Our first stop the next day was the capital city of Frankfort, KY, located in the central portion of the state on an S-shaped curve in the Kentucky River. Frankfort may be small (the population is less than 30,000) but is well known for having one of the most beautiful capitol buildings in the country. It is also quite easy to get into and out of Frankfort, as there are some eight roads leading in and out of it.
Frankfort KY, A Beautiful Capital City
There is some very interesting and colorful history regarding the capital of Kentucky and even which particular city would be the capital. But rather than try to tell it all here, my suggestion would be to check it out at this website. Suffice it to say that the new capitol building in Frankfort is beautiful and in a very stunning location. The old building is still there in Frankfort too, and it’s worth the trip to check them both out. Of particular note is a thirty-four-foot in diameter, hundred-ton “living” clock in front of the new Capitol that boasts 10,000 plants grown in greenhouses near the capital. It’s beautiful!
Daniel Boone
For me, no trip to Kentucky would have been complete without a stop at the gravesite of one of my favorite people in history, Daniel Boone. As a kid I was hardly ever seen without my coonskin cap! Rest assured that Daniel was as important to Kentucky as he was to other areas of the early frontier, having been mostly responsible for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky.
He was also responsible for founding Boonesborough in 1775 after his discovery of the Cumberland Gap, bringing numerous settlers to the state, and defending those settlers against the native Indian raids. Although born in Pennsylvania in 1734, Daniel and his wife Rebecca have now been reinterred on a bluff high above the Kentucky River at the Frankfort Cemetery. The site overlooks the land he so loved, from what is an incredibly gorgeous Kentucky vista.
Frank Lloyd Wright
If you like architecture, you might be interested to know that Frank Lloyd Wright designed one home in the state of Kentucky. That home is the Rev. Jesse R. Ziegler House and it is located in Frankfort, not too far from the capital. The home is privately owned and tours are not available, but there is a historical marker near the street and the home is easily visible from there.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
We also had time for a brief stop at the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A giant sundial there, designed so that the shadow of the gleaming stainless steel gnomon touches – on the anniversary of their death – the names of all 1,103 Kentuckians who gave their lives in the conflict, and 23 who are missing in action. It is a brilliant and awesome tribute to those brave soldiers. It is also an incredibly solemn reminder of the price that we continue to pay for our freedom.
“The location of each name is fixed mathematically…by the date of casualty, the geographic location of the memorial, the height of the gnomon and the physics of solar movement. The stones were then designed and cut to avoid dividing any individual name. The resulting radial-concentric joint pattern suggests a “web”, symbolic of the entangling nature of this war.”
It was a very emotional site to visit, and an even more difficult place to leave. But it was getting late, and we had an appointment that I intended to keep. So, with a mental salute and a brief prayer, we left the Memorial.
