"My Old Kentucky Home" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster

Stephen Foster

Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...

 (1826-1864), probably composed in 1852. It was published as "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night" in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. The song was introduced by Christy's Minstrels

Christy's Minstrels

Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel show into a fixed three-act form...

 the same year.

Foster allegedly composed the song after visiting a relative's home at Bardstown, Kentucky

Bardstown, Kentucky

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,700 people, 4,712 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,113 housing units at an average density of...

 called Federal Hill

Federal Hill

Federal Hill may refer to:in Malaysia* Federal Hill, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiain the United States :** Federal Hill, a mansion featured on Kentucky's State Quarter and the centerpiece of My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown, Kentucky...

, but scholars have discounted the allegation.