The Filson Historical Society
The Filson Historical Society, previously known as The Filson Club, is a privately supported historical society located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1884, the Filson is an organization dedicated to continuing adult education through a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, Ohio Valley History, a quarterly magazine, The Filson, weekly lectures, historical tours, and exhibits.[1]
Former name
The Filson Club
1884
1310 South 3rd Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40208
History museum
- Reuben T. Durrett (1824–1913)
- Richard H. Collins (1824–1888)
- William Chenault (1835–1901)
- John Mason Brown (1837–1890)
- Basil W. Duke (1838–1916)
- George M. Davie (1848–1900)
- James Speed Pirtle (1840–1917)
- Thomas W. Bullitt (1845–1921)
- Alexander Pope Humphrey (1848–1928)
- Thomas Speed (1841–1905)
Richard H. C. Clay
James J. Holmberg
TARC
Mission and programs[edit]
The Filson's mission is to collect, preserve, and tell the stories of Kentucky and Ohio Valley history and culture. The Filson hosts programs and exhibitions that engage critically and honestly with the past with topics such as: Commemorating Juneteenth, David Blight's talk on Frederick Douglass, Christina Snyder's discussion of Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson, Alaina Roberts' I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land, and Dan Gediman's presentation on reckoning with slavery in Kentucky.
The Filson's programming hosts events such as the Gertrude Polk Brown lecture series, which regularly includes authors currently on national bestseller lists, such as David Blight, H. W. Brands, Liza Mundy, Fredrik Logevall, and Steve Inskeep; the Notable Louisville Neighborhoods series, a series designed to connect people with history in a meaningful way and to highlight resources available at the Filson; workshops and discussions led by Filson staff on how to archive and preserve your personal and family history, how to research your historic home, how to care for historic photographs, and more; a variety of concerts featuring regional artists; and authors, journalists, and historians discussing the history of the Ohio River valley.[2]
Publications