As Kentucky prepares to celebrate its 225th anniversary as a state throughout 2017, now is the perfect time to refocus efforts on showcasing our area’s heritage.

Clark County has some amazing history and organizations like the Winchester-Clark County Heritage Commission and the Bluegrass Heritage Museum has done a great job of preserving our history and showcasing it. Many other organizations contribute to this effort.

Last week a historical marker was erected near the Kentucky River commemorating what has become known as the Boone-Calloway kidnapping and subsequent rescue mission led by famed pioneer Daniel Boone.

While the state does a good job of promoting tourism and much of its history, we would like to see Central Kentucky counties including Clark, Madison, Fayette, Boyle, Lincoln and others to create a comprehensive marketing strategy built around the historic attractions in these communities.

Linking them together and creating a new “trail” would go a long way towards showcasing our region’s past while using tourism dollars injected into our communities to build its future.

Tourism has become a multi-million dollar industry across the state and those interested in history are a key part of that. But we have to ensure that we are celebrating what we have to offer and have the amenities to support visitors.

Featuring attractions like the museum, Fort Boonesborough, Constitution Square, the Perryville battle site and many others, this could build into something that spans beyond our individual county borders.

This level of focus would truly be the case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

That would be good for Clark County and good for all of Central Kentucky, as we share stories of the history that have made us who we are.