical interest.
The Society also offers current publications in our online store on this site.
Out of print publications:
- Madison County: 200 Years in Retrospect (1975)
- Madison County Rediscovered: Selected Historic Architecture (1988)
Genealogical and Historical Research
The Society encourages historical and genealogical research about Madison County. Although the Society does not have a library and does not do research, it will put genealogical queries (for members only) in Heritage Highlights. For persons interested in research, the Special-Collections and Archives sections of Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University possess excellent resources on Madison County.
Historic Sites Preservation and the Bluegrass Trust Plaque Program
The Society, working in conjunction with the Kentucky Heritage Council and local government, has conducted several historic site surveys and is actively involved in the acquisition and preservation of property associated with the Battle of Richmond. In November 2001 the society acquired the 62-acre Barnett-Gibbs-Herndon Civil War farm site, located six miles south of Richmond on Kingston Highway (US 421). The Madison County Fiscal Court bought the farm from the Historical Society and established Battlefield Park in 2005. Additionally, the Society coordinates the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation Plaque Program for the county, which is part of a larger effort to identify and preserve significant historical sites in Central Kentucky.
