Editing Princeton, Kentucky (section)

==Culture==

===Night Riders and Black Patch Festival===
[[File:Amoss House.jpg|thumb|Amoss House, home of Dr. David Amoss, leader of the Night Riders]]

Rich in Southern culture much like the rest of Western Kentucky. Every September, Princeton hosts the Black Patch Festival in its historic downtown. Up to 65 booths feature a variety of festival foods, games and activities. One of the highlights of the Black Patch Festival each year is the [[gospel music|gospel]] concert held at the Princeton First Baptist Church.

The festival is named after the unique variety of "Black Patch" [[tobacco]] grown in the surrounding areas of western Kentucky and northwest [[Tennessee]]. Tobacco was at the center of one of the largest civil uprisings in American history.

By the start of the 20th century, an agricultural boom in dark leaf tobacco had made Caldwell County, along with [[Christian County, Kentucky|Christian County]], a major tobacco growing area. However, the monopolization of the tobacco market by [[James B. Duke]] left many farmers in debt. A vigilante force called [[the Night Riders]] was formed to combat the Duke monopoly and terrorized those who cooperated with the tobacco company by destroying crops, burning warehouses, and even physical intimidation.

On December 1, 1906, the Night Riders raided Princeton and burned the largest tobacco factories in the world.

===Big Springs===
[[File:Big Springs.jpg|thumb|left|Big Springs]]
This large, natural spring flows from a cave located in the heart of downtown Princeton. The town's founder chose to build his home above the spring and established a sawmill close by. Ancient trails used by animals and early Indians, and later by stagecoaches and pioneers, all met at the spring. They led to the major rivers of the area, the [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]] and the [[Ohio River|Ohio]].

During the [[Cherokee removal]] of 1838–39, the Native Americans were to be moved west on steamboats. However, a severe drought in the summer of 1838 made river travel all but impossible. With thousands of people, plus a large number of horses, wagons, and other livestock, water was of the utmost importance for survival. Eleven of the 13 Ross detachments came through Princeton on their way to the Ohio River and stopped at Big Spring.

[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301023636/http://www.nationaltota.org/chapters/sites.asp?id=5 Big Spring Park], a certified site, is owned by the City of Princeton and is accessible to visitors.

===Adsmore Museum===
[[File:Adsmore museum.jpg|thumb|Adsmore museum]]
[[Adsmore]] is a [[living history museum]] located on North Jefferson Street in Princeton.<ref name=kye>Scott, p. 3</ref> It is the only living home museum in Kentucky. Its name is believed to be derived from numerous additions and renovations over 150 years.

Adsmore reflects the lifestyle of the prominent Smith-Garrett family at the close of the "Golden Age". Tours center on events which took place in the lives of John Parker Smith and Nancy Bond Kevil Smith and their five children: Mayme, Kate, Shell, James Urey (Did) and Selina. Different "seasons" are presented throughout the year to reflect the events of the Smith-Garrett family throughout the years as well as holidays. These different settings include Christmas, Easter, the Black Patch War and weddings and engagements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adsmore.org/default.htm%20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810175512/http://www.adsmore.org/default.htm |access-date=2013-05-04 |archive-date=2013-08-10 |title=Adsmore Changes with the Seasons of the Year }}</ref>

===Eddie Pennington Festival===
Princeton is home to the annual Pennington Folk Festival, hosted each summer on the grounds of the Old Butler High School by the Princeton Art Guild. Started in 1997, the Pennington Festival has been a staple music event for western Kentucky, honoring the town's own Eddie Pennington for his contributions to folk music and Kentucky's own [[thumbpicking]] guitar style. Pennington, a nationally recognized musician,<ref name="nhf">{{cite web|url=https://arts.gov/honors/heritage/eddie-pennington|title=Eddie Pennington: Thumbpicking-style guitarist |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=www.arts.gov |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=December 31, 2020}}</ref> continues the tradition of "thumbpicking" popularized by [[Merle Travis]] and further developed by instrumentalists such as [[Chet Atkins]].

===Col. Bill Newsom's Aged Kentucky Country Ham===
[[File:Nancy Newsom's Hams.jpg|thumb|left|Nancy Newsom's Hams]]
Newsom's Old Mill Store and Col. Bill Newsom's Aged Country Hams are owned and operated by Nancy Newsom Mahaffey, "the Ham Lady". Newsom's was established January 1, 1917, by H.C. Newsom, Nancy's grandfather.

Newsom's ham was honored to participate in the 5th World Congress of Dry Cured Hams in [[Aracena]], Spain, in May 2009, and a two-year-old Newsom's ham was encased for continuing display in the Jamon Museum there, the only ham in the United States of America to be invited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsomscountryham.com/|title=Col. Bill Newsom's Aged Kentucky Country Ham}}</ref> Newsom's ham was also served at the Kentucky Ball during the 2008 Presidential Inauguration.

[[File:Capitol Cinemas.jpg|thumb|right|Capitol Cinemas]]

===Capitol Cinemas===
The original theater on this site was the Savoy Theater. It burned to the ground in 1937. The Capitol Cinemas was built on the same site and opened in 1939. The Capitol was re-opened in 1996 and has been in continuous operation since that time. It is the only restored [[Art Deco]] theatre in a small community that shows current movies on three screens.

Capitol Cinemas runs first-run films and holds special events for school, church and community events.

===Historic Downtown and Let's Paint the Town!===
[[File:Downtown Princeton.jpg|left|thumb|Princeton downtown]]
Efforts were organized in 2006 to bring the community on board with plans for a "new look" to the downtown historic district. It was emphasized that with community participation, donated funds and volunteer labor, Princeton's downtown could be transformed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marvoentertainmentgroup.com/productions-new/educational/lets-paint-the-town|title=Let's Paint the Town! - Marvo Entertainment Group|author=Your Name Here}}</ref>

[[File:Downtown Princeton Kentucky.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Princeton Kentucky]]
In 2008 the [[Kentucky Heritage Council]] honored the town with the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation's Preservation Award "in recognition of the significant accomplishment involving the preservation and historic restoration through increased awareness and civic involvement" for "Let's Paint the Town!". At the invitation of the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]], "Let's Paint the Town!" was honored to present its success to the nation in [[Chicago]] (2009) and [[Oklahoma City]] (2010) at the National Main Streets Conference.