Frazier Kentucky History Museum

The Frazier Kentucky History Museum in Louisville, KY, presents Kentucky’s history through artifacts, exhibitions, and live performances. It became the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 2018.

Planning your visit

The Frazier is the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, designated in 2018, and that role shapes how most visitors use it — the Spirit of Kentucky exhibition covers bourbon comprehensively, from the corn and limestone water that make Kentucky suited to it, through the distilling and barrel-ageing process, Prohibition's near-destruction of the industry, and the recent revival. There is a tasting bar.

But the museum is broader than bourbon. Kentucky history runs through it: the Lewis and Clark expedition, which began its western journey from the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville; the Civil War in a border state that stayed in the Union while much of its population sympathised otherwise; and a substantial collection of historical toy soldiers, over 3,000 of them, which was the museum's founding collection.

Live costumed performances and interpretation are part of the programming rather than an add-on.

It sits on West Main Street in Louisville's Museum Row, near the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. Allow two to three hours, longer if you use it as a bourbon trail planning stop, which is what it is designed for. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is shown below.