The City of Frankfort was founded in 1786 and is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the County seat for Franklin County. The City is located in the Bluegrass Region in Central Kentucky and has a population of approximately 28,000 residents. The daily population increases to approximately 50,000 based on workforce that resides in the County or commutes from nearby Counties. The City is considered one of the most picturesque Capitals in the United States with natural beauty, beautiful historic and modern architecture. The City has also been named as one of the most livable small Cities with attributes including generous hospitality, rich cultural and architectural history, affordable housing and cost of living. The City is governed by the City Commissioners, Mayor, and administered by the City Manager.  The heart of Frankfort sits in the Kentucky River valley, on an S-bend in the river near the western edge of the inner Bluegrass Region of the state. As a young man, Henry Clay famously compared Frankfort’s geography to an "inverted hat," saying that "Frankfort is the body of the hat, and the lands adjacent are the brim." A visitor in 1855 wrote...
Read more... The 2000 census reported that Frankfort had a population of 27,741, of whom 14,513 were female and 13,228 were male. Census Bureau estimates of the city’s population from 2001 through 2005 are shown in the following table: Read more The 2000 census said that 13,048 residents of Frankfort were employed. Not surprisingly in the state capital, public administration was the city's largest industry, accounting for 28 percent of the city's employed workforce. Education, health, and social services ranked in second place at 15.5 percent, with manufacturing (12.4 percent) and retail trade (10.5 percent) completing the list of industries with 10 percent or more of the employed workforce. Read more Frankfort has one daily newspaper, The State Journal (www.state-journal.com), and three radio stations (all now owned by Clear Channel). In addition to local news the State Journal also covers state political news. Frankfort has one cable television system channel 10, which is operated by the Frankfort Plant Board. Channel 10 broadcast local public meetings including councils, commissions, school boards and others as well as high school sports. Read more The site that was to become Frankfort was one of several fords on the Kentucky River, and was on one of the great buffalo trails that served settlers as early highways. The first English explorers began visiting what is now the Frankfort area in the early 1750s; and evidently the name Frankfort is a shortening of “Frank’s Ford,” after Stephen Frank, a settler who was killed at or near the site in Indian skirmish in 1780. In 1786, the Virginia legislature (for of course Kentucky was then still a part of Virginia at that time) designated 100 acres of land owned by General James Wilkinson as the town of Frankfort. Read more Much of downtown Frankfort is a product of the 19th century. The sturdy, often Italianate brick buildings that make up the central business district were mostly built in the 1870s and 1880s. (Much of the core had to be rebuilt following a serious fire in 1870.) Read more... As is typical in Kentucky, city and county schools operate under separate school boards. The Frankfort Independent School District operates Second Street School (primary and middle grades), Frankfort High School (home of the Panthers), and the Wilkinson Street School (an alternative school), all near Frankfort's downtown area. Franklin County Public Schools operates six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools (Franklin County High School and Western Hills High School, homes of the Flyers and the Wolverines, respectively). Read more... - Old State Capitol Building: This stone building, designed by Gideon Shryock in the Greek Revival style, was the state capitol from 1829 to 1909.
- Liberty Hall Historic Site: Liberty Hall is a mansion in the Georgian style. It was built about 1796 by John Brown, a member of the Continental Congress and one of Kentucky's first two U.S. senators. The Liberty Hall Historic Site also contains the Orlando Brown House, which was built around 1835 and was designed by Gideon Shryock, who also designed the Old State Capitol building.
Read more... Frankfort and the surrounding area offer many opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Kentucky River itself has long been a source of recreation, and boat docks on the river house recreational watercraft. Not far from Frankfort, the Elkhorn Creek is a popular site for canoeing and kayaking. Read more...
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Frankfort, Kentucky
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