KHS Virtual Tour

STOP 1: FACADE When Kentucky became a state in 1792, Frankfort was a tiny, new river town.

Several cities wanted to be the new state capital.

The selection commission chose Frankfort because its citizens offered more incentives (cash, land and building materials).

Preliminary map of old Frankfort, Kentucky (1786-1800) created by cartographer, Bayless Hardin.

First capitol building constructed following the Second capitol building following the same style Federal style with Georgian details. Cost was as the first. Cost was $40,000 and size 120’ x 80’. $3,500 and size 86’ x 54’.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 The building that stands on the grounds is the third Kentucky state house. A board of commissioners approved its construction in 1827 after a public call for proposals. They selected a Greek Revival design by Gideon Shryock, a 25-year-old architect from Lexington. Shryock’s design resembled the temple of Minerva Polias at Priene. Symbolically, it linked Kentucky with ancient Greece, the prototype of enlightened popular government.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 2: GOEBEL Look for a plaque embedded in the brick sidewalk that states, “Goebel fell here 1900.” WILLIAM GOEBEL, a state senator from 1887 to 1899, was a master – and victim – of rough-and-tumble politics. The Democrat ran for governor in 1899 against Republican William Taylor, who officially won by 383 votes. Democrats held the majority in the General Assembly and challenged the results even after Taylor took office in December 1899. Armed men, many of them Republican, came to Frankfort to prevent the Democrats from “stealing the election.” Hostility was high when legislators convened a committee to deliberate the election results.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 On Jan. 30, 1900, as Goebel walked toward the Goebel lived for a few days – long enough capitol to attend the debates, a gunman in the for Taylor to declare a state of insurrection, Secretary of State’s office next door at the Old call out the state militia and order the Capitol Annex, shot him. legislature to leave Frankfort.

Meanwhile, Democratic legislators met secretly and invalidated enough votes to declare Sight lines for the Goebel Assassination. Courtesy of the Kentucky Department of Library Goebel the election’s winner. and Archives

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 On Jan. 31, they swore him into office. Historians say that no one really knows who killed Republicans refused to recognize the newly William Goebel. elected Governor. Therefore, Kentucky had two Henry Youtsey, a stenographer from Newport, acting governments. Goebel’s death on Feb. 3 was portrayed as an assistant to the assassin. likely prevented all-out warfare; the two factions decided then to let the courts decide the matter. Caleb Powers of Knox County was the Secretary of The case went all the way to Kentucky’s highest State and the supposed mastermind of the plot. court, which upheld Goebel as the winner. Jim Howard, a feudist from Clay County, was said Lieutenant governor, J.C.W. Beckham, was 30 to have been responsible for the shooting. when he took office and remains the youngest person to serve as Kentucky’s governor. You can see the jacket Goebel was wearing the day he was shot inside the History Center’s Five people stood trial for Goebel’s murder. exhibit, A Kentucky Journey. Three served time, but later were pardoned.

HENRY CALEB JIM

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 3: VESTIBULE The large front doors and high ceilings created a grand entryway into the capitol and communicated the importance of the work going on inside it. The vestibule, or lobby, was the site for celebrations, public speeches and somber occasions. Daniel and Rebecca Boone were among the prominent figures who lay in state here so people could pay their respects. In 1845, Frankfort’s town leaders had them exhumed from their graves in Missouri and brought back to Kentucky for burial in the new Frankfort Cemetery. Story goes, that while Daniel Boone was laying in state at the Capitol, people took out his skull and passed it around. They also decided to build a mold to create a plaster cast of his skull. The skull cast is on view in the frontier section of the History Center exhibit, A Kentucky Journey.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 On the left, you will see a bust of Henry Clay. Henry Clay, Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852), was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives. He served three different terms as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and was also Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829. He lost his campaigns for president in 1824, 1832 and 1844. Next to his bust, there is a lithograph of Senator Henry Clay speaking to the U.S. Senate about the Compromise of 1850. The bills within the compromise resolved confrontations between slave and free- states. It also gave Texas its western and northern boarders.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 4: LAW LIBRARY The State Law Library served three groups. Lawmakers used it to research legislation, attorneys reviewed court cases, and members of the public read or checked out books. Even when it was new, the building was humid. A fire burned in this room at all times – including summer – to keep the costly law books dry.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 5: ROTUNDA The dramatic circular Kentucky limestone staircase in the rotunda remains one of its most popular features. Stonemasons cut each step precisely to fit into the one above it. The keystone landing on the second floor holds them all in place. There are no other supports. The construction on the capitol involved the use of convict labor and the invention of a special steam-powered saw to cut the locally obtained gray limestone, referred to as “Kentucky River Marble.” Mr. Scott, the warden at the Penitentiary, invented the machine, which consisted of sixteen different saws and eight arms that are made to pull one saw and push another. This efficient invention cut down the time to prepare all the stone to only six months. Gideon Shryock departed from Greek Revival style when he added a domed lantern to the building. It provides abundant daylight, which was especially helpful in the days before electricity. Harry Mordecai created the plaster motifs in the ceiling and throughout the capitol. A skilled artisan, Mordecai was a former slave who purchased freedom for himself, his wife, and other family members.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 6: SENATE The Senate chamber, the smaller of the two legislative chambers, saw legislators fiercely debate the tumultuous events that shaped Kentucky in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The political style was rough and tumble. Imagine this room filled with cigar-smoking, tobacco-spitting legislators, lobbyists, journalists and citizens.

