It is associated with joy, sunshine, and tropics.  Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.  To the human eyes, orange is seen as a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat.
West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana form the northern border  of Kentucky, along the Ohio River.
Bourbon County, KY-Kentucky was admitted to the union in 1792 and as farming region, was heavily dependent on two exports, hemp and whiskey. Trade was conducted at that time by water, and the closest outlet for the Bourbon region was the Ohio River on Kentucky's northern border.