Frankfort Cemetery

The Frankfort Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the supposed burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors and a Vice President of the United States.

Frankfort Cemetery and Chapel
Entrance to Frankfort Cemetery
LocationFrankfort, Kentucky
Coordinates38°11′52.08″N 84°51′57.7074″W
Built1844
ArchitectCarmichael, Robert; Launitz, Robert E.
Architectural styleRomanesque
Websitewww.frankfortcemetery.org
NRHP reference No.74000872[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 12, 1974

History

It was created by Judge Mason Brown, son of statesman John Brown, inspired by a visit to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston.

Brown enlisted other Frankfort civic leaders and on February 27, 1844 the Kentucky General Assembly approved the cemetery's incorporation. The 32-acre (13 ha) property, then called Hunter's Garden, was purchased in 1845 for $3,801. Additional land was purchased in 1858 and in 1911 for a total of 100 acres (40 ha).

Brown hired Scottish-born landscape architect Robert Carmichael to design the cemetery.

During the US Civil War, the Frankfort Cemetery was used for the final resting place of soldiers. Corporal, Lyman B. Hannaford of the 103rd Ohio Infantry notes in his letter dated April 2, 1863, "They are planting (as soldiers term it) a good many soldiers here—almost one per day. That is a good many for the number of troops here."[2]

Buildings and grounds
Chapel

The cemetery is designed in a style similar to Mount Auburn, with curving lanes, terraces and a circle of vaults. Carmichael imported flowers from around the state, intending the cemetery to double as an arboretum in a time when residents could not easily travel to see mountain flowers not native to the region. A central feature is the State Mound, featuring a Kentucky War Memorial designed by Robert E. Launitz.[3]

The cemetery has views of the Kentucky River, which forms its western boundary. A bluff overlooking the river gives a view of downtown, south Frankfort, and the Capitol District.

Notable interments

Seventeen Kentucky governors are buried there:

Other notable people buried at Frankfort Cemetery include:

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. https://lymanbhannaford.wordpress.com/2-april-1863/
  3. Robinson, Jennifer Kaye. "Frankfort Cemetery and Chapel (National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form)". National Park Service (US Government). Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  4. "Women's History Month: Lucy Pattie". therecordonline.net. March 14, 2019.
  • L.F. Johnson, History of Frankfort Cemetery (Frankfort, Ky., 1921).
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