This annual Founders’ Day marks a special milestone as we celebrate our 70th Anniversary with Blue Grass Trust members and as a member of the Blue Grass Trust, we hope you will join us as we honor 70 years of making preservation possible.

We will also be announcing an exciting step forward for the Blue Grass Trust and Kentucky's preservation movement!

We are grateful to Barnhill Chimney Company for being the Presenting Sponsor of our 2025 Founders’ Day.

Celebrate 250 years of Lexington’s history by exploring some of its oldest surviving structures as we unveil a new addition to our award-winning Tour the Historic Bluegrass website. Dr. Zak Leonard will guide us through the fascinating stories of Fayette County’s early log and stone buildings, all constructed before 1830.

We are honored to welcome Dr. Melynda Price—Co-Director of the Monuments Workshop and Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan—for this year’s Hopemont Lecture. As our nation nears its 250th birthday, together we will explore how communities publicly remember, share, and commemorate our collective histories.

Have friends who love historic preservation? Bring them along!

Join your fellow members and their guests for an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and great conversation. This complimentary reception is our way of saying thank you to our wonderful supporters.

Not a member yet? We’d love to have you! Join today at bluegrasstrust.org/members

In collaboration with the Lexington History Museum, we’re celebrating a new addition to Hopemont’s collection—a portrait of Lord Byron by Lexington-born artist William Edward West. Noted art historian and author Estill Curtis Pennington will share insights into West’s life, his Kentucky roots, and his artistic portrayal of one of literature’s great Romantic poets.