The Filson congratulates board member Emily Bingham, on the latest national recognition of her book, “My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song.” The Filson team is honored to work with Emily each day! Cheers! https://ow.ly/cO7o50XL3Wc

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (what with the snow and all). What better way to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year than watching The Nutcracker? Seen here performed by the Louisville Ballet around the year 2000. #HappyHolidays #LouisvilleBallet #TheNutcracker #LouisvilleArts

The Filson's Old Louisville Campus will be closed today due to inclement weather. Please stay safe.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture. Last night we examined the legacy of Cassius Marcellus Clay. His contradictory story helps us understand the complex, often uncomfortable realities of antislavery politics in 19th-century America. #CassiusMarcellusClay

The Filson will be closed today due to inclement weather. The event hosted by GLI has also been postponed. Stay safe and warm! For questions regarding Filson operations, please reach out to staff. For questions regarding the GLI event, please contact: [email protected]

Our Giving Tuesday promotion is now on! Enjoy 10% off individual and family gift memberships for the history lover in your life. Promotion runs through 12/2. https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E4471&id=10 #GivingTuesday #HistoryLover #GiftMembership #GiftOfHistory #HolidayGifts

"Thanksgiving Dinner," used in the Courier Journal magazine on November 15, 1953. Photo by H. Harold Davis. #Thanksgiving #ThanksgivingDinner #CourierJournal #VintageThanksgiving #HHaroldDavis

Enjoy 10% off individual and family level gift memberships for the history lover in your life this Giving Tuesday. Promotion starts 11/28 and runs through 12/2. https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E4471&id=10 #GivingTuesday #HolidayGifts

This week, the Filson hosted a panel discussion focused on the role of the Black family as a foundation of the Black experience, highlighting family structures, intergenerational bonds, and community growth. #BlackHomecoming #BlackFamily #CommunityGrowth #BlackExperience

Here are some wonderful dogs that visited our office last week. Consider your timeline #blessed #PawsForPurpose #Dogs #TherapyDogs

Last night, we featured the 2025 History Inspires Fellowship recipients: Lori Larusso, Moira Magre, and Sarah Pennington. Each artist shared how research in the Filson’s collections inspired their work. #HistoryInspires #ArtAndHistory #KentuckyArtists #CreativeResearch

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a discussion on the role of print in Native American communities. Myaamia artist Megan Sekulich and Mark Alan Mattes shared insights on how printmaking can preserve Indigenous history and culture. #NativeAmericanArt #Printmaking #Myaamia #CommunityVoices

The Filson is teaming up with the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society and Louisville Nimble Thimbles to document our quilt collection and share it nationwide. #QuiltHistory #KentuckyQuilts #TextileHeritage

Discover the real Cassius Marcellus Clay, antislavery reformer, fighter, and slaveholder. Historian Anne E. Marshall reveals how Clay’s story reshapes our view of America’s struggle with freedom and hypocrisy. #History #CassiusClay #Antislavery #CivilWar #BookTalk

Cutting the ribbon on our collaborative exhibition project between the Filson and the Trager Family JCC! The Filson is honored to collaborate on their new History Wall! #CommunityCollaboration #JewishHeritage #TragerFamilyJCC #LocalHistory #CulturalHeritage

Pretty stoked about this collaboration with my colleague Megan! filsonhistorical.org/event/printi... And thanks to @filsonhistorical.bsky.social for supporting! #NAIS #bookhistory #letterpress #Indigenous #NativeAmerica #printmaking

Earlier this month, we ventured out to Lower Howards Creek near Winchester, KY, to explore the fascinating history of dry stone fences. These fences, whose techniques date back to Scotland some 5000 years ago, are a staple of the central KY landscape. #DryStone #KYHistory #CentralKY

#Belknap #FallFest starts today! The Belknap neighborhood is full of amazing history, historic homes, and landmark businesses. Join us in celebrating the history of #Louisville's historic neighborhoods!

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has been the highlight of the Filson's programming since 1993. Join us on 12/4 for our final GPB of the year with Anne Marshall and a discussion on Cassius Marcellus Clay. #GertrudePolkBrownLecture #LouisvilleEvents #LiteraryDiscussion #AuthorTalk

Congrats to Filson Fellow, Donovan Taylor, for his recognition in the Courier Journal! Donovan leads a guided bus tour throughout the West End's 10 neighborhoods. His tour covers the origins of neighborhoods and recent developments within the city. Read more here: https://ow.ly/IEig50X6eOm

Modern America was shaped by the Red Scare of the mid-20th century. Last week, New York Times writer Clay Risen sat down with Filson President Patrick Lewis for a discussion on the Red Scare and it's impact on America in the second of three Gertrude Polk Brown lectures this year. #RedScare

The Filson was honored to welcome museum leaders, educators, and officials from 11 African nations as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. We explored shared global challenges, including sustainability, inclusion, and ethical engagement. #IVLP #GlobalExchange

Exhilarating day @ the bookbinding workshop for Printing Indigenous Community hosted by @filsonhistorical.bsky.social Special thx to Megan Sekulich for sharing art inspired by the myaamia miilhswaakani (Miami lunar calendar) & Kelly Hyberger & @plewishistory.bsky.social for bringing us together!

