Kentucky Gateway Museum Center

Maysville is home to the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center. The “gateway” in the name refers to the town’s roots.

“Most of the settlers coming down the Ohio River came through what was then Limestone, which we now refer to as Maysville,” said C.J. Hunter IV, the museum’s executive director. The museum building itself dates to the 1880s, he said. “Our museum has been in existence since that time, first as a library, and now we hold several different collections,” he said.

Hunter said local people often share their collections with the museum. “The presidential posters that we have are from a private collection,” he said.

The museum is also known for its miniatures collection, which was selected or commissioned by Kathleen Savage Browning of Maysville. The items are 1/12 scale and were crafted by artisans from the world over. Hunter said that each item in the collections is real (for example, the bricks are real bricks) with just three exceptions: plants, animals and people.

Many historic buildings are represented in the miniatures collection, both local and from around the world, such as the Spencer House from London, where Princess Diana grew up. “It even includes fairy tales for the little folks,” he said.

This segment is part of Kentucky Life episode #2201, which originally aired on October 1, 2016. Watch the full episode.