The famous ballad "My Old Kentucky Home," written by Stephen Foster, was inspired by his 1852 visit to his cousin John Rowan Jr. at this plantation home named Federal Hill. "My Old Kentucky Home" has since become the state song of Kentucky.
The home was built between 1795 and 1818 by U.S. Senator Judge John Rowan, in the Georgian architectural style, with an Adam style entry. Bricks for the main house were made onsite. Stars on the front and side exterior walls are structural, serving as end plates for metal tie rods which run through the house framing to keep the walls from bowing outwards.
Federal Hill was purchased by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1922, and is available for historic tours daily through the year.
