Before Frankfort was founded, the site was aford across the Kentucky River, along one of the greatbuffalo trails used as highways incolonial America.[8] English explorers first visited the area in the 1750s. The site evidently received its name after an incident in 1780, when pioneer Stephen Frank was killed in a skirmish withNative Americans; the crossing was named "Frank's Ford" in his memory.[8] In 1786, theVirginia legislature designated 100 acres (40 hectares) as the town of Frankfort and, after Kentucky became a state in 1792, it was chosen as capital.[8][9]
The city is located in the innerBluegrass region of Kentucky.[10] The Kentucky River flows through the city, making a turn as it passes through the center of town; the Downtown and South Frankfort districts are opposite one another on each side of the river. The suburban areas on either side of the river valley are known as East and West Frankfort. Frankfort has four distinct seasons; winter is normally cool with some snowfall, while summers are hot and humid.[11][12]
Because of the city's location on the Kentucky River, it has flooded many times, with the two highest recorded floods occurring in1937 and 1978.[10] The North Frankfort levee, finished in 1969, and the South Frankfort floodwall, built in the 1990s, were constructed for flood protection.[10] Five bridges cross the river in downtown Frankfort, including theSt. Clair Street bridge and Capitol Avenue bridge.[10] Notable locations include theKentucky State Capitol building, the Capital City Museum,[13] andFort Hill, apromontory with a view of downtown.
The town of Frankfort likely received its name from an event that took place in the 1780s. Native Americans attacked a group of early European colonists fromBryan Station, who were on their way to make salt at Mann's Lick in Jefferson County. Pioneer Stephen Frank was killed at the Kentucky River and the settlers thereafter called the crossing "Frank's Ford". This name was laterelided to Frankfort.[15]
In 1786,James Wilkinson purchased a 260-acre (110-hectare) tract of land on the north side of the Kentucky River, which developed as downtown Frankfort. He was an early promoter of Frankfort as the state capital. Wilkinson felt Frankfort would be a center of transportation using the Kentucky River to ship farm produce to the Ohio River and then to the Mississippi and on to New Orleans.
After Kentucky becamethe 15th state in 1792, five commissioners from various counties were appointed, on 20 June 1792, to choose a location for the capital. They were John Allen and John Edwards (both fromBourbon County), Henry Lee (fromMason), Thomas Kennedy (fromMadison), andRobert Todd (fromFayette). A number of communities competed for this honor, but Frankfort won. According to early histories, the offer of Andrew Holmes' log house as capitol for seven years, a number of town lots, £50 worth of locks and hinges, 10 boxes of glass, 1,500 pounds of nails, and $3,000 in gold helped the decision go to Frankfort.[16]
Downtown Frankfort is seen in the foreground, while South Frankfort lies across the river in the background. Fort Hill is in the lower left hand corner, 1871.
Frankfort had a United Statespost office by 1794, with Daniel Weisiger as postmaster. On 1 October 1794, Weisiger sent the first quarterly account to Washington.[17]
John Brown, a Virginia lawyer and statesman, built a home now calledLiberty Hall in Frankfort in 1796. Before Kentucky statehood, he represented Virginia in theContinental Congress (1777−78) and theU.S. Congress (1789−91). While in Congress, he introduced the bill granting statehood to Kentucky.After statehood, he was elected by the state legislature as one of the state'sU.S. Senators.[18]
In 1796, theKentucky General Assembly appropriated funds to provide a house to accommodate the governor; it was completed two years later. TheOld Governor's Mansion is claimed to be the oldest official executive residence still in use in the United States. In 1829,Gideon Shryock designed theOld Capitol, Kentucky's third, inGreek Revival style. It served Kentucky as its capitol from 1830 to 1910. The separate settlement known asSouth Frankfort was annexed by the city on 3 January 1850.[19]
During theAmerican Civil War, the Union Army built fortifications overlooking Frankfort on what is now calledFort Hill. TheConfederate Army also occupied Frankfort for a short time, starting on 3 September 1862, the only such time that Confederate forces took control of a Union capitol.[15]
TheClinton Street High School, a segregated public school for African American students in Frankfort operated from either 1882 or 1884 until 1928.[21][22]
View of Frankfort in 1934, Kentucky State Capitol in the foreground
On 3 February 1900,William Goebel was assassinated in Frankfort while walking to thecapitol on the way to the Kentucky Legislature. Former Secretary of StateCaleb Powers and several others were later found guilty of a conspiracy to murder Goebel, however all were later pardoned.[23]
TheMayo–Underwood School, the successor to the Clinton Street High School, was a public school for African American students in Frankfort and operated from 1929 until 1964.[21][22] The school was torn down as part of an urban renewal plan,[24] and to make way for the Capital Plaza.
