Student Production of the Documentary Film Buried Treasure: Kentucky\u27s Saltpeter Mines in the War of 1812

The multi-disciplinary course, Frontier Industry in Kentucky, was designed to give students a comprehensive understanding of American industrial development prior to 1840. Faculty from the disciplines of History, Geography, and Communications provided expertise in the learning environment. In addition to readings and discussion of the social, political, and economic context, as a case study the class engaged in a the production of a professional-quality documentary film concerning the mining of nitrates from Kentucky caves and cliff lines and their manufacture into gunpowder. The mining of nitrates (saltpeter) and gunpowder production occupied a brief but important phase in Kentucky history, primarily during the War of 1812 period. Most of the filming took place on location at key mining sites including the Red River Gorge area and several saltpeter caves across the state, including the well-known Mammoth Cave. In addition, filming took place at the former site, in Lexington, of the largest gunpowder mill ever to operate in the state. Each student played an active role in production, ranging from research and scriptwriting, production of graphic stills, logistics and liaison, to interviewing and narration; technical production expertise was provided by three Communications students. At the former mine sites, students were able to view historic artifacts and to film interviews with a collection of experts upon the history and archaeology of the industry. Students in this class invested considerable time to gain an understanding of early American industries and to produce an educational film representing the vital role played by a specific Kentucky industry in a time of war

Making the Transition: An Assessment of Distressed and Non-distressed Counties in Eastern Kentucky

One hundred and twenty-one Appalachian counties are currently classified as ‘distressed’ by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Distressed counties have higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower per capita income, than non-distressed counties. Currently, forty-two of Kentucky’s fifty-one Appalachian counties are classified as distressed, an increase of approximately nine percent from 1990. As a step towards understanding county-level strategies that may be used to successfully transition from distressed to non-distressed status, this study investigated a number of additional social and economic variables for a group of six currently distressed and six currently nondistressed counties in eastern Kentucky. County-level population, education, and economic data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau for each census period between 1970 and 2000. Graphs and maps were used to identify and analyze trends in population, education, and economic variables for each group of counties. Key differences in educational attainment levels and industrial diversity were observed between the distressed and non-distressed groups. Project results were used to develop a broad set of guidelines (an ‘action plan’) intended to assist currently distressed counties in making the transition to non-distressed status. The quality of life will improve for all the people of Appalachia as more counties make this transition successfully, and the goal of building sustainable Appalachian communities will be increasingly within reach