Throughout its history, Louisville’s collectors, musicians and enslaved laborers have shaped the city’s economy, culture and natural environment. These papers by graduate and undergraduate students in the University of Louisville’s History Department will highlight the pivotal but often overlooked contributions Black labor (enslaved and free) has made to Kentucky’s famous bourbon industry; how the work of a nineteenth-century ornithologist continues to inform bird conservation efforts today; the impact of a local radio station, its DJs, and the Rhythm and Blues musicians they inspired in the 1960s and 1970s; and the intriguing and sometimes controversial cover art in a Louisville business owner’s massive collection of paperback books from the 1930s-1970s. Together, the panel will give insight into the unique contributions individuals have made to Louisville, and their continuing legacies in the city and beyond.