Editing Frankfort, Kentucky (section)

==History==
===Pre-1900===
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 from [[Lexington, Kentucky|Bryan 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 later [[Elision|elided]] to Frankfort.<ref name="ky.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.frankfort.ky.gov/About/About-Frankfort/City-History/city-history.html|title=City History|publisher=City of Frankfort, Kentucky|work=Official website|access-date=July 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718152323/http://www.frankfort.ky.gov/About/About-Frankfort/City-History/city-history.html|archive-date=July 18, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1786, [[James Wilkinson]] purchased a {{convert|260|acre|ha|abbr=off|adj=on}} 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 became [[list of U.S. states|the 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 from [[Bourbon County, Kentucky|Bourbon County]]), Henry Lee (from [[Mason County, Kentucky|Mason]]), Thomas Kennedy (from [[Madison County, Kentucky|Madison]]), and [[Robert Todd (pioneer)|Robert Todd]] (from [[Fayette County, Kentucky|Fayette]]). 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.<ref name=":3">[http://kentucky.gov/kyhs/hmdb/MarkerSearch.aspx?mode=Subject&subject=134 "Kentucky Historical Marker 1774"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818090817/http://kentucky.gov/kyhs/hmdb/MarkerSearch.aspx?mode=Subject&subject=134 |date=August 18, 2006 }}. Kentucky Historical Society Website</ref>

[[File:Frankfort bird eye.jpg|thumb|left|upright|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 States [[post office]] by 1794, with Daniel Weisiger as postmaster. On 1 October 1794, Weisiger sent the first quarterly account to Washington.<ref name=ren>Rennick, Robert M. (1993) ''Kentucky's Bluegrass: A Survey of the Post Offices'', pp. 91 & 99. Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, {{ISBN|0-943645-31-X}}. Post Office Department records were destroyed by a fire in 1836.</ref>

[[John Brown (Kentucky politician, born 1757)|John Brown]], a Virginia lawyer and statesman, built a home now called [[Liberty Hall (Kentucky)|Liberty Hall]] in Frankfort in 1796. Before Kentucky statehood, he represented Virginia in the [[Continental Congress]] (1777−78) and the [[U.S. Congress]] (1789−91). While in Congress, he introduced the bill granting statehood to Kentucky. [[History of Kentucky#1792 – Admission to the Union|After statehood]], he was elected by the state legislature as one of the state's [[list of U.S. senators from Kentucky|U.S. Senator]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/|title=Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Search|website=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]}}</ref>

In 1796, the [[Kentucky General Assembly]] appropriated funds to provide a house to accommodate the governor; it was completed two years later. The [[Old Governor's Mansion (Frankfort, Kentucky)|Old Governor's Mansion]] is claimed to be the oldest official executive residence still in use in the United States. In 1829, [[Gideon Shryock]] designed the [[Old State Capitol (Kentucky)|Old Capitol]], Kentucky's third, in [[Greek Revival]] style. It served Kentucky as its capitol from 1830 to 1910. The separate settlement known as '''South Frankfort''' was annexed by the city on 3 January 1850.<ref name=SOS>Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Frankfort, Kentucky". Accessed July 25, 2013.</ref>

The ''[[Argus of Western America]]'' was published in Frankfort from 1808 until 1830.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://steveinskeep.com/77-the-argus-of-western-america/|title=How Politicians Bought the 19th Century Media|date=May 4, 2015|website=Steve Inskeep: NPR Host and Author}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], the Union Army built fortifications overlooking Frankfort on what is now called [[Fort Hill (Frankfort, Kentucky)|Fort Hill]]. The [[Confederate 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.<ref name="ky.gov"/>

The [[Clinton Street High School]], a segregated public school for African American students in Frankfort operated from either 1882 or 1884 until 1928.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=African American Schools in Frankfort and Franklin County, KY |url=https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2647 |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, University of Kentucky Libraries, [[University of Kentucky]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Boyd |first=Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2YiDiKWa_0C |title=Crawfish Bottom: Recovering a Lost Kentucky Community |date=2011-08-01 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=978-0-8131-3409-3 |pages=93–96 |language=en}}</ref>

