In the years following Kentucky’s admission to the union in the 1790s, hundreds of small towns sprung up across our state.

Our own town, Bowling Green, was first settled in 1798 and incorporated in 1812.

This special edition, which our staff has worked tirelessly over many weeks to produce, celebrates the bicentennial of that incorporation.

An inquiring mind might well ask, “What was it about this particular city that separated it from the pack and brought it to its position as one of the premier cities in our commonwealth?”

My own view is the energy and vision of the citizens of Bowling Green spanning multiple generations were a huge factor.

Certainly access to river navigation and rail transportation were important to the town’s early development. Easy access to vital highways in more recent years continued to foster vitality.  

The importance of Western Kentucky University to the city’s growth, as well as its intellectual and cultural life, cannot be underestimated. A healthy mix of industry and agriculture are important factors as well.

During my 70 years in the community, I have watched countless people come here either as students or with manufacturing plants. Many choose to put down roots and spend their lives here.

This pattern suggests Bowling Green is special, and it is this uniqueness this edition celebrates.

The roots of our own business can be traced back through mergers and acquisitions to 1854. The Gaines family has been involved in the newspaper scene here since 1882 and remains involved five generations later.

This edition, however, is not about the newspaper, even though we are proud to be part of the fabric of our city and to have recorded the historic – along with the routine – for more than 150 years. It is about the city many of our readers call home.

We are grateful to our readers who provided pictures, stories or information for this edition.

Advertising support, without which this edition would not have been possible, is gratefully acknowledged.

Special thanks is extended to members of the Daily News family who bought into this project and went all out to produce and distribute it.

We hope you enjoy their finished product, which celebrates a very special place that so many of us are proud to call home.