After the previous arsenal burnt down in 1836, the state needed a new facility. Though it took nearly fifteen years to construct a new arsenal, the legislature finally financed construction of the castle-like structure in 1850. The Kentucky State Arsenal played a significant role in the Civil War, and then served the military and National Guard into the middle of the twentieth century. In 1974, the building was converted into a military museum, which remains its function today.
Built in 1798, shortly after Kentucky entered the Union as the fifteenth state, this Federal-style mansion remains a functional part of the Kentucky government. Thirty-five governors lived in the mansion before 1914. The building was vacant for several decades following the construction of a new governor's mansion, but was saved from demolition and repurposed as the home of the state's lieutenant governors. 1946 to 2002, numerous Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky called the mansion home. The historic home now serves as a meeting space and guest house for visiting dignataries. Several American Presidents and other leading statesmen visited the mansion when it was home to the governor, including Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Jennings Bryan.
The Kentucky Historical Society offers a museum and archive that are both open to the public. In addition to the museum and archive, this complex includes the headquarters of the organization, which also operates the nearby Kentucky Military History Museum and Old State Capitol. Together with the Society's publications and programs, the museum and archive and these nearby sites offer tours and work to preserve and interpret the history of the state.
Frankfort was selected as the location for the capital of the new state of Kentucky in 1793. Kentucky's Old State House is the third permanent capitol erected on Frankfort's old public square. On January 12, 1827, the legislature voted to build a new state house as two previous structures on this site had burned. The first structure was destroyed in 1813 and the second in 1824. Constructed between 1827 and 1830, the Old State House was the first major work of Kentucky’s first native trained architect, Gideon Shryock. Through its history, the structure witnessed debates on Kentucky’s loyalty’s during the Civil War, the assassination of a Governor, and the ratification of Kentucky’s current Constitution.
Liberty Hall Museum opened in 1937 and became a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1971. Located in downtown Frankfort, Liberty Hall Historic Site was the home of the Brown family, one of Kentucky’s most notable families. From 1796-1797, American Statesman John Brown began construction of Liberty Hall after purchasing four lots in Frankfort. Thomas Jefferson helped Brown with the home’s design. Four generations of Browns lived at the five-acre site for more than 150 years. The site contains formal and informal gardens and two homes: Liberty Hall (1796) and the adjacent Orlando Brown House (1835).
In 1880, Kentucky was the nation's geographical population center, and its capital city, Frankfort, had grown by more than forty percent during the 1860s and nearly another thirty percent during the following decade. Recognizing these factors, the federal government authorized funding for the construction of a new federal building in Frankfort in 1882. The building featured the Second Empire design and opened two years later, serving as the community's post office and the area's federal courthouse for decades. The building was home to the post office until 1965. At that time, the building became the home of the Paul Sawyier Library until 2008 when Kentucky State University purchased the building and renovated it.
Constructed in 1895, the historic Frankfort home is commonly referred to as the Gooch House in honor of the family that acquired the property in 1919 and lived here until 1978. George R. and Sarah Elizabeth Gooch purchased the house in 1919, and George died one year later, and Sarah operated the home as a boarding house to support herself. Rebecca Gooch also lived in this home and was one of the founders of Rebecca-Ruth Candies in 1919, a company that is still in business today. The candy company gained fame for its bourbon-flavored candy, so it's appropriate that as of 2019, the house is owned by the Kentucky Distillers Association.
This historic Frankfort home was constructed for the family of Charles Morehead between 1833 and 1834. Morehead was serving as the state's attorney general and went on to become the governor of Kentucky. Numerous prominent figures in Kentucky history have resided in this home. following its sale in 1847 when Morehead left Frankfort to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Morehead eventually returned to Kentucky and was a leader of the Know-Nothing Party, a short-lived national party that called for restrictions against non-Protestant and non-white immigration. Two religious leaders, Dr. Stuart Robinson followed by Dr. John Norton owned the home before a string of judges, politicians, poets, and military veterans resided in the historic house.
Constructed in 1910, this home is the result of a chance meeting between Reverend Jesse Ziegler and Frank Lloyd Wright on a voyage to Europe. The home is one of Wright's final Prairie Style homes and represents his only work in the state of Kentucky. The home was constructed during a trip abroad when Wright felt he had hit a creative wall that might require the kind of inspiration that often comes from travel. The primary sketches were drawn by Wright while traveling and then sent back to Wright's Illinois office. As a result, Wright did not oversee the construction but the house exemplifies his famous Prairie Style design.
Dedicated by the Kentucky Historical Society in 2005, this historical marker commemorates the life of Emma Guy Cromwell (1869-1952). Cromwell became the first woman in Kentucky to hold a statewide office in 1923 when she served as Secretary of State. Over the course of her career, Cromwell held the positions of State Treasurer, State Park Director, State Librarian and Director of the Department of Library and Archives.
The Governor’s Mansion has been the official residence of the Kentucky Governor since 1914. The historic building is also known as the People’s House. It is both a private home and a public building. Built from Kentucky’s native limestone, the Beaux-Arts style mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is one of just a few executive residences in the United States that is open for public tours.
The Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort is the hub of the Commonwealth’s government. The building is in the Beaux Arts style and was completed in 1910. The final cost for the building, landscaping, furniture, power plant and architect fees was $1,820,000. The current building is the fourth Capitol building since Kentucky became a state in 1792. Kentucky's House, Senate and Supreme Court are all housed in the Capitol.
The rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort houses five statues, including one of United States President Abraham Lincoln and one of Confederate President Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), both of whom were born in Kentucky. The presence of Davis' statue in the Capitol building has been contested for at least two years, with Republican and Democratic politicians alike calling for its removal. As Confederate statues have been increasingly scrutinized nationwide, the Davis statue in the Capitol has invited fresh debate.
The George Franklin Berry Estate was previously called Juniper Hill. Today it is simply Berry Mansion and overlooks the Kentucky State Capitol and the town of Frankfort. Berry was a successful distiller. He hired the architectural firm of McDonald and Dodd to build the mansion in 1900. It was built in the Colonial Revival style with stones that came from the property. Today it is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This short walk through Frankfort begins at the Kentucky Historical Society and the Old State Capitol and winds its way towards the current state capitol complex with stops at historic homes, monuments, and other landmarks along the way.