=== 20th-century ===
[[File:Kentucky - Frankfort through Hickman - NARA - 23940289 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|View of Frankfort in 1934, Kentucky State Capitol in the foreground]]
On 3 February 1900, [[William Goebel]] was assassinated in Frankfort while walking to the [[Kentucky State Capitol|capitol]] on the way to the Kentucky Legislature. Former Secretary of State [[Caleb Powers]] and several others were later found guilty of a conspiracy to murder Goebel, however all were later pardoned.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zeY7uCxT0Q4C&pg=PA97 |title=Generations: An American Family|first=John|last=Egerton|date=April 10, 1983|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0813127831|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The [[Mayo–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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The school was torn down as part of an urban renewal plan,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1966-08-31 |title=Capital Plaza Authority Asks Mayo–Underwood School Site |pages=13 |work=[[The Lexington Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118061699/capital-plaza-authority-asks/ |access-date=2023-02-06}}</ref> and to make way for the Capital Plaza.

The Capital Plaza was comprised the [[Capital Plaza Office Tower (Frankfort, Kentucky)|Capital Plaza Office Tower]], the tallest building in the city, the Capital Plaza Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn, Frankfort), and the Fountain Place Shoppes. The [[Capital Plaza Office Tower (Frankfort, Kentucky)|Capital 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<ref>{{Cite web |title=Capital Plaza Tower Demolished in Frankfort – CTBUH |url=https://www.ctbuh.org/news/capital-plaza-tower-demolished-in-frankfort |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=www.ctbuh.org}}</ref> and a new state office building was constructed<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mayo-Underwood Building |url=https://www.eopa.com/work/workplace/capital-plaza-reconstruction/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=EOP Architects |language=en-US}}</ref> to take its place. The new building was named The Mayo-Underwood State Office Building<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Mark Henderson |date=2019-08-13 |title=Capital Plaza Office Building Named Mayo-Underwood |url=https://www.eopa.com/capital-plaza-office-building-named-mayo-underwood/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=EOP Architects |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5Mdua_lXBgC&pg=PA352 |title=Knight's Penny Magazine|date=April 10, 1834|publisher=Charles Knight & Company|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== 21st-century ===
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jochim |first=Mark Joseph |date=2018-05-31 |title=Kentucky & Tennessee Statehood |url=https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/kentucky-tennessee-statehood/ |access-date=2021-01-10 |website=A Stamp A Day |language=en}}</ref>

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,<ref name="demolition">{{Cite web|title=Dates set for Frankfort Convention Center, Capital Plaza Tower demolition|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|last=Miller|first=Alfred|date=2018-01-14|url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/franklin-county/article194640249.html|access-date=2018-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116135735/http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/franklin-county/article194640249.html|archive-date=January 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and was televised by [[WKYT-TV]] on [[WKYT-TV|WKYT-DT2]], as well as streamed live on [[Facebook]]. 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.<ref name="demolition" /> State officials replaced the outdated office tower with a smaller building called the Mayo–Underwood Building (2019),<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2019 |title=State office building named after historic Frankfort African American school |url=https://www.state-journal.com/news/state-office-building-named-after-historic-frankfort-african-american-school/article_f350003e-be01-11e9-9889-e39ad6582370.html |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=[[The State Journal (Frankfort)|The State Journal]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-13 |title=New state office building in downtown Frankfort officially named |url=https://www.wtvq.com/new-state-office-building-downtown-frankfort-officially-named/ |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=ABC 36 News |language=en-US}}</ref> in order to create a more pedestrian-oriented scale at the complex, to encourage street activity.<ref>[http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/481397.html Redevelopment Plan"],{{dead link|date=January 2022}} ''Kentucky''</ref>

Frankfort is home to three [[distilleries]] including the [[Buffalo Trace Distillery]] ([[List of whisky brands#Kentucky bourbon|Kentucky Bourbon]]), Castle & Key Distillery (spirits), and Three Boys Farm Distillery (bourbon and whiskey).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bourboncountry.com/plan-your-visit/bourbon-country-regions/frankfort/|title=Home of the Distilleries of Bourbon Country|website=Bourbon Country}}</ref>

In 2018, thousands of teachers protested at the city in response to [[2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151|Senate Bill 151]] having been passed on 29 March 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article207665689.html|title=See the best video, photos as Kentucky teachers pack Frankfort, protest in the Capitol|website=kentucky|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223073517/https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article207665689.html|archive-date=December 23, 2018|url-status=live|first1=Linda |last1=Blackford}}</ref> The bill was shortly overturned on December 13, 2018, by the [[Kentucky Supreme Court]] as unconstitutional, which prevented the bill from going into effect on January 1, 2019.