Page 78 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Kentucky
Frankfort, the capital city of Kentucky
Established 1786 Incorporated 1835 Elevation 509 ft (155 m) Population 25,527
Frankfort, located beside the Kentucky River, is the fifth- smallest state capital in the United States. It is too small even to have its own airport.
Frankfort, a pioneer foundation and associated with Daniel Boone and other early frontiersmen, was one of
the first places to be settled in the Ohio Valley move west by early pioneers. In the 1780s, a group of early American pioneers from Bryan Station were making salt at a ford
in the Kentucky River when they had a skirmish with American Indians whose land they were encroaching
on. Pioneer Stephen Frank was killed, and the settlers thereafter called the crossing “Frank’s Ford.” This name was later mistaken for Frankfort.
Kentucky became the 15th state in early 1792, and at that point it became important to choose a place for the capital. Frankfort was chosen when Andrew Holmes’ log house was offered as a temporary 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.
The governor’s House was completed in 1798. The Old Governor’s Mansion is claimed to be the oldest official executive residence still in use in the United States.
Frankfort has grown considerably since 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.
Frankfort was a center for immigration of Irish and Germans in the 1840s.
Frankfort’s main activity is government business, but its connections to the surrounding farmland are still seen in
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