Dixie Hibbs

Dixie Hibbs (née Polley) is known today as one of Kentucky’s most respected historians and authors, especially in the field of bourbon history. Born in 1942 to native Kentuckians and raised in Bardstown, she developed an early fascination with the stories and people of Nelson County. Her lifetime of work has meticulously chronicled the history of distilleries, local politics, and community heritage in vivid detail.

Dixie Hibbs grew up in a small but historically rich community. Bardstown was her backyard, its old brick streets, antebellum homes, and historic distilleries forming the backdrop of her childhood. As a girl, she would accompany her family to local museums and historical sites, soaking in tales of frontier settlement, Civil War skirmishes, and Kentucky’s rise as a whiskey-producing center.

Dixie was but 17 when she married Franklin A. Hibbs in 1959 and soon had two sons, Franklin Hibbs, III, and Stephen Hibbs, and a daughter, Laura. Dixie loved historical research and was often called upon to help in archival fact-scavenging. As an adult, this grew into a love for her community, demonstrated by working with tourism and travel writers. She still loves to speak to public groups and tour buses, and always welcomes the opportunity to speak to students.

In 1982, Dixie was the first woman elected to the Bardstown City Council, and was the first woman Mayor in 2003. She retired in 2007 from public service after 23 years in office. She has been honored to serve as President of the Nelson County Historical Society for more than 20 years. She also works for The Friends of Wickland, a local non-profit that maintains and operates a historic, 1826 Bardstown home of three Kentucky governors. In 2004, Dixie was honored as the first woman inductee into the Bourbon Hall of Fame, solidifying her status as a major voice in bourbon history.

Since 1988, Dixie has written or co-authored 16 local and regional history books, and several of these have multiple printings. A few of the books that Hibbs has authored or co‑authored include Before Prohibition: Distilleries in Nelson County, Kentucky, 1880–1920 (2012), Spirits of Wickland Mansion, and Civil War in Nelson County, KY, Nelson County: A Portrait of the Civil War. Her books are typically illustrated pictorial histories: ideal for readers interested in how the environment and community identity intersect. Her 2012 book Before Prohibition offers a detailed look at local distilleries around Bardstown between 1880 and 1920, with maps, photographs, and archival records expertly arranged and interpreted. Her book Prohibition in Bardstown explores the effects of Prohibition on the town and county, including stories of bootlegging, saloon operations, and how the community survived the ban on alcohol. Co‑written with Doris Settles in 2016, that volume examines complex social themes like church opposition, underground distilleries, and post‑Prohibition revival of bourbon culture.

Hibbs has long hosted a public‑history program at Wickland Mansion entitled “Half a Pint of Whiskey History with a Shot of Humor” that blended bourbon lore with accessible storytelling and humor for tourists and locals alike. She is frequently invited to speak at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, sharing ghost stories, architectural context, personal anecdotes of Bardstown’s past, and her observations about tourism and bourbon culture in modern Kentucky. In speaking engagements, she draws connections between local events and the broader sweep of Kentucky’s distilling industry. While she remains rooted in Bardstown, her insights reach bourbon lovers and history buffs across the nation. Dixie also quilts, and her beautiful creations are equally popular with both bourbon lovers and non-bourbon lovers.

Unfortunately, Dixie’s husband and biggest fan, Franklin Jr, passed away in 2011, as did her son Franklin III, who died unexpectedly ten years later, in 2021. Even so, her impact owes less to fame than to deep community engagement. Through her decades as county historian, board leader at Spalding Hall, public historian at Wickland Mansion, author, and civic leader, she preserved a trove of documentary materials, photographs, maps, and oral histories that might otherwise have faded. Her induction into the Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2004 marked recognition not only of her scholarship but also of her role in preserving bourbon heritage for future generations. Simply put, Dixie Hibbs has served as both keeper and teller of Bardstown’s past. She connects the everyday visitor to stories of frontier families, Civil War struggles, local distillers, and the social upheavals of Prohibition. Without claiming major academic awards or national celebrity, she has quietly shaped how Bardstown and Nelson County interpret and understand their own identity, as well as how the community at large is interpreted by others.

Sources:

  1. bourbonveach.com, “Before Prohibition: Distilleries in Nelson County, Kentucky 1880-1920”

  1. “Prohibition in Bardstown”, Dixie Hibbs and Doris Settles, Arcadia Publishing, May 2016

  1. iHeart Radio podcast: “Kentucky Historian Dixie Hibbs Take 2 Shots Back in Time at the 2021 Kentucky Bourbon Festival,” September 19, 2021

  2. Saving Americana, “History Hero: Dixie Hibbs”

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee