Locust Grove is a National Historic Landmark on 55 acres of the original 694 acre farm established by William and Lucy Clark Croghan in 1790. William Croghan was the brother-in-law and surveying partner of George Rogers Clark, founder of Louisville and Revolutionary War hero. George Rogers Clark spent the last nine years of his life at Locust Grove, from 1809 until his death in 1818.

Locust Grove also hosted three U.S. Presidents, Monroe, Jackson and Taylor, and was a stopping point for famed explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark upon their return from their expedition to the Pacific. In addition, Locust Grove was home to numerous enslaved African-Americans who lived and worked on the farm and contributed to its success. Locust Grove tells the story of George Rogers Clark, early Kentucky history, western expansion and everyday life on the frontier.

Above, portrait of George Rogers Clark by Matthew Jouett courtesy of The Filson Historical Society

Locust Grove is owned by Louisville Metro Government and operated by Historic Locust Grove, Inc.

Learn more about Locust Grove

Locust Grove is a National Historic Landmark.


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Sunday, June 30
Summer Antiques Market
10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Come and browse our annual Antiques Market featuring professional dealers from the South and Midwest displaying their wares on the lawn at Locust Grove. In addition to American country antiques, the show features formal furniture, books, textiles, jewelry, Kentuckiana, collectibles and silver. Admission is $6 ($3 for children 6-12). Admission includes tours of the historic house museum. Concessions are available. Proceeds support the continued operation and preservation of Locust Grove.


Congratulations to our 2013 Photo Contest Winners

1st Place -Buildings by Karen Riebel Kelley

1st Place Landscape by Jeannie Vezeau

1st Place Youth- by Julia Goodin


Rediscover Locust Grove

It's summer on the beautiful 55-acre grounds of Locust Grove, with gardens, historic stone walls, fields, woods, and outbuildings such as the ice house, pictured here. The grounds are open dawn to dusk, without charge.

The main house at Locust Grove has undergone a complete interior re-restoration over the past three years. Based on new research in paint analysis and new documentary findings, the early paint layers have been reproduced and the house shines with verdigris, glows with ochre and rose-colored paints, with period wallpaper and carpeting in several rooms. Originally restored and furnished in the 1960s, this restoration includes a new look at room uses and furnishings, and how the Croghans’ extended household lived in the new nation.

A significant feature of the restoration is the custom wallpaper reprinted for Locust Grove by Adelphi Wall Hangings: the French firm of Reveillon’s Arabesque design, found in the House and recreated as one of the most complex printing jobs ever undertaken by Adelphi.

Tours are offered every hour: 10:15; 11:15; 12:15; 1:15; 2:15 and 3:15 daily; Sunday at 1:15; 2:15 and 3:15.


Fabulous recipes for juleps of all kinds from our Mint & More event, created by Joy Perrine!


Your donations support the education and preservation programs of Locust Grove. Donations are tax-deductible.



Here's the new marker for the graves of the Croghan family at Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. The plaque was put up by the Kentucky Historical Society with funding from the Fincastle Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Historic Locust Grove, Inc. It marks the graves of William and Lucy Croghan, their children John, Nicholas, Edmund, and Eliza, daughter-in-law Mary Croghan and her infant child, and servant Mrs. McSorley and child. All of these burials were moved from the family cemetery at Locust Grove in the early 20th century. To find the gravesite at Cave Hill, turn left just past the main entrance and continue to take every left hand fork, following the cemetery's northwest wall, until you come to the gravesite, off the road to the right.


Slave Life at Locust Grove
New Exhibit Room

As part of a long-term effort to research and present the life of the enslaved African-Americans who lived and worked at Locust Grove, we have designated the outbuilding known as the “Residence” as a re-creation of a slave dwelling of the period in the first decades of the 19th century when the Croghans and George Rogers Clark lived at Locust Grove.

This structure, a single room and loft, is the center section of the outbuilding row directly east of the main House, between the kitchen and the smoke house. This room was probably NOT originally used as a slave residence, but as either a residence for an overseer or caretaker, or perhaps even as the laundry for the site. However, in the absence of an original or reconstructed slave house on the site, using this room allows us to discuss and interpret the living and working space of an enslaved family.

We will present the space as the workroom of Locust Grove’s seamstress and shoemaker, who would use both the downstairs room (with a fireplace) and the upstairs unheated loft.

The Slave Residence room itself will now be included in all regular tours of the site.


A Country Worth Defending
Land & Family in Early Kentucky

Locust Grove's permanent exhibit

This exhibit focuses on the interpretation of the American Revolution in the West and the people who settled and built this region. It includes the surveying work of George Rogers Clark, Louisville’s founder, and his brother-in-law, William Croghan, who built Locust Grove, including a recreated surveyors’ office exhibit in the 1810 log building.

Other sections of the exhibit look at the interactions of the Croghan family and their enslaved workers in the daily life of an early Kentucky farm.


Visit the Kentucky Tourism and the Derby Region websites for more information about visiting the area.

To add your name to our email mailing list, send an email message to Bonny Wise. Let us know which events or programs you are most interested in, or ask to receive all emails. This gives you first notice and reminders of upcoming events and programs, and cuts down on costs for us. Thanks!


Links to associated organizations & sites

Locust Grove's Annual Report for 2012 is available as a .pdf file



 

Upcoming Events

Summer Camp Registration Now Open

Registration now open for the Jane Austen Festival - go to JASNA Louisville's registration site The festival is July 20 & 21 at Locust Grove.

Saturday, June 4 to Sunday June 24, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm
Museum Store Sale
Huge inventory reduction sale. You’ll receive a 20 percent discount on all purchases. The museum store carries a wide array of books, toys, stationary and Kentucky-made crafts. The museum store is open Monday thru Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sundays, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 30
Summer Antiques Market
10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

See description on the left.

Wednesday, July 3, 1:00 pm
Afternoon Lecture Series
Rick Bell
Louisville's Waterfront

Join historian and author Rick Bell as he takes you through the stages of development of Louisville's waterfront - from a primitive frontier harbor to the award-winning Louisville Waterfront Park. You'll hear how Louisville's waterfront has felt the tread of historic footsteps throughout its existence - with each subsequent generation. The Locust Grove Afternoon Lecture Series is held the first Wednesday of each month. Dessert and coffee are served at 1:00 pm with the lecture immediately following at 1:15 PM. Admission is $5, $3 for Friends of Historic Locust Grove. Reservations are not required.

Thursday, July 4, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Independence Day

FREE TO THE PUBLIC all day!
Celebrate our nation's Independence in the style of the early Republic. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the grounds of Locust Grove.



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Rentals

Rent Locust Grove for your event
Weddings, meetings, celebrations and commemorations of all kinds are welcomed at historic Locust Grove.

Visit Locust Grove

Locust Grove
561 Blankenbaker Lane
Louisville, KY 40207

Map and directions

Hours & admission

Volunteer at Locust Grove

Locust Grove volunteers are essential to the daily operation of the site.

Learn more about volunteering