This Juneteenth, the Filson, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky, along with Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby, are celebrating Juneteenth’s meaning as both a commemoration of emancipation and a call for compassion-driven change. #Juneteenth #AliCenter

By winter 1777, Washington had narrowly avoided defeat. King George III faced rising costs and looming French and Spanish support for the rebels. Rick Atkinson explores this pivotal period in The Fate of the Day with Filson's Patrick Lewis. #America250 #americanrevolution #revolutionarywar

Celebrate Dad with a gift that honors the past and inspires the future—a gift membership to The Filson! A Filson membership offers exclusive access to: 📚 Special exhibitions and archives 🎟️ Member-only events and lectures 📰 Award-winning publications buff.ly/SlFnhLU #FathersDay

National Bourbon Day is celebrated annually on June 14th. This year, we want to raise a glass to #ElmerLucilleAllen, who was the first African American chemist at Brown-Forman. Whiskey Row’s Official Bourbon Ambassador interviewed her, watch here: buff.ly/kgTgIOl #NationalBourbonDay #bourbon #ky

The latest Theodore Sedgwick Distinguished Lecture was delivered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's CEO Carol Quillen. She discussed "How Storytelling Builds a Healthy Democracy". Catch it here: youtu.be/R0_2YGyOApQ?... @savingplaces.bsky.social @filsonhistorical.bsky.social

June is designated Black Music Month, which celebrates African American contributions to the American soundtrack. Jug band music is performed by musicians who perform with ordinary objects. Jug band music is often seen as a precursor to blues music. #blackmusicmonth #jugbandmusic

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 Celebrating Kentuckiana's LGBTQ+ history! The Filson is committed to sharing diverse stories of the past. For more on the gay rights movement, see the following collection: buff.ly/H0KYSXw #PrideMonth #LGBTQHistory

Today is Statehood Day! And we want to wish KY a very happy birthday. To learn more about Kentucky’s journey to statehood, check out the Filson’s First American West digital project here: buff.ly/18N6QGr #KY #StatehoodDay Photo courtesy of the Burdorf Family Photograph Collection (010PC42.110)

Panoramic photograph of the Field Artillery Brigade Firing Center at Camp Knox. Headquarters Firing Center, 24th Field Artillery Brigade, 170th Field Artillery Brigade. 10,000 officers and men made up this picture spelling out "CAMP KNOX."

Join us Thursday for an exciting discovery from Charles Holman as he shares the fruits of his research after digging through records at the Filson, where he made an unbelievable breakthrough in his family's history. buff.ly/5sBqkg1 #Ancestory #AncestoryResearch

Gathering over traditional meals is a powerful way to connect with heritage. In the 1960s, the Lang family hosted Chinese American supper clubs in Louisville, captured in this 1964 Courier-Journal photo. #chineseamericanhistory #foodheritage

#happymothersday from all of us at the Filson. Today, we honor the women who shaped our past, nurtured our communities, and created legacies that continue to inspire. Today, we celebrate mothers' strength, wisdom, and love throughout history.

Fashion met history at this year’s Met Gala, celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," inspired by Black dandyism. A dandy is someone, often a man, who is extremely devoted to style. #MetGala2025 #BlackStyle

While researching his enslaved ancestors at the Filson, Charles Holman uncovered a shocking discovery that reshaped his family’s history. Join us as he shares this powerful story, revealed through DNA, pension records, and Filson archives. Sign up to hear it here: buff.ly/660r3hT #BlackHistory

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Henrietta Helm (1865-1942) was one of them in Louisville, Kentucky. Mrs. Helm was one of the first African Americans to receive a public school education in Louisville. Soon after, she became a teacher herself at the Eastern Colored School #TeacherAppreciationWeek

Join us on June 16th for a lecture with Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Rick Atkinson, as he brings to life the epic middle years of the American Revolution. Get your tickets here: buff.ly/UCUBFO3 #RickAtkinson #HistoryLecture #AmericanRevolution

Honoring National Nurses Day with the story of Evelyn B. Smith, a Black Red Cross nurse in WWI-era Louisville. Despite exclusion from most nursing programs, Black women like Evelyn paved the way, joining the Red Cross after a pandemic-driven shortage broke down barriers. #NationalNursesDay

May is AAPI Heritage Month! Explore the life of Roosevelt Chin, a Chinese American from Louisville who dedicated decades to youth work at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. His story, now digitized (buff.ly/zman7O4 ), honors service, community, and heritage. Who else should we remember? #AAPI

Last week, we opened our closets wide with our newest exhibit, Bustles to Blue Jeans: Highlights from the Filson’s Fashion Archive. We showed off some of our most beautiful garments from the 1810s onward. Bustles to Blue Jeans is now open at the Filson until August 15th! #newexhibit #exhibitopening

The Filson announces the latest update for an IMLS grant-funded initiative.  For more information, click here: buff.ly/ujw7xGa #IMLS

A selection of #derby postcards from our collection. In order: Souvenir of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, Louisville, KY, undated Churchill Downs, Derby Day, Louisville, KY, 1909 Famous Churchill Downs on Derby Day ca. 1900-1908 #kyderby #churchhilldowns #postcards

The #KentuckyDerbyFestival is a Louisville tradition dating back to 1956. Did you know, the first ever #pegasusparade was held on a budget of $640?

“This earth is a fit setting for a noble life, for one of peace and joy.” — Harlan Hubbard. This Earth Day, we’re honoring Hubbard’s connection to nature through some incredible recent gifts to our collection. #EarthDay2025

Wishing everyone luck on their easter egg hunts today. 🐰🐣 #HappyEaster

American beauty standards have historically been based on those of White European women. So how do African American women navigate this and show their true beauty? Last night, our panel discussed how they established themselves in the pageantry circuit in Kentucky. #BlackBeautyQueens

Join us next Thursday for a roundtable discussion organized by Ricky Jones of the Baldwin-King Project. Topics include environmental justice, race, culture, and health. Presented by the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. Register for free here: buff.ly/a82HcK7

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Jazz Contemplations with Merton and Me, a concert celebrating Dick Sisto’s 80th birthday and his friendship with Thomas Merton. #Jazz #JazzAtTheFilson #DickSisto #ThomasMerton