Kentucky’s capital is the small city of Frankfort located near the center of the state. Above is the current capitol building on the left, with the old capitol building on the right. A little interesting piece of history that happened here; back in 1900 Governor-elect William Goebel was assassinated here in Frankfort. He was walking to the old capitol building on the upper right for his inauguration when he was shot and died nearby. Former Secretary of State Caleb Powers was found to be part of the conspiracy but only served 8 years in prison before being pardoned.
Frankfort isn’t a well known city, but it’s bigger than what I had expected. The city has a population of 27,000 people, which is still small by most state capital standards. Above is a photo of the capital’s tallest building, the Capital Plaza Office Tower, which is part of the Capitol Plaza built in the 1960s. When I visited in 2010, there had been some talk of the city demolishing the tower and building a new modern building. On the right, is the current governor’s mansion built outside the capitol building. Below is a shot of the city of Frankfort, and an old rail bridge.
One of early American’s most famous explorers is Daniel Boone, who is credited with exploring and settling what is now Kentucky. He became famous for being a militia officer in the Revolutionary War where he was captured by British Allied native Americans but later escaped and returned to the defend settlements. His other adventures of hunting, exploring west of the 13 colonies and leadership made him famous in the states and Europe, and today he is seen as the father of Kentucky. On the upper right is his grave site located in Frankfort Cemetery. The cemetery is a historic graveyard with over a dozen former governors of the state, and local citizens dating back to 1844.
Above is Frankfort’s small historic district that spans a few blocks, at the end of the street on the right is the location of the old capitol building. Below are two former homes that have been converted to businesses. There were a lot of upscale neighborhoods here.
Two random photos from Frankfort; a huge motorcycle gang passing through the downtown area and a kid jumping a flight of stairs on a skateboard. I’m not sure the story behind the motorcycle gang, but being that I only caught a small portion of it, I’d say that nearly everyone with a motorcycle was riding that day. The kid skate boarding belongs to a group called the Frankfort Skaters.
As far as touristy things to do in Frankfort, the Buffalo Trace Distillery is by far the best attraction in my opinion. Distilling began here in the 1770s until a formal distillery was built in 1820. It’s been pumping out bourbon whiskey ever since, and is now considered the oldest distillery in the United States. There are plenty of good tours available to guide you through the process, and of course offer plenty of bourbon bottles and gifts to take with you. The surrounding photos are all from the distillery, with the lower right showing some of their past products.
