Mary Breckinridge's Wendover

06/16/2026

🇺🇸 CELEBRATING AMERICA 250 🇺🇸
Honoring the Innovations in Healthcare Born Right Here in Our Mountains

🏡 The Big House at Wendover will be OPEN
📅 July 4, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

✨ Stop by for a guided tour
✨ Or simply come visit and experience a piece of Appalachian and American history

Come celebrate 250 years of America by honoring a story of service, innovation, and impact that started in our own backyard.

📍 Mary Breckinridge’s Wendover

06/16/2026

We are so excited about this! Please make plans to join us.

Join KNLT Outreach Coordinator Megan Falce for an eBird and Merlin ID workshop at Mary Breckenridge Wendover in Leslie County. No registration required. Follow event link below and respond.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CxHuG6SvY/

06/07/2026

When access to healthcare in rural America was limited, Mary Breckinridge created a new model of care that transformed maternal and infant health.

In 1925, she founded the Frontier Nursing Service in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, training and deploying nurse-midwives on horseback to reach families in remote communities, dramatically improving outcomes for mothers and babies while expanding access to skilled healthcare where it was needed most.

A visionary public health leader, Breckinridge's work helped establish nurse-midwifery as a respected profession in the United States and demonstrated the power of community-based care long before it became a national priority.

06/05/2026

They say many hands make light work, and today that couldn’t have been more true at Wendover.

A huge thank you to Big Creek Mission for painting the fence, the AmeriCorps members who tackled several much-needed projects, and to Andy Davis, who is always there when Wendover needs a helping hand. Andy’s dedication and willingness to serve are a true blessing to this place.

The amount of work accomplished today was incredible, and we are so grateful for everyone who gave their time and energy. Wendover is one of the most special places in the mountains, and it takes caring people like these to help preserve it for future generations.

Thank you all for investing in Wendover. The spirit of community is alive and well, and today was proof of that. ❤️

05/29/2026

Before there were hospitals in the Kentucky mountains, there was a woman on horseback. 🏔️

Mary Breckinridge lost two children of her own and decided to spend the rest of her life making sure no mountain mother would face what she faced alone. In 1925, she rode into Leslie County, Kentucky, one of the most isolated places in America, and founded the Frontier Nursing Service. She recruited trained British nurse-midwives, put them on horses, and sent them into hollows so remote that a doctor had never set foot there.

In the first eight years of operation, the Frontier Nursing Service delivered thousands of babies across the Kentucky mountains. Their maternal mortality rate was lower than the national average. In hollows where women had been dying in childbirth for generations, Mary Breckinridge changed everything.

She didn't wait for the road to come in. She went where the road wasn't. 🌿

Do you have family from Leslie County or the surrounding Kentucky mountains?

05/28/2026

05/23/2026

🇺🇸 Memorial Day at Wendover 🇺🇸

This Memorial Day, we pause to remember and honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

At Wendover, the sacrifices of our community have long been remembered. During World War II, Mary Breckinridge established the Victory Shrine Chapel to honor local boys and Frontier Nursing Service employees serving in the war. By 1945, the names of 934 Leslie County residents who had answered the call to serve had been recorded.

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Leslie County Detention Center crew for their hard work clearing the Wendover cemetery, where Ann McKinnon rests. Ann, often remembered as the “Ann of Appalachia,” served as a nurse to soldiers during both World War I and World War II, dedicating her life to caring for others in times of great sacrifice. Because of their efforts, this special resting place is being preserved with the dignity and care it deserves.

As we remember those who served, may we also honor those who healed, supported, and carried hope through some of history’s darkest days.

❤️🤍💙 May we never forget. 🇺🇸

05/22/2026

🐦🌿 Join Us for a FREE Bird Watching Workshop at The Livery at Wendover!

Join us on July 10 at 4:30 PM and discover the fascinating world of bird watching!

Whether you’re brand new to birding or already enjoy spotting birds in your backyard, this workshop is a wonderful way to connect with nature and learn more about the feathered friends that call our mountains home.

Kentucky Natural Lands Trust’s Megan Falce will guide attendees through using Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird and Merlin Bird ID apps to identify and track bird species, create bird lists, and explore the amazing biodiversity right here in Eastern Kentucky.

📍 The Livery at Wendover
2533 Wendover Rd, Hyden, KY
🗓️ July 10
🕟 4:30 PM
💚 FREE to attend!

📱 Please bring your smartphone or tablet to use the apps.