Frankfort, Kentucky

Frankfort is the of the, a  of the. It is also the of. The city has a population of 27,077 (July 2006 est.).

History
Gen. purchased in 1786, the 260-acre tract of land on the north side of the Kentucky River, which is now downtown Frankfort. He was an early promoter to make Frankfort the State Capitol. General Wilkinson is called by some the father of Frankfort.

The town of Frankfort probably received its name from an event that took place in 1780's when Indians attacked a group of pioneers from Bryan’s Station who were making salt at a ford in the Kentucky River. One of the pioneers, Stephen Frank, was killed and the crossing became known as “Frank’s Ford.” Later this name was shortened to Frankfort.

After Kentucky became a state, five commissioners were appointed on June 20, 1792, to choose a location for the state capital. They were John Allen and John Edwards (both from Bourbon Co.), Henry Lee (Mason Co.), Thomas Kennedy (Madison Co.), and Robert Todd (Fayette Co.). A number of communities competed for this honor, but Frankfort won by perseverance and, 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, 1500 pounds of nails, and $3000 in gold.

a Virginia lawyer and statesman built a home, now called in Frankfort in 1796. Before statehood he represented Virginia in the (1777-1778) and the  (1789-1791). While in Congress he introduced the bill granting Statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected a for Kentucky.

The appropriated funds to provide a house to accommodate the governor in 1796. Construction was completed in 1798. The is reputed to be the oldest official executive residence still in use in the United States.

In 1829 the, the third Capitol of Kentucky was built in the style by. The building served the Commonwealth as its Capitol from 1830 until 1910.

During the fortifications overlooking downtown Frankfort were built on what is now called. The occupied Frankfort for a short time.

On, Governor-elect  was assassinated in Frankfort while walking to the  to be inaugurated. Former-Secretary of State was later found guilty in a conspiracy to kill Goebel.

The city has seen considerable growth since the 1960's. The State Office Building (SOB) was completed in 1967. Capitol Plaza was established in the 1970's. The Plaza consists of the Capitol Plaza Office Tower, the Capitol Plaza Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn, Frankfort), and the Fountain Place Shoppes.

Frankfort is home to several major of , including  (formerly ).

Historic Churches

 * , was organized in 1835 and is located at 311 Washington Street in the heart of Frankfort’s historic district and is on the.


 * Old  was built in 1850 and is located at 310 Wapping Street in the heart of Frankfort’s historic district and is on the.

Geography
Frankfort is located at 38.19722°N, -84.86306°W (38.197274, -84.863110). It is in the of Central Kentucky.

The city is bisected by the, 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. The suburban areas on either side of the valley are referred to as "west" Frankfort and "east" Frankfort, respectively.

According to the, the city has a total area of 38.9 (15.0 ). 38.2 km² (14.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.87%) is water.

Frankfort does not have a commercial airport and all travelers should either fly into  or.

Climate
Frankfort is located at the northern extreme limit of the of the Southeastern United States. It is proximal to the climatic transition zone where the subtropical Southeast blends with and then eventually changes to a further north (roughly just beyond  and ).

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 27,741 people, 12,314 households, and 6,945 families residing in the city. The was 727.1/km² (1,883.2/mi²). There were 13,422 housing units at an average density of 351.8/km² (911.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.84%, 14.70% or , 0.13% , 0.94% , 0.03% , 0.77% from , and 1.60% from two or more races. 1.48% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 12,314 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,980, and the median income for a family was $47,855. Males had a median income of $31,339 versus $25,361 for females. The for the city was $20,512. About 9.5% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Frankfort is the focal point of a consisting of Frankfort and  as well as adjacent  and. The city has also achieved classification into a with  and  to the east.

Education
Frankfort is the home of, a historically black university situated near the downtown area. Two s serve the city, with two public high schools and one city high school located within the city limits:


 * Frankfort Independent Schools:


 * Franklin County Schools:

Frankfort also has several private schools:
 * The Frankfort Christian Academy (P-12)
 * Capital Day School (P-8)
 * Good Shepherd School (K-8)

Sister City
Frankfort has one :
 * 🇩🇴,.

Notable residents

 * (1819-1888), born in Frankfort, in the.
 * , preacher and bourbon distiller
 * (1865-1917) was a Kentucky artist and an American.
 * (1830-1904) U.S. Senator from Missouri, orator.
 * (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003) manager and valet. Attended
 * (September 23, 1954 - ), /