Timeline

Timeline of Gay History in Lexington and Environs

circa 1790: John Tanner, a Kentucky boy, is kidnapped by Native Americans and eventually sold to Ojibway Indians who raise him. In 1830 he publishes his autobiography and reports on meeting an A-go-kwa, the Ojibway version of a berdache.
early 1800s: Shaker woman expelled from Pleasant Hill (Shakertown), KY, for attempting to seduce other Shaker women.
April 16, 1863: The Louisville Daily Democrat reports the suicide of a Civil War soldier who was a woman passing as a man.
1880: The US Census includes listings for prison inmates and lists two individuals imprisoned in Kentucky for "crimes against nature." Blacks disproportionately are imprisoned for such offenses than whites in 1880 probably as a mechanism for punishing African-Americans who oppose racial inequalities or who lack the status to fend off homosexual accusations.
early 1900s: Stanley Rhorer, a native of Mercer County, is reported in a local Lexington paper to have committed suicide in St. Louis, MO. Rhorer had been living in St. Louis as "Mrs. Green" and working as the landlady of a boarding house. His actual sex is discovered upon his death. In reporting on the passing, Stanley's brother says that Stanley left home with a woman and has not been heard from since. The implication from the tone of the article is that Stanley's family either rejected him or did not wish to acknowledge him.
1930s: Men known to have established a regular circuit of 'tearooms' (public spaces used for anonymous sex) at various Lexington sites (Union Station, the Esplanade, Phoenix Hotel, etc.)
1950s: "Sweet Evening Breeze" or "Sweets" (aka James Herndon) living in Lexington and openly known for his attraction to other men. An African-American orphan, Herndon worked at Good Samaritan Hospital his entire life and regularly strolled Main St. in various stages of drag. Widely known and popular in Lexington, there is disagreement about whether Herndon was a) a gay man who liked drag, b) a hermaphrodite, or c) a transgendered person. Upon his death he left a sizeable amount of money to Pleasant Green Baptist Church.
1959-62: A house owned and occupied by a gay man on Madison Place (listed as Madison on the map link) is reportedly an informal center of same-sex and mixed sex orgies involving UK athletes and even celebrities such as Rock Hudson. (see O. O'Banion's quasi-fictional MEANS TO AN END)
1960s: Rock Hudson and various other gay Hollywood stars frequent Lexington for its horse scene.
June 27, 1969: The Stonewall Rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the modern gay socio-politico-cultural movement.
1971: Gay Liberation Front formed at the University of Kentucky throught the Open University Program. Bruce Kraus is GLF's first president. GLF and subsequent groups (until the 1980s) are not recognized officially by the University of Kentucky as student groups. When GLF goes to court to seek official recognition as a student organization from UK, GLF loses the case. The case is not appealed although many involved subsequently come to believe the case could have been won on appeal.
1972: Peter Taylor is president of UK's GLF (1972-73 academic year).
1973: Peter Taylor is president of UK's GLF.
1974: Carey Junkin is president of UK's Gay Students' Coalition (the successor to GLF).
1975: Former members of the UK gay student groups and other Lexingtonians join together and form the off-campus Gay Services Organization (GSO). Greg Butler and Steve Medley are the first GSO presidents.
1976: GSO incorporated.
1976: Steve Medley is president of GSO.
1977: Gary Key is president of GSO.
1978: Doug Burnham is president of GSO.
1979: Doug Burnham is president of GSO.
1980: Birch Land is president of GSO.
1981: Belinda Tarpley is president of GSO.
1981: GSO granted tax-exempt status by IRS.
1981: GSO Gayline in operation under the direction of Edwin Hackney.
1981: GSO hosts lecture by Dr. Rhonda R. Rivera (Ohio State University) on The Legal Position of Homosexual Persons in the U.S..
1981: A "Sam and Kathy" host a party of 400 at The Circus, a mixed bar owned by Mark Johnson. The Circus featured a number of gay events in the early 1980s.
