Welcome

Thanks for joining our mailing list! Here’s what is happening at the Filson:

Current Exhibits

Kentucky Unsettled: The Erasure of Native Homeland explores how competing Native, colonial, and American interests shaped property ownership in the Commonwealth. (Carriage House exhibit)

People Passage Place Graphic

People Passage Place: Stories of the Ohio Valley (Nash Gallery) Semi-permanent exhibit. You are invited to engage with the Filson’s collections and to think critically about how history shapes your lives and communities.

Image: Untitled (moored shantyboat), Harlan Hubbard, 1930s, watercolor and pencil on paper, original 8” x 5.5”, courtesy of the Caddell Collection.

Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard (Bingham Gallery) Writer, artist, and sustainability pioneer Harlan Hubbard (1900-1988) lived an unassuming life, only to find himself embedded in the historical memory of Kentucky. Based on the upcoming, comprehensive biography, Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard, this exhibition brings to life the story of a man who, though beloved by his fellow Kentuckians, deserves broad recognition in the disciplines of American landscape painting, writing, and environmental advocacy.

Upcoming Events

Exhibit Opening – Bustles to Blue Jeans: Highlights from the Filson’s Fashion Archive

Date: April 25, 2025

Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society (In Person only)

Free - Registration required

This Exhibit is sponsored by Stock Yards Bank & Trust. Join the Filson Historical Society for the opening of Bustles to Blue Jeans: Highlights from the Filson’s Fashion Archive. The Filson’s museum collection contains over 5,000 garments worn in the Ohio Valley from as early as the 1810s. But the public has only been able […]

Panel Discussion – “The Children of Terezín”

Date: May 13, 2025

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society (In Person and Zoom Options available)

Terezín, also known as Theresienstadt, was unique among the Nazi concentration camps in that it housed musicians, writers, and artists who were encouraged to continue their respective talents there. However, the Nazis used this camp as a propaganda tool to show the world how “well” the inhabitants were treated, going so far as to create […]

Interested in helping the Filson’s mission to collect, preserve, and share

the history and culture of the Ohio Valley Region?

Background is image of museum storage at the Filson Historical Society. Text reads "Become a Member"

Background image of child sitting on small carriage with a goat pull them. Words read "Become a Volunteer"

Visit the Filson

Open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm

The Filson is closed to the public the 3rd Friday of every month.

1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40208
(502) 635-5083

Plan Your Visit to the Filson! To register or purchase tickets for our events, please visit our Events Page.

The Research Library is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30pm; we are closed on the third Friday of each month. Appointments are not required, but feel free to reserve a seat online – learn more here. We also provide remote research services; please complete our research request form online here.

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