"Colonel" Harland Sanders
Location: Across the street from 6012 Zollman Rd., Henryville (Clark County, Indiana) 47163
Installed 2022 Indiana Historical Bureau and Matthew Darnell
ID#: 10.2022.1
Text
Side One
"Colonel" Harland Sanders, 1890-1980
Born and raised here on his family farm, entrepreneur Harland Sanders entered the restaurant business in the 1930s, serving food at his Corbin, Kentucky service station. By 1952, Sanders developed his patented method of cooking chicken and franchised his “Kentucky Fried Chicken” recipe. In the 1950s, he traveled the nation convincing restaurants to sell his product.
Side Two
Sanders adopted his signature look in the 1950s after being commissioned a Kentucky Colonel. As interest in his product expanded, he struggled to maintain the fast-growing business and sold it in 1964. Sanders’ relationship with KFC became strained over time, but he worked as a brand ambassador into his eighties and remained the face of the company even after his death.
Annotated Text
Side One
“Colonel” Harland Sanders, 1890-1980[1]
Born and raised here on his family farm, entrepreneur Harland Sanders entered the restaurant business in the 1930s, serving food at his Corbin, Kentucky service station.[2] By 1952, Sanders developed his patented method of cooking chicken and franchised his “Kentucky Fried Chicken” recipe.[3] In the 1950s, he traveled the nation convincing restaurants to sell his product.[4]
Side Two
Sanders adopted his signature look in the 1950s after being commissioned a Kentucky Colonel.[5] As interest in his product expanded, he struggled to maintain the fast-growing business and sold it in 1964.[6] Sanders’ relationship with KFC became strained over time, but he worked as a brand ambassador into his eighties and remained the face of the company even after his death.[7]
Newspapers accessed via Newspapers.com unless otherwise noted.
[1] “Harley Sanders,” 1900 United States Federal Census, Monroe Township, Clark County, Indiana, Page 21, Line 64, June 4, 1900, AncestryLibrary.com; “Harland Sanders is Dead at Age 90,” (Louisville) Courier-Journal, December 17, 1980, 2, submitted by applicant; “Col. Sanders, the Fried-Chicken Gentleman, Dies,” Washington Post, December 17, 1980, submitted by applicant.
[2] “Abstract of Title Prepared for Harland D. Sanders,” submitted by applicant; “National Restaurant Body Picks Sherrill,” Lexington Leader, October 13, 1935, 6; “Sanders Café in Corbin is Modern,” Lexington Herald, February 26, 1936, 8; Advertisement, “Corbin, Ky.,” in Duncan Hines, Adventures in Good Eating (1939), 100, accessed https://cookedbooks.blogspot.com; “Sanders, Harland, Café,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, July 5, 1990, submitted by applicant.
[3] “Affidavit,” Murray Eagle, September 19, 1952, 2; “50 Years of Finger-Lickin’ Chicken,” Deseret News, July 30, 2002, submitted by applicant.
[4] “Gillam’s Restaurant,” Kokomo Tribune, October 15, 1954, 17; “Kassel Operates Franchise: Kentucky Fried Chicken Open in W. Hollywood,” (Hollywood, FL) Sun-Tattler, May 30, 1958, 16; “It’s Finger Lickin’ Good!: Kentucky Fried Chicken Served at the El-Rancho on 8th Street, East,” (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) Star-Phoenix, June 21, 1958, 11; “He’s Here!! Meet Colonel Harland Sanders in Person at the Pine Cone,” Sacramento Bee, March 10, 1959, 2.
[5] “Col. Sanders Operating Restaurant at Lee Motel,” (Bristol, TN) Bristol Herald Courier, November 1, 1953, 2; “Honorable Harland Sanders,” Commonwealth of Kentucky Lawrence W. Wetherby, December 6, 1955, provided by Kentucky Colonels Headquarters via email; “Grand Opening, Harman Café,” Ogden Standard-Examiner, November 20, 1959, 19, submitted by applicant.
[6] “Harland Sanders Making Money with Fried Chicken,” (Danville, KY) Advocate-Messenger, January 27, 1964, 3; “Hoosier Native Makes Fortune Preparing and Selling Kentucky Fried Chicken; He’s Colonel Now,” Princeton Daily Clarion, March 10, 1964, 7; William Whitworth, “Kentucky-Fried,” New Yorker, February 14, 1970, submitted by applicant.
[7] “Hoosier Native Makes Fortune Preparing and Selling Kentucky Fried Chicken; He’s Colonel Now,” Princeton Daily Clarion, March 10, 1964, 7; “Colonel Sanders, His Wife File Suit Against Restaurant Chain Owners,” (Owensboro, KY) Messenger-Inquirer, January 16, 1974, 2; “For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin’ Bad,” New York Times, September 9, 1976, accessed New York Times archive; Col. Sanders Libel Suit is Dismissed by Court,” New York Times, March 15, 1978, accessed New York Times archive; “KFC Corp. v. Marion-Kay Co.,” United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division, October 18, 1985, accessed Casetext.com.
Keywords
Business, Industry, & Labor