The Filson Club was founded on May 15, 1884, by ten men, primarily Louisvillians, with a shared love of history. The primary founder and first president was
Reuben T. Durrett. The organization was named in honor of
John Filson, Kentucky's first Anglophone historian, and the centennial of his historical works, including a 1784 map of Kentucky and his book,
The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke. Filson members met at founding president Reuben Durrett's home at 202 E. Chestnut at Brook Street in Louisville from 1884 to 1913. Here, Durrett maintained an extensive historical collection. During Durrett's final illness in 1913, arrangements were made to sell his collection to the University of Chicago. This was due to the lack of a fireproof vault for document storage in Louisville. Unfortunately, much of the Filson Club's collections were incorporated into Durrett's collection, meaning a portion left the state. The Filson's collections that remained after the sale were transferred to the Filson Vice President Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston library, located in the
Columbia Building at Fourth and Main Streets in Louisville, and were housed there until 1929. Thruston and other Filson members recognized the need for a stand-alone building. A drive for funds was successfully conducted in 1926, and a property was purchased, remodeled, and fireproofed. In June 1929, the Filson's materials and Mr. Thruston's collection, which he gifted in full, were transferred to the club's new home at 118 West Breckinridge Street. Architect E. T. Hutchings renovated two townhouses into one Georgian-style building, housing the Filson's archives, library, museum, and offices. As time passed, the administration and board began looking for a new location to accommodate a growing collection and staff, along with additional programming space. The purchase of the
Edwin Hite Ferguson Mansion at 1310 South 3rd Street was finalized in 1984, the centennial of the Filson's existence, and the renovation and additions to the Filson's new home began. Building renovations and the addition of 6 levels of temperature-controlled/secure stacks were completed throughout 1985. In the summer of 1986, the Filson's collections and staff moved into the new location, encompassing the mansion for offices and library/archival storage and a carriage house for storage and display. The Ferguson Mansion has been the Filson Historical Society's headquarters since 1986. Designed by the Dodd & Cobb architectural firm and completed in 1905, the Ferguson mansion is one of Louisville's finest examples of beaux-arts architecture. Built for industrialist Edwin Hite Ferguson, it showcased his success and family's social status. Sold to the Pearson family in the 1920s, the mansion was a funeral home for almost half a century. After passing through two other owners – including serving as the campaign headquarters for former Kentucky governor
John Y. Brown Jr. (b. 1933, governor of Kentucky 1979–1983) – the Filson purchased the mansion and accompanying carriage house in 1984. Renovation and the addition of a stack for the collection were completed in the spring of 1986. The library, archival, and museum collections continued to grow, as did programming and staff, throughout the 1980s and 1990s; the Filson's name changed from "Club" to "Historical Society" as a focus on scholarly research on Ohio Valley history was introduced. Plans to expand the 3rd Street campus began in 2002 with the purchase of the Bank One building located at 4th and Ormsby, a 60,000 sq ft building with two parking lots. The Filson's major expansion began in the 2010s with renovations to the Ferguson Mansion and carriage house and the construction of the Owsley Brown II History Center, creating space for exhibition galleries, expanded library and special collections reading rooms, programming, and event rental venues. In 2017, the Filson began a new initiative to document, preserve, and study the history of
Jewish life and experience in Louisville and the Ohio Valley region, establishing the Jewish Community Archive. In the summer of 2020, in response to
protests against police killings of African-Americans, Filson published a list of historical resources on racial inequality in Louisville and issued a community response to racism.
Relationship to Oxmoor Farm The Filson Historical Society has a unique relationship with the Bullitt family and the historic
Oxmoor Farm in eastern Jefferson County. The original part of the Oxmoor mansion was built in 1791. It remained in the Bullitt family for six generations until the death of Thomas Walker Bullitt in 1991 and his widow, Katharine Stammers Bullitt, in 2005. The Filson Historical Society has no ownership interest in the mansion and grounds. The Oxmoor Preservation Committee was established under Thomas Walker Bullitt's will and is responsible for advising the Oxmoor trustee on the care and ongoing maintenance of the Oxmoor mansion and farm; the president and CEO of the Filson is a member of this committee, as are Bullitt family members. Through Mr. Bullitt's estate, the Filson received generous support to develop and enhance programming and research in line with Mr. Bullitt's general interests in philanthropy, education, preservation, and Kentucky history. A subsequent agreement with the Bullitt family gave the Filson complete title to the collection of Bullitt family papers, spanning over two centuries of life at Oxmoor, and generously endowed additional funding for scholarship, archiving, and programming expenses. As a component of the relationship with Oxmoor, Filson conducts several annual programs and events at Oxmoor. Oxmoor and a surrounding parcel of land are owned in trust and managed by a trustee and are protected in perpetuity through a Commonwealth of Kentucky preservation easement administered by the Kentucky Heritage Council. == Collections ==