1981: The GSO Newsletter reports that in 1981 GSO hosted a range of events such as bridge night, picnics at Jacobson Park, potluck picnics at Woodland Park, yard sales, volleyball, and a slide show of a member's trip to Ireland. GSO is by now maintaining an office at 729 E. Main St. on the corner of Ashland and Main. By 1981 Eddie Woods is also hosting GSO's annual campout on his farm.
1981: Group of gay runners is meeting at UK to run/walk.
1981: The primary political concern in the Lexington communities in 1981 and early 1982 is HR 3955, the anti-gay Family Protection Act in the US Congress. Various articles are written asking people to contact their legislators in opposition to this bill.
October 1981: Rochelle DeJe-uner (Kenny Leigh of Lexington and Somerset) is 3rd runner-up for Miss Gay Kentucky pageant.
1982: Re-Bop, a "Bar for Everyone", is open at 361 W. Short St. and features both drag and leather.
1982: Gay Alcoholics Anonymous is operating by this time along with Gay Al-Anon.
1982: GSO in 1982 hosted potlucks, a canoe trip to the Rockcastle River, a poker game, a Valentine's dance, and a trip to the World's Fair in Knoxville.
1982: First mention of what will be later named AIDS in the Lexington gay press:

Some recent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and elsewhere have discussed new evidence of the apparent link between certain cancers (Karposi's sarcoma) and opportunistic infections and homosexuality. (GSO Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 1982)
This article further speculates that the use of inhalents may be the cause of this then unknown disease.
February 1982: Having learned of the International Imperial Court System, an international charity organization founded by gay pioneer Jose Sarria that primarily relies on drag shows to raise funds for other charities, while living in Alaska, native Lexingtonians Greg Butler and Marlon Austin (aka Blanche Pinke) returned to Lexington and found the Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of the Bluegrass Empire (later R.S. Imperial Court of all Kentucky). The Kentucky court becomes the first east of the Mississippi River.
April, 28, 1982: First annual Coronation Ball for the Imperial Court of the Bluegrass Empire is held at The Circus, 7:30pm-11:30pm with the Imperial Brunch at the Long & Narrow, 314 1/2 S. Ashland. Julie Vaughn (aka Rick Barnett) is elected Empress I, The Southern Belle Empress, out of a field of three candidates. No out-of-town courts are present at this first coronation.
Fall 1982: Ray Allen, a former Imperial Crown Prince of the People's Court of Denver, is appointed Regent Emperor I, the Black Leather Thoroughbred Emperor, for the Kentucky court and is crowned at The Circus Disco. He and Julie Vaughn arrange for the Denver Sovereign Court of Denver to sponsor the Kentucky court in the International system and thus Denver becomes Kentucky's mother court. Eventually two courts arose in Denver and later Denver Sovereign became defunct.
April 1983: The Imperial Court's Coronation II is held at The Sheraton Inn with the theme being A Spring Cotillion. Jacqueline Parrish (Jack Parrish)
April 8, 1984: The Imperial Court's Coronation III is held at The Sheraton Inn with the theme being Nites on Broadway.
April 14, 1985: The Imperial Court's Coronation IV is held at The Sheraton Inn with the theme being Sunset in the Tropics: A Fantasy in Fuschia.
1986: Meeting at The Cafe LMNOP, a gay bar and drag theater on Main St., Liz Turpin recruits lesbian female-to-male drag performer Karen Brown to be her girlfriend and to join Turpin in murdering her husband. The two hire a man who kills the husband. All three are arrested and found guilty after a sensational courtroom trial. (see Rena Vicini's true murder novel FATAL SEDUCTIONS)
1986: Jeffrey Wasson arrested on 4th degree (consensual) sodomy outside of The Bar Complex after being entrapped by an undercover policeman who engaged him in conversation. The arrest following this sting operation eventually leads to Wasson challenging the law in Wasson v. the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
1986: GALUS, a gay student group, is active at UK as the first officially recognized gay student group. GALUS members successfully lobby UK to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in grading (only area covered).
