The Hemp Archive

The Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association Museum and Library Collection (dated 1850, 1888, 1904-2013; 19.49 cubic feet, 29 boxes, 14 items) is comprised of the exhibit materials and documents housed by the Museum and Library alongside operating records of the KHGCA/Museum and Library.

The Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association Museum and Library was established in 1994 as a non-profit organization "to educate the public about the cultural, historic and economic importance of the hemp industry in Kentucky and the United States." The Museum and Library displayed implements, tools, and machines that were and are integral aspects of the hemp industry as well as providing access to research materials and preserving relevant documents. The Museum and Library was able to assist in the creation and operation of the Kentucky Hemp and Related Fiber Crop Task Force by Governor Brereton C. Jones in late 1994 to report on the feasibility of reintroducing hemp as a viable cash crop in Kentucky. In 1996 the Museum and Library opened the Mobile Hemp Museum and Library exhibit, operated and directed by Craig Lee, to share information with the public on a larger scale making presentations across the United States as well as internationally in Vancouver, Canada. In 1999 the Hemp Museum was opened in Versailles, Kentucky to give a permanent location for the Museum and Library, however it has since been closed.

Heather Gifford, "Museums", Journal of the International Hemp Association 6, no. 2 (1999), http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha6218.html

The Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association Museum and Library collection (dated 1850, 1888, 1904-2013; 19.49 cubic feet, 29 boxes, 14 items) is comprised of the exhibit materials and documents housed by the Museum and Library alongside operating records of the KHGCA/Museum and Library. The collection consists of seven series: Objects, Museum and Library Operating Records, Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association, Articles and Publications, Subject Files, Photographic Materials, and Audiovisual Materials. Objects include exhibit materials such as processed and unprocessed hemp, cloth made of hemp, and hemp shoes. The Museum and Library Operating Records series is comprised of working materials, funding requests and applications, publicity flyers and news releases, and correspondence discussing the activities of the museum and library. The Kentucky Hemp Growers Association series is comprised of meeting minutes, founding documents, and records of activities the association participated in. The Articles and Publications series consists of papers covering the issues surrounding hemp; its byproducts, legalization across the United States, documents that cover the legalization of hemp in Kentucky and other parts of the world, environmental issues in the U.S., production of hemp across the globe, and companies that produce and process hemp, and booths about hemp at conventions. The Audiovisual Materials series is comprised of videos that documents hemp harvesting, the growth of hemp markets, and the demand to legalize and normalize hemp cultivation in the United States and Canada.