The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) and the Bluegrass Heritage Museum (BHM) ask the public’s help in identifying and describing subjects in photographs taken by the William B. Ogden Studio from the 1920s through the 1950s.
They will host a free community open house and knowledge-sharing event Wednesday, Jan. 28, with sessions from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at BHM, 217 S. Main St., Winchester. People will be able to view the photographs and to provide any information they might have.
William B. Ogden donated his extensive photographic negative collection to KHS in 1979 after a career of 60 years photographing the people and places of Kentucky. The bulk of his work was based out of Winchester.
The collection contains some 10,000 negatives from the 1920s through the 1970s and includes individual portraits from the Clark, Bourbon, Fayette, Franklin, Woodford and Jefferson County areas; group photos from schools, churches, athletic and civic organizations; farming activities; and Winchester storefronts and businesses.
KHS is digitizing about 500 images from the collection. Some images already are at kyhistory.com (select “William B. Ogden Studio Negatives” under the heading “View and Search Individual Collections.”) People with information about specific images on that site can submit it via the comments section at the bottom of each image.
Direct specific questions about the William B. Ogden Collection to the KHS Martin F. Schmidt Research Library reference desk at 502-564-1792, ext. 4460, or .
An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history by providing connections to the past, perspective on the present and inspiration for the future. The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the State Arsenal. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit www.history.ky.gov.