April 5, 1986: The Imperial Court's Coronation V is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being Lands of the Pharoahs: An Egyptian Celebration.
April 12, 1987: The Imperial Court's Coronation VI is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being Stairway to Heaven: A Night at the Prom.
October 1987: AVOL (AIDS Volunteers of Lexington) is founded under the auspices and tax-exempt status of GSO to respond to the AIDS crisis. Earlier attempts to get the United Way to fund prevention efforts directed at gay/bisexual men is refused. Thus, the gay community must create its own prevention/education effort when ignored by existing heterosexual groups.
April 29, 1988: The Imperial Court's Coronation VII is held at The Blue Grass Budget Inn with the theme being The American Popular Song.
April 30, 1989: The Imperial Court's Coronation VIII is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being The Mask Ball.
1990: The Letter, a Louisville-based gay newspaper, begins publication.
1990: The Kentucky HIV Care Coordinator Program is established.
1990: The Lexington Men's Chorus founded from a group of men who had previously done some singing for GSO events.
April 29, 1990: The Imperial Court's Coronation IV is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being Cruise the Eastern Caribbean: A Night of Tropical Splendor.
April 28, 1991: The Imperial Court's Coronation X is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being C.A.T.S. -Cammie and Terry's Story: Fun and Frolic in the Alley.
September 1991: UK Lambda, a lesbigay student/staff support group at the University of Kentucky, is organized using the constitution of GLUE (Gays and Lesbians United for Education), a previous group that became defunct in Spring 1991.
April 26, 1992: The Imperial Court's Coronation XI is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being A Black and White Masquerade Ball: A Night at the Opera.
May-June 1992: Lexington Fairness Campaign formed.
June 18, 1992: Lambdanet, Kentucky's first listserv for news, information, and discussion for lesbigaytrans Kentuckians goes into service.
July 4, 1992: First openly lesbigay contingent in the annual Independence Day parade.
July 1992: Lesbian bar The Metro closes.
Thursday, September 24, 1992: Kentucky Supreme Court overturns the state's same-sex only, consensual sodomy law in a 5-4 decision in a ruling on Wasson v. the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The justices in the majority subsequently receive death threats.
November 1992: First edition of The Pink Pages, a directory of businesses and services that welcome gay patrons, is issued by the Rainbow Business Coalition at a la Lucie's restaurant.
April 1993: Kentucky contingent of approx. 1000 people participate in the 1993 March on Washington.
April 25, 1993: The Imperial Court's Coronation XII is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being Night of the Living Dead: An Imperial Salute to the B-Movie Monsters.
May 1993: Second edition of The Pink Pages premieres at party at Joe's Bar.
April 1994: First AIDS Volunteers of Lexington Walk for Life to raise money for AIDS/HIV services.
May 15, 1993: The Imperial Court's Coronation XIII is held at The Holiday Inn South with the theme being An Imperial Salute to the Wonderful World of Animation.
Summer 1994: Responding to a resolution by the University of Kentucky Student Government Association, the UK Board of Trustees make two actions: a) they vote to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in admissions and financial aid, and b) pass a resolution that UK should not discriminate in any of its policies based on sexual orientation.
Summer 1994: Third edition of The Pink Pages premieres at party at Ed and Fred's Desert Moon.
July 1994: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Human Rights Commission begins to document reports of anti-gay discrimination.
December 1994-January 1995: Club 141 bar opens at 141 W. Vine St. as gay club.
1995: The former site of Breezings bar is torn down.
Spring 1995: Fourth edition of The Pink Pages premieres at party at Artsplace.
May 27, 1995: The Imperial Court's Coronation XIV is held at The Radisson Plaza with the theme being An Evening of Enchantment and Southern Hospitality.
July 1995: Lifestyles bar opens next door to Club 141 on W. Vine St.
Fall 1995: Lifestyles changes its name and owners to Triangels.
Fall 1995: Lexington Men's Chorus first CD, Facets, premieres.
