Lexington-Fayette

City and administrative headquarters of Fayette County, north-central Kentucky, 120 km/74 mi southeast of Louisville; population (2000 est) 260,500. It is the centre of the bluegrass region (Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) provides pasture for horses). Racehorses are bred in the area, and races and shows are held here regularly. Industries include tobacco, typewriters, electrical and computer equipment, paper goods, motor vehicles, whiskey, and processed food.

Lexington was founded in 1779, named for the Battle of Lexington. Fayette, the surrounding county with which Lexington was joined in 1974, was named for the Revolutionary War general, the Marquis de Lafayette. Lexington was incorporated in 1832.

The Confederate Soldier Monument is one of 152 entries on the national register of historic places. The city is the home of the University of Kentucky (1865), Lexington Theological Seminary (1865), and Transylvania University (founded in 1780 as Transylvania College.)

Before the Civil War the area's main product was hemp, grown to make rope and rigging for sailing ships. Tobacco took over when demand for rope fell with the decline in sailing-ship numbers.