Picturing the Past

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The Kenton County Public Library boasts an impressive array of books, movies and periodicals, making it one of the busiest in the state. It also houses Faces and Places, a massive collection of old photos accessible to anyone who knows where to look.

The history department at the library began collecting photos around 2000, but in 2007, when The Kentucky Post folded, the newspaper donated its entire photo library—nearly 60,000 photos—to the library.

According to Elaine Kuhn, local history and genealogy services coordinator, it has been a colossal job getting all the photos cataloged and digitized. But it’s been a labor of love. In fact, the library is continually asking for, and receiving, more donated photos.

“We welcome all types,” Kuhn said. “We find when people are cleaning out their homes, they don’t know what to do with old photos, so they give them to us.”

Currently, the collection has more than 93,000 photos, but that number changes almost every day.

“People send us wedding photos, vacations, old homes—we never know what we will get,” she said. “Or if people want to loan us old photos, we will digitize them and give them back. We are always happy to have more.”

The photos can be viewed on the library website, with a key word search to help narrow down the number of images pulled up. Kuhn said that many of the photos feature people who are unidentified, so the library requests the public to comment if they recognize anyone.

Although the photos can be recent or historic, the oldest in the collection is believed to be from around the 1850s. It is a photo of John Leathers Sandford, a distinguished resident of Covington.

The photos are free to peruse, and they also can be purchased for a small fee.

Sisters from the order of American Province of the Congregation of Divine Providence walk up the tree-lined drive to their home at St. Anne Convent in Melbourne in this undated photo. If this shot looks familiar, it was the same path taken by Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man.

Kentucky’s only ski resort, Ski Butler, was on the grounds of General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton. The ski operation ran from 1982 until the mid-1990s, closing because of the difficulty in making and keeping snow.

In town for a political rally at Covington’s old Latonia Race Track in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, left, is escorted by political rivals Kentucky Gov. Albert B. “Happy” Chandler, center, and Kentucky’s U.S. Sen. Alben Barkley, right.

At the 103rd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 1977, the antics in Churchill Downs’ famed infield were almost as entertaining as watching eventual Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew cross the finish line. 

These two images of Markland Dam in Gallatin County were taken on Feb. 1 and 3, 1978. It was a brutal winter with record cold and snow, which froze the Ohio River.

Although the focal point of this photo probably was intended to be the boat on the Ohio River, it is interesting to see the old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati under construction on July 22, 1969.

This undated photo shows the assembly line at the George Wiedemann Brewing Co. in Newport. Incorporated in 1890, it became the largest brewery in the state, producing 100,000 barrels each year. The operation closed in 1983.

Back in 1978, the city of Walton proudly claimed its native son, Steve Cauthen, who had just won the Kentucky Derby riding Affirmed. Over the next few weeks, the townspeople swelled with pride as they watched the 18-year-old Cauthen claim the Triple Crown .

On Sunday, May 25, 1986, approximately 6 million people held hands for 15 minutes in a human chain that spanned the continental United States to celebrate Hands Across America.

The event was organized by the USA for Africa, a group formed to combat famine in Africa. In this photo, the hand-holders crossed the Roebling Suspension Bridge in Covington.

The iconic water tower near Florence before it received its “Florence Y’all” greeting. It originally was designed to advertise the Florence Mall, which was under construction in 1974. After some political red tape, the city was told to repaint it. Instead of repainting the entire structure, C.M. “Hop” Ewing, then mayor of Florence, came up with the cost-conscious idea of covering the vertical lines of the “M” in mall, turning it into a “Y” with an apostrophe. Now the famous water tower greets travelers on I-75 with a little Southern hospitality.

On acres of rolling farmland in quiet Georgetown, this sign from Dec. 11, 1985 announced a new business coming to town. Since opening in May 1988, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky has produced more than 10 million Camrys and other Toyota and Lexus models.

The facility employs more than 7,500 people.

To find the collection, go to:

• kentonlibrary.org

  • Go to the Research and Learning Tab

• Click on the  "Genealogy” 

• Click “Faces & Places” from the list presented