KFC
KFC Origins
Sometimes we can’t help but wonder at the global legacy Colonel Harland Sanders has built through Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Here at the Corbin Tourism Welcome Center, we have had the privilege of welcoming guests from Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, England, Canada, Germany and several other countries. And do you know what led them to Corbin? Sanders Café and Museum: where KFC all started.
We are honored to be a part of the Colonel’s story, and hope that throughout your time in Corbin, you learn even just a little about this legend of a man!
About KFC
Colonel Harland David Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana. Beginning at the age of 10, Sanders held down numerous jobs, and throughout his career had an extremely varied résumé, including: farmhand, streetcar conductor, steamboat ferry operator, life insurance salesman, automobile tire salesman, and he even studied law and practiced in justice-of-the-peace courts in Arkansas!
In 1930, the Shell Oil Company offered Sanders a service station in Corbin, Kentucky rent free, whereby he paid them a percentage of sales. He was 40 years old. Sanders began to cook chicken dishes and other meals such as country ham and steaks for customers. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters.