Though travel was difficult - either on horseback or on foot, perhaps on a wagon - over roads that were merely trails in the dirt, those who were settling were bringing with them the necessities of civilization, including schools.Īs early as 1780 the Virginia Assembly chartered “a public school or Seminary of Learning” to which it granted 8,000 acres of land confiscated from British loyalists as an endowment.

They came in unimaginable numbers, and some of them stayed. The rivers carried some, others followed the Wilderness Road and still others followed trails. It was the neck of a funnel, with almost everyone who was going west in those years coming through Central Kentucky. Imagine with me the Central Kentucky of the 1780s and ’90s. In this case, the building we honor this season is a direct product of a tradition which began in Lexington’s earliest days. Theatres are more than just buildings - they take on personalities which reflect the reasons they exist.

The Lexington Opera House observed its Silver Season in 2002, noting with pride that its courageous move to renovate the theatre at a time when other cities were building parking lots where their theatres had been was a successful idea.īut to understand the full significance of the presence of the Opera House in this community, you need to be aware of the 210-year history of theatre in Lexington.

Ben sollee lexington opera house