Church of the Ascension
Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
The Church of the Ascension. In January 1836 the first Bishop of Kentucky, the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, received from the Church of the Ascension on Canal Street in New York City a "gift or loan" to found an Episcopal Church in Frankfort. The present church building was erected in 1850 with funds donated by Judge John Harris Hanna, first president of the Farmers Bank. Over. (Reverse) The Church of the Ascension - First full-time rector was the Reverend John N. Norton. Throughout the Civil War, the parish remained united. The parish founded first free school for the poor in Frankfort and furnished a home for orphans from 1859 to 1939 on this site. It sponsored the first library in Frankfort. Many of Kentucky's Governors have worshipped here. See over.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Kentucky's first Episcopal bishop, the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Bosworth Smith, received a "gift or loan" in 1836 from New York City's Church of the Ascension to plant an Episcopal parish in Frankfort, and the present building rose in 1850 with funds from Judge John Harris Hanna. Under its first full-time rector, the Rev. John N. Norton, the parish stayed united through the Civil War and poured itself into good works — founding Frankfort's first free school for the poor and its first library, and housing orphans on this site from 1859 to 1939.
Why it matters
The parish shows how a 19th-century church became an engine of civic life, pioneering free education, libraries, and orphan care in a growing state capital.
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Related people
- · Benjamin Bosworth Smith
- · John Harris Hanna
- · John N. Norton
Themes & tags
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