The 1792 Kentucky Constitution. Housed in the Kentucky Historical Society archives

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 The portrait at the front of the room displays Isaac Shelby, the first and fifth governor of Kentucky. The first Kentucky constitution of 1792 stated that the governor: ` Is commander in chief of the army, navy, and militia. ` Nominates and appoints all staff whose office was established by the constitution or is established by law. ` Has the power to fill all vacancies during a senate recess. ` Has the power to remit fines and grant reprieves and pardons. ` Periodically reports to the legislature on the state of the Commonwealth. ` May call a special session of the legislature. ` Shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 Shelby helped set up the state government, court systems, and militia. He did not want to be governor the second time, but the possibility of war with England convinced him to run for office again. When the War of 1812 began, Shelby got personally involved. He recruited 3,500 men and spent most of his term on the battlefield. On the rare occasions when he addressed the legislature he focused on the need to raise money for the troops. In early Kentucky there were two main political parties. Jeffersonian Republicans championed state’s rights and opposed a strong central government. They favored the interests of farmers and laborers, and believed farmers made the country strong. In contrast, the Federalist supported the interest of the bankers and businessmen because they believed banking and industry were the future of the country.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 7: CLOAK ROOM Before state senators hung their For more research visit cloaks in this room, it was the civilwargovernors.org State Law Library. The items on display reflect the building’s use during the Civil War. Confederate troops captured Frankfort in September 1862 and occupied it for a month until Union troops forced them to flee. Union troops remained in the capitol until the war ended. Frankfort was the only Union state capital that the Confederates captured. Ed Kinne, a Union soldier, used the secretary’s desk in the Senate chamber to write a letter back home to his sister while he was staying in the capitol and sleeping on one of the sofas. He also cut off a tassel from the capitol’s curtains to send along with his letter. 1862 Newspaper: Original articles compiled by the Kentucky Historical Society’s education team.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 STOP 8: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Slavery and secession drew intense debate in the House chamber. State and national political figures, including Kentucky’s own Henry Clay, spoke here. Clay stood in this room and championed the Compromise of 1850, a series of federal bills intended to appease both sides and prevent a civil war. In 1861, the House chamber again saw an intense debate as representatives tried to decide Kentucky’s response to the war. The legislature first elected to remain neutral. After Confederate forces attacked the western Kentucky town of Columbus in the fall of 1861, the legislature sided with the Union in the passing of Bill No. 36, the “Bloody Bill.”

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 The portrait to the right is of Marquis de Lafayette (1825). Lafayette was the French hero of the American Revolution, last surviving general of the Continental Army, and friend to Founding Fathers Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. In May of 1825, by invitation of Governor Joseph Desha, Kentucky welcomed its most prominent guest with a banquet and ball during his “Farewell Tour.” However, in 1825 the second Capitol building had burned down, which led to the hosting of the banquet on the front lawn.

STOP 1 | STOP 2 | STOP 3 | STOP 4 | STOP 5 | STOP 6 | STOP 7 | STOP 8 The last legislative session that took settlement with the federal government in place in this building was 1908 and was 1904. This was in response to Kentucky’s documented with this photograph. Can claim that the U. S. government failed to you tell what remains the same today and reimburse the state for expenses incurred what has changed? The current and fourth to prepare Kentucky troops in the service capitol building costed around $1,317,778. of the United States during the Civil War Kentucky was able to afford this due to a and the Spanish-American War.