Old State House
Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Old State House. Kentucky's third capitol on this site was built in 1827-1829 of Kentucky River marble. The two previous capitols were destroyed by fire. Gideon Shryock of Lexington, one of the state's most distinguished architects, designed the building which introduced Greek Revival style to Kentucky. Its most outstanding feature is the self-supporting, stone circular stairway. Joel Scott, keeper of penitentiary, invented a wire saw to cut the rough stone to expedite construction. This building, Shryock's masterpiece, served as seat of government for eighty years until completion of New Capitol in 1909. Daniel Boone and wife Rebecca lay in state here in 1845 before their reinterment in Frankfort. Only state capitol in U.S. captured by Confederate forces, September 1862. Gov. William Goebel assassinated here, January 30, 1900. Home of the Kentucky Historical Society since 1920; restored, 1973-75. Extensive museum-open to public.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Kentucky's third capitol, built of Kentucky River marble in 1827-1829 after fire claimed its two predecessors, introduced the Greek Revival style to the state through architect Gideon Shryock, whose self-supporting circular stone stairway remains its marvel. To speed construction, penitentiary keeper Joel Scott invented a wire saw to cut the rough stone. It served as the seat of government for eighty years and witnessed history's turns — Daniel and Rebecca Boone lay in state here in 1845, Confederate forces captured it in 1862, and Gov. William Goebel was assassinated on its grounds in 1900.
Why it matters
The only U.S. state capitol ever captured by Confederate forces, this building stood at the center of Kentucky's fraught place as a divided border state and remains a landmark of early American architecture.
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Related people
- · Gideon Shryock
- · Joel Scott
- · Daniel Boone
- · Rebecca Boone
- · William Goebel
Related events
- · Assassination of Gov. William Goebel
- · Confederate capture of Frankfort
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Confederate Governor at Frankfort
Frankfort, KY
During the Confederate invasion of Kentucky in the fall of 1862, the state government fled Frankfort for Louisville as Southern forces entered Lexington. Confederate cavalry passed through on September 3, and on October 4 Richard Hawes was inaugurated as the second Confederate governor of Kentucky, with Generals Bragg and Kirby Smith present. The ceremony was short-lived: the Confederates withdrew and Union troops reoccupied Frankfort on October 7.
Crittenden House
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John Jordan Crittenden (1787-1863) lived in this Frankfort house for the last forty-four years of his life while serving as Kentucky governor, five-time U.S. Senator, and Attorney General under three presidents. In 1860 he authored the Crittenden Compromise, a last, futile effort to reconcile North and South and preserve the Union on the eve of the Civil War. The house, built in 1800 on land once owned by Aaron Burr, hosted Daniel Webster and President-elect Zachary Taylor.
Vest-Lindsey House
Frankfort, KY
Built before 1820, this Frankfort house sheltered two men who took opposite sides in the nation's greatest crisis. It was the childhood home of orator George Graham Vest, later a three-term U.S. senator from Missouri and a member of the Confederate Congress, and also home to Daniel W. Lindsey, a Union brigade commander who became Kentucky's adjutant general.
A Civil War Reprisal
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