Since its formation in 1966, the Kentucky Heritage Council has conducted an ongoing survey of historic sites in Kentucky. The survey, officially called the Kentucky Historic Resources Inventory, serves as a permanent written and photographic record of all known historic buildings, structures, and sites in the state. The data collected and recorded for the survey provides the foundation for other programs of the Council, such as the National Register program and the Main Street program. The survey also provides data used for the publication of local architectural and cultural histories, for comparison in evaluating eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, and for the development of preservation planning documents. The comprehensive survey has produced information on over 40,000 buildings in Kentucky. This information has been coded and is stored in a computer database at the Heritage Council office in Frankfort.
The Heritage Council's survey program has been actively recording Kentucky's historic places for nearly thirty years. Initial survey activities were carried out by local volunteers with an avocational interest in historic preservation. In general, the first survey projects concentrated on historic resources associated with the Kentucky's wealthiest residents, like large impressive houses. In the 1970s, the Council began a comprehensive statewide architectural survey conducted by professional architectural historians. Unlike past surveys, though, the focus was on all cultural and historic resources that make Kentucky a unique place. So, barns, downtown commercial buildings, and more modest houses were documented. This new approach allowed for a more complete view of the state's rich past.
Since 1980, most historic building surveys have been funded jointly by communities and the Heritage Council using Federal Survey and Planning Grants. For the most part, these survey projects have been undertaken by architectural historians and other preservation professionals. The focus of survey activities was again broadened in the late 1980s/early 1990s to include historic and cultural resources associated with various ethnic and cultural minorities. In 1994, the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission was established to partially address this issue. The Commission, which is an advisory board for the agencies of the Commerce Cabinet of Kentucky State Government, was created to identify and promote awareness of the significant African American influences upon the history and culture of Kentucky and to support and encourage the preservation of African American heritage in Kentucky.
Survey Links
Recent Survey Projects
Kentucky Landmark Certificates
Log Houses in Kentucky
Barns and Outbuildings
Why
Survey?
Contact
the Survey Coordinator
Survey Consultants
What is
the National Register?
Roadside Architecture 
How do I Date an Old House?
Historic American Buildings Survey
If you are interested in recording a historic structure or conducting a comprehensive survey of your community, you should contact Bill Macintire, the Heritage Council's Survey Coordinator, for more information on the Historic Resources Inventory Program. Survey projects can be regional or countywide in scope, can focus on a neighborhood or city, or can explore various themes in Kentucky history such as the Civil War or buildings of "the automobile age." A copy of the Kentucky Historic Resource Inventory form can be obtained below or you may request one from the Survey Coordinator.
The following are pdf files. You will need Adobe® Acrobat Reader to view them:
Instructions
for Completing Kentucky Historic Resources Individual Inventory Form