NEW EVENT - June 6, 2024      7 PM

Mel Hankla and The Kentucky Rifle

The Sandford Duncan Inn’s next evening program will take place at 7PM on Thursday, June 6th. Dr. Mel Stewart Hankla will talk about the Kentucky Rifle, a firearm that played an essential role in the histories of the American Revolution and Kentucky. Hankla will stress the artistry and craftsmanship displayed in Kentucky Rifles.

This program is especially timely as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution and the establishment of the first English settlements in Kentucky.

This program is free, but a $10 donation to the Sandford Duncan Inn will be most sincerely appreciated. Seating at the inn’s visitors’ center is very limited – please call Franklin-Simpson Tourism at 270-586-3040 to reserve your place. The inn is located at 5083 Nashville Road (US31W) a mile south of Exit 2 off I-65 and a mile north of the Kentucky/Tennessee state line just outside Franklin, Kentucky.

This presentation will feature discussion and display of some very special Kentucky Rifles with connections to Southern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. A highlight will be the showing of a rifle once owned by Gasper Mansker, a founder of the Mansker Station frontier settlement in nearby Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Other rifles associated with the Barrens region of Southern Kentucky will be discussed.

Mel Stewart Hankla is one of the foremost Kentucky Rifle experts. Holding an MS degree from Western Kentucky University and a doctorate from WKU and the University of Louisville, his many lectures and exhibits stress the creativity of early American artisans shown in Kentucky Rifles. One of Kentucky’s great storytellers, Hankla has brought critical characters out of Kentucky’s past to life with the Kentucky Humanities Council’s Chautauqua program for many years. He builds Kentucky Rifles inspired by classic frontier examples and is active in organizations keeping the traditions associated with these guns alive.