Winchester,
Kentucky
delights the eye and intrigues the historian with its outstanding array
of carefully preserved Victorian architecture. This charming small city
located in the heart of the
Kentucky
Bluegrass Region features one of the last remaining Victorian Main
Street Downtown areas in the
U.S.,
which holds status on the
National
Register of Historic Places. Downtown Winchester remains one of the
last intact 19th century business districts in the entire
Commonwealth
of Kentucky.
Located only 20 miles east of Lexington,
Winchester is part of the Lexington-Fayetteville Metro Area. As the
county seat of Clark
County, Winchester serves as a vital commercial and retail hub, and
is home to almost half the residents. Census
2000 recorded the population at almost 17,000. Ten banks provide
financial services. The Clark
Regional Medical Center, the Winchester
Center for Health and Rehabilitation, and the Clark
County Health Department/Home Health Agency render excellent medical
care. Exhibiting both a social and a spiritual side, Winchester citizens
support 51 Protestant churches and 1 Catholic Church.
The sole high school in Winchester, KY is George
Rogers Clark. Students show commendable community spirit and partake
in a number of extensive extracurricular activities. Winchester student
athletes have won numerous state titles through the years. Students may
choose from twelve colleges
and universities within a forty-mile radius. Included in these are
the Eastern Kentucky
University in Richmond,
two fine colleges in Lexington, and the University
of Kentucky in Fayette
County.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky holds an excellent national ranking for
low business costs, low costs of living and a fine quality of life. The
Lexington MSA boasts the lowest over-all business costs in Kentucky.
Winchester and the other small communities within the region offer the
friendliness and security found outside large cities. The Winchester
Economic Development Agency works with incoming firms, providing a
number of tax
incentives. Two major Winchester, KY manufacturers are Ale-8-One,
which is a soft drink known only in Kentucky, and Laura's
Lean Beef, which markets beef with no antibiotics or hormones.
Interstate 64 and nearby Interstate 75 easily meet transportation
needs for Winchester. US Hwy 60 and the lovely Bert
T. Combs Mountain Parkway provide scenic back road access. Located
in the heart of Daniel
Boone Country, Winchester, KY attracts many visitors to its annual
Labor Day Daniel
Boone Pioneer Festival. Nearby, visitors tour Fort
Boonesborough, founded 1775.
The Lower
Howard's Creek Heritage Preserve was home to Kentucky's first
industrial center, with a grain mill and a bourbon factory. Historians
delight in the ambience of Winchester's exquisite Main Street District,
while antique hunters explore the many shops and galleries found here.
The important Kentucky politician Henry
Clay gave both his first and last public speeches within the
Winchester County Courthouse. Filmmakers made good use of the unique
atmosphere of Winchester, in the 2005 film, Elizabethtown.
Winchester,
Kentucky represents gracious Southern living at its finest. Winchester
stands out as a beautiful, history-rich community in a region known for
its heritage and breathtaking scenery. Winchester, KY is a vibrant city
that people will not soon forget.