The Capital Plaza was comprised theCapital Plaza Office Tower, the tallest building in the city, the Capital Plaza Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn, Frankfort), and the Fountain Place Shoppes. TheCapital Plaza Office Tower opened in 1972 and became a visual landmark for the center of the city. By the early 2000s, maintenance of the concrete structures had been neglected and the plaza had fallen into disrepair, with sections of the plaza closed to pedestrian activity out of concerns for safety. In 2018 The Capital Plaza was demolished[25] and a new state office building was constructed[26] to take its place. The new building was named The Mayo-Underwood State Office Building[27] to honor the namesake school that was razed for the sake of the original Capital Plaza.
Frankfort grew considerably with state government in the 1960s. A modern addition to the State Office Building was completed in 1967. The original building was completed in the 1930s on the location of the former Kentucky State Penitentiary. Some of the stone from the old prison was used for the walls surrounding the office building.[28]
Although there was some rapid economic and population growth in the 1960s, both tapered off in the 1980s and have remained fairly stable since that time.[29]
In August 2008, state government officials recommended demolition of the Capital Plaza Office Tower and redevelopment of the area over a period of years. Ten years later, the demolition of the office tower was completed on Sunday, March 11, 2018,[30] and was televised byWKYT-TV onWKYT-DT2, as well as streamed live onFacebook. Demolition of the nearby convention center, which opened in 1972 and has hosted sporting events, concerts, and other local events, was completed in spring 2018.[30] State officials replaced the outdated office tower with a smaller building called the Mayo–Underwood Building (2019),[31][32] in order to create a more pedestrian-oriented scale at the complex, to encourage street activity.[33]
In 2018, thousands of teachers protested at the city in response toSenate Bill 151 having been passed on 29 March 2018.[35] The bill was shortly overturned on December 13, 2018, by theKentucky Supreme Court as unconstitutional, which prevented the bill from going into effect on January 1, 2019.
Astronaut photography of Frankfort, Kentucky, taken from the International Space Station (ISS)
Frankfort is located in the (inner)Bluegrass region of Central Kentucky. The city is bisected by theKentucky River, which makes an s-turn as it passes through the center of town. The river valley widens at this point, which creates four distinct parts of town. The valley within the city limits contains Downtown and South Frankfort districts, which lie opposite one another on the river. A small neighborhood with its own distinct identity, Bellepoint, is located on the west bank of the river to the north of Benson Creek, opposite the river from the "downtown" district. The suburban areas on either side of the valley are respectively referred to as the "West Side" and "East Side" (or "West Frankfort" and "East Frankfort").
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.6 square miles (37.8 km2), of which 14.3 square miles (37.0 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) is water.
Frankfort has ahumid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Winter is generally cool with some snowfall. Spring and fall are both mild and relatively warm, with ample precipitation and thunderstorm activity. Summers are hot and humid.
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Newer information is available from the 2020 census report. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2022)
There were 12,434 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32,6% weremarried couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.7% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.83.
The age distribution was 19.8% under 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $50,211, and the median income for a family was $43,949. Full-time male workers had a median income of $37,445 versus $34,613 for females. Theper capita income was $29,288. About 19.8% of families and 16.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 38.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Cove Spring Park—240 acres (97 hectares), divided into three sections. The Lower Entrance features nature trails, picnic areas, and waterfalls. The Upper Entrance includes anarchery range and the Sky Trail. The Middle Section consists of a wetland area with a walking trail leading to a scenic overlook with views of downtown Frankfort.
Walk/Bike Frankfort - Volunteer group to improve the city for pedestrians and cyclists.[48]
Josephine Sculpture Park - Provides community arts education and creative experiences.[49]
The Folkbike Re-Cyclery - Volunteer organization that restores and repairs used bicycles, and then gives them to riders who cannot afford to buy one.[50][51]
Two publicschool districts serve the city,[53] with three public high schools within the city limits.[52]
Frankfort Independent School District serves the downtown neighborhoods including Downtown, South Frankfort, Bellepoint and Tanglewood. FIS operates The Early Learning Academy (apreschool), Second Street School (primary and middle grades),Frankfort High School, and Panther Transition Academy (a non-traditional high school program).[54]
There are severalprivate schools in the area, including Capital Day School, Frankfort Christian Academy, and Good Shepherd Catholic School.
Frankfort has alending library, Paul Sawyier Public Library, named in 1965 after the watercolor artistPaul Sawyier whose many paintings document the history of the area.[56][57][58]
Capital City Airport, a public use airport, is one mile (1.5 kilometers) southwest of the central business district of Frankfort. The nearest airport with commercial flights isBlue Grass Airport, 22 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Frankfort.
^Rennick, Robert M. (1993)Kentucky's Bluegrass: A Survey of the Post Offices, pp. 91 & 99. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot,ISBN0-943645-31-X. Post Office Department records were destroyed by a fire in 1836.
^"Station: Frankfort Capital City AP, KY".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on May 12, 2023. RetrievedJune 4, 2021.
^"Station: Frankfort Lock 4, KY".U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1981-2010). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. RetrievedJune 4, 2021.
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