Filison Historical Society Collection
The Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society located at 1310 South 3rd Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The Filson is an organization dedicated to providing continuing adult education in the form of quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, Ohio Valley History, a quarterly magazine, The Filson, weekly lectures, historical tours, and exhibits.[1] The Filson’s mission is to collect, preserve, and tell the stories of Kentucky and Ohio Valley history and culture. In 2017, the Filson began a new initiative to document, preserve, and study the history of Jewish life and experience in Louisville and the Ohio Valley region, establishing the Jewish Community Archive.[2] The Filson hosts programs and exhibitions that engage critically and honestly with the past with topics such as: Commemorating Juneteenth, David Blight’s talk on Frederick Douglas, Christina Snyder’s discussion of Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson, Alaina Roberts I’ve Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land, and Dan Gediman’s presentation on reckoning with slavery in Kentucky. In the summer of 2020, the Filson published a list of historical resources on racial inequality in Louisville and issued a community response to racism.
