Corner in Celebrities
Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Corner in Celebrities. Homes of Thomas S. Todd, John M. Harlan, George M. Bibb, John J. Crittenden, John Brown, James Brown, Thomas Metcalfe, Robert P. Letcher, George G. Vest, Benjamin G. Brown, James Harlan, Charles Slaughter Morehead, Thomas S. Crittenden, John C. Watson, Hugh Rodman.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
This leafy quarter of old Frankfort earned its nickname from the astonishing concentration of national figures who once lived within a few blocks—among them Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan, statesman John J. Crittenden, senators John and James Brown, several Kentucky governors, and admiral Hugh Rodman. Over a century and more, judges, senators, diplomats, and military leaders called this small neighborhood home. Few street corners in America have sent so many of their residents into the nation's highest offices.
Why it matters
It is a rare geographic snapshot of how a small state capital could shape the leadership of the entire republic across generations.
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Related people
- · John Marshall Harlan
- · John J. Crittenden
- · John Brown
- · Hugh Rodman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Methodist Church, Frankfort
Frankfort, KY
Methodism reached Frankfort early: the 1790 conference folded the then-frontier station into the Lexington Circuit, and by 1821 Rev. William Holman had organized the town's First Methodist congregation, whose first small church stood on Ann Street. The present site was purchased in 1856 and its building completed in 1858. Bishops H.H. Kavanaugh and E.I. Tullis both served here as pastors.
First Methodist Church
Frankfort, KY
Methodism reached Kentucky when it was still raw frontier: the first conference in 1790 folded Frankfort, then a frontier station, into the sprawling Lexington Circuit ridden by itinerant preachers. A settled Frankfort congregation was organized in 1821 by the Rev. William Holman, worshipping first in a small church on Ann Street before buying the present site in 1856 and completing its building in 1858. Two of its pastors, H. H. Kavanaugh and E. L. Tullis, rose to become bishops.
Justice Todd House
Frankfort, KY
Built in 1812, this was the Frankfort home of Thomas Todd, a Virginia-born jurist who served as clerk to the Danville conventions that brought Kentucky to statehood before rising through the young state's courts. President Jefferson appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served from 1807 until his death in 1826. His second marriage, to Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington, was the first wedding ever recorded in the White House.
Site of the Love House
Frankfort, KY
Built around 1786 by General James Wilkinson on land once owned by Aaron Burr, this house hosted the first meeting of the legislature after Frankfort became Kentucky's capital in 1793. Later purchased by Major Thomas Love, it served for years as an inn and the social and political heart of the young capital. Its guests included the exiled French prince Louis Philippe—a future king of France—and Aaron Burr himself.