State Approves Kragon Learning Center

After several years of work, final approval has been granted for the construction of the Kragon Village Learning Center.

The Board of Directors of the Kragon site was informed by letter on Tuesday, April 28, that the Division of Building Code Enforcement had reviewed the proposed plans and had granted its approval to begin construction.

“The notice informed the Board that it was “authorized to start or continue with the construction of the project.”

The project was proposed as a cultural learning center and museum to help tell the story of the Native Americans who inhabited the site thousands of years before European settlers ventured into the mountains.  The building will also include restrooms and a terrace overlooking the remains of the village.

The building, which will be located near numerous native burial sites and the archaeological remains of an ancient village, will serve as a welcome center and management center, featuring historical displays and interpretive exhibits about the county’s early inhabitants.

Displays will also highlight the property’s modern history, including the Olean Chemical Company facility that dominated the land in the early 1900s.

In December 2023, the Kragon board and the University of Kentucky reached an agreement to display artifacts excavated from the site during previous archaeological digs in the new learning center.  Hundreds of items discovered at numerous Native American sites across Breathitt County are currently housed at the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology on the UK Campus in Lexington.

In 2024, the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded the project $751,475 to construct the estimated $1,011,475 learning center.  An additional $260,000 will come from a local match and donations.

The site hosts several gatherings of Native Peoples, and plans include camping and recreation facilities on a portion of the property that is not historically significant, as the site is further developed.

No groundbreaking date has been set for the site, but board members hope to see construction begin very soon.