November 1995: Republican contender Larry Forgy loses his campaign for governor to Democrat Paul Patton. Although both men are conservatives, media analysts point to Forgy's alliance with rabidly anti-gay activist Frank Simon as costing him a critical mass of voters (especially in the Louisville area).
Spring 1996: Director and accompaniest of the Lexington Men's Chorus resign in part due to concerns over appearing in story on the LMC as an openly gay chorus and fears for their jobs.
Spring 1996: UK formalizes 1993 Board of Trustees vote to ban discrimination at UK based on sexual orientation.
Spring 1996: During the 1996 General Assembly session of the Kentucky legislature, right-wing Republican legislators introduce thirteen bills and bill amendments seeking to variously ban same-sex marriages, block any type of state funding for programs that portray homosexuality as acceptable, and place a November ballot before voters which would sought to recriminalize consensual sodomy via a state constitutional amendment. All thirteen bills fail to make it out of committee in part due to calls/faxes from concerned citizens on the Kentucky Fairness Alliance's various phone tree lists.
June 23, 1996: The Imperial Court's Coronation XV is held at Club A1A with the theme being A Return to the Era of the Great Gatsby.
May 1996: Triangels closes.
June 21, 1996: After performing in the annual "In-Town" show as part of the Royal Sovereign Imperial Court's (RISC) Coronation, a group of drag queens leaves The Bar around 1:30am and encounter a shoot-out between Lexington police and a man who began firing at an officer issuing a ticket to a woman stopped for DUI behind The Bar. The shooter flees and is later apprehended. It turns out he had earlier been in to watch the In-Town show. After the shooting, the entertainers care for the fallen officer until an ambulance arrive and are detained for statements on the shooting until 5:30am.
June 22, 1996: The First Annual Bat-n-Rouge Tourney is played in Shillito Park from noon-2pm. This charity game pitted the "Queen Bees," a team of drag queens from the Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of Kentucky and visiting Court guests, against the "Stinger Stompers," an intermural lesbian softball team. Despite an early lead, the Queen Bees were stomped by the Stingers 17-11. $287.00 were raised by the event for the AVOL AIDS Medication Fund.
July 7, 1996: Members of the Lexington Men's Chorus attend the GALA conference in Tampa, FL.
October 1996: The Official International Imperial Court Website and the Impcourt computer listserv founded by Jeff Jones in Lexington. Subsequently in 1997 the maintenance of this site and listserv are transferred to the imperial court in Eugene, Oregon.
June 1, 1997: The Imperial Court's Coronation XVI is held at The Radisson Plaza with the theme being Viva Las Vegas: A Magical Night at the Excalibur.
1998: The Watering Hole, a non-smoking bar on Limestone, closes.
June 7, 1998: The Imperial Court's Coronation XVII is held at The Radisson Plaza with the theme being In Their Majesties Secret Service: An Evening of Intrigue at the Royal Masquerade Ball.
January 26, 1999: After years of work by Louisville Fairness, the City of Louisville passes the first ordinance in Kentucky banning employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.
May 21, 1999: The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission votes unanimously to recommend that the Urban County Council adopt a non-discrimination ordinance. This ordinance is heavily supported by Lexington Fairness.
July 3, 1999: Over 200 people march with the GLBT contingent in the Independence Day Parade. Lexington Fairness, GLSO, the Lexington Men's Chorus, the Imperial Court, and Moveable Feast march together.
July 8, 1999: The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council adopts by a 12 to 3 vote an ordinance banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations due to a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
July 11, 1999: The Imperial Court's Coronation XVII is held at the Radisson Plaza with the theme being Platforms & Playbills, Broadway to Boogie. Eden Towers and Kevin Fillips elected monarchs.
July 15, 1999: Mayor Pam Miller signs the Fairness ordinance into law.
September 28, 1999: The City of Henderson's Commissioners adopt a Fairness ordinance banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations due to sexula orientation in a 3-to-2 vote.
October 12, 1999: Jefferson County Commissioners adopt a county-wide Fairness ordinance.

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