The Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail
Our Story
The Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail is administered by the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail Alliance (KLHTA), which coordinates marketing and educational initiatives for its members, engages in advocacy efforts on behalf of Lincoln-related organizations and communities, and makes all decisions regarding the makeup and focus of the trail. The KLHTA is a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization and is governed by a board of directors consisting of representatives from Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trial sites. The Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail traces its origins to the 1960s, when the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky partnered to develop a tri-state Lincoln Trail. While successful for many years, this Lincoln Trail eventually faded, leaving only a handful of way finding markers, some of which are still posted today. During the Lincoln Bicentennial Commemoration (2008-2010), Kentucky’s Lincoln trail was re-established through a partnership of state government agencies as well as local, federal, and nonprofit organizations. The Lincoln Heritage Trail is not only a physical journey through Lincoln’s boyhood, it is a personal journey through a life that continually brought Lincoln into contact with his fellow Kentuckians.
Warren Greer
Director
Stephen Young
Interpretive Specialist and Connector
Stephen has served as interpretive specialist and connector for the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail since January of 2019. Stephen spends his days as a middle school History teacher and his evenings studying and sharing the life and teachings of our most beloved Kentuckian, Abraham Lincoln. Stephen holds a bachelor’s degree in History and a master’s degree in Public History from Northern Kentucky University. As Kentuckians, Abraham Lincoln’s story is our story. Through the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail, Stephen hopes to bring to life the many connections and ties that Lincoln had to his birthplace. Kentucky and Kentuckians continued to shape Lincoln into the man he would become. From his early days as a Kentuckian, living his youth as a railsplitter in Indiana, and becoming a lawyer and politician in Illinois, his Kentucky roots provided the foundation for his great life. Both Stephen and Lincoln can proudly say, “I, too, am a Kentuckian.”