Richmond is by US-421, just off I-75, about 30 miles south of Lexington. Downtown has one of the state’s finest restored nineteenth-century commercial districts, including more than 100 historic buildings; a walking tour covers 70 of these. In 1862 Confederate forces won a battle at Richmond, and visitors can take the Battle of Richmond Driving Tour. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was reinterred at Richmond after his original burial in New Orleans in 1893. A site honors frontiersman Kit Carson (1809-1868), born in a small log cabin in the county.

Fort Boonesborough State Park is the site of Boonesborough, established in 1775 by Daniel Boone. It features a re-creation of the original fort, samples of eighteenth-century crafts, a small museum, riverside trails, films about the area’s pioneers, and campsites. Wilgreen Lake, a fishing spot, also has camping.

To the north is White Hall State Historic Site. It is based around a 44-room brick mansion owned by abolitionist, reformer, politician, and newspaperman Cassius Marcellus Clay, who was the cousin of the famous senator Henry Clay. The house was reconstructed by Cassius around his father’s 1798 home. It contains Georgian, Italianate, and Gothic Revival elements.

Richmond is served by buses and the nearest airport is in Lexington.