Landscape architecture students at the University of Kentucky have been working with Woodford County to design the Huntertown Community Interpretation Park in honor of the historic African American community of Huntertown, Kentucky.
Huntertown was originally established in 1871 as part of Versailles. The state sold fifty acres to a community of 200 former slaves. Unfortunately, the land was located on wetlands, which led to chronic flooding and sewage problems, eventually becoming so unsustainable that the land was bought in 2000, and the population was forced to relocate.
“These were communities where African Americans lived and worked and played and worshiped, from the Reconstruction Era to today,” Sioux Finney, project lead and former social studies teacher, told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “Understanding that story and the contributions of African Americans to our Kentucky story are so important.”
The students and community members have been collaborating on development since Aug. 2021, and Finney hopes to begin construction by Juneteenth 2022. Students conducted research over the fall semester by interviewing residents and transcribing oral histories, intending to make the park an educational site.
“The goal was to enhance the history of Huntertown,” Finney said. “It was taken apart, and all that was left was some reminiscence of the buildings and some artifacts. So, what we wanted to do was actually create an educational experience as well as an enhancement of the site.”
