Corner in Celebrities Historic District is a neighborhood located in the north section of

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

, that is designated an

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

because of the high concentration of structures that previously belonged to notable residents. The area contains the historic homes of

George M. Bibb George Mortimer Bibb (October 30, 1776 – April 14, 1859) was an American lawyer and politician and the seventeenth United States Secretary of the Treasury. He was chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and twice represented Kentucky as ...

, Benjamin G. Brown,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

John J. Crittenden John Jordan Crittenden (September 10, 1787 July 26, 1863) was an American statesman and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United ...

, Thomas Crittenden, James Harlan,

John Marshall Harlan John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. He is often called "The Great Dissenter" due to his ...

Robert P. Letcher Robert Perkins Letcher (February 10, 1788 – January 24, 1861) was a politician and lawyer from the US state of Kentucky. He served as a U.S. Representative, Minister to Mexico, and the 15th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in the Kentuc ...

, William Lindsay, Thomas Metcalfe, Charles Slaughter Morehead,

William Owsley William Owsley (March 24, 1782 – December 9, 1862) was an associate justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the 16th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was Kentucky Secretary of State ...

, Hugh Rodman, Charles S. Todd,

Thomas Todd Thomas Todd (January 23, 1765 – February 7, 1826) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1807 to 1826. Raised in the Colony of Virginia, he Read law, studied law and later participated in the founding of K ...

, George G. Vest,

John C. Watson John Crittenden Watson (24 August 1842 – 14 December 1923) was an admiral of the United States Navy. Biography Watson was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, on 24 August 1842, the grandson of Kentucky politician John J. Crittenden. He graduated from ...

, and

Simeon Willis Simeon Slavens Willis (December 1, 1879April 1, 1965) was an American attorney who served as the 46th Governor of Kentucky, United States, serving from 1943 to 1947. He was the only Republican elected governor of Kentucky between 1927 and 1967.P ...

. The area was added to the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971.

Founding of Frankfort

The town of Frankfort,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

was founded in 1786 on of land on the north side of the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...

on property owned by

General James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, ...

. After

became the fifteenth

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

state in 1792, Frankfort was named the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of capital citie ...

Wapping Street

Wapping Street is a public thoroughfare located in northern Frankfort that runs east and west parallel to the

through the Corner in Celebrities historic district. The street was named for the " Old Wapping Stairs" in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by homesick Englishman, John Instone, a friend of the town's founder.

Thomas Todd House

The Thomas Todd House is located at 320 Wapping Street. The

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

structure was built in 1812 by either Hayden Edwards or William Walker with the Victorian style features added later. After serving in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

land surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

under his cousin

Harry Innes Harry Innes (January 4, 1752 – September 20, 1816) was a Virginia lawyer and patriot during the American Revolutionary War who became a local judge and prosecutor as well as helped establish the state of Kentucky, before he accepted appointment ...

. In 1784 Todd move to Kentucky when Judge

was appointed to begin the federal court in

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

. During his time in Danville, Todd served as a clerk for five Constitutional Conventions regarding Kentucky's statehood. After being admitted to the bar in 1788, Todd was a clerk to federal Judge Innes and served as the clerk of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

until 1799 when the Kentucky Supreme Court was created and Todd was appointed its chief clerk. Kentucky Governor

James Garrard James Garrard (January 14, 1749 – January 19, 1822) was an American farmer, Baptist minister and politician who served as the second governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Because of term limits imposed by the state constitution adopted in ...

appointed Todd to fill the a newly added seat to the Court, and five years later he was named Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court. In 1807,

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

appointed Todd, then age forty-one, to

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

where he served until his death in 1826. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Todd remained active in local and state affairs. In 1818, while serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, Todd purchased the house on Wapping Street and lived there with his second wife Lucy (Payne) Washington, sister of

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

. Todd died on February 7, 1826, and was buried in the Innes family cemetery. Later Todd and his wife were reinterred in the at

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

Vest-Lindsey House

The Vest-Lindsey House is located at 401 Wapping Street. The building, a twelve-room Federal style house, was constructed in approximately 1798 making the structure one of the oldest houses in Frankfort. The House was the childhood home of United States Senator George Graham Vest. Vest served in the Senate for 25 years until his death in 1903. Vest is best remembered for his closing trial remarks where he coined the line "Dog is man's best friend." Daniel Lindsey, a Union Army General during the American Civil War and Adjutant General and Inspector General of Kentucky's military forces, bought the building from Vest in 1846. The Lindsey family owned the property until it was purchased by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1965.

Bibb-Burnley House

The Bibb-Burnley House, also called Gray Gables, is located at 411 Wapping Street. In 1856, John Bibb relocated to Frankfort from Logan County after being elected to the Kentucky Legislature. Bibb bought the property on Wapping Street that had a home built by John Instone, one of the first houses built in the town. Bibb built a new twenty-one room

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house on the site using material from the original structure. Mary Anne Burnley, a niece of Bibb, lived in the house. Burnley's interest in culture and the arts associates the house with several prominent writers and musicians including

John Fox, Jr. John Fox Jr. (December 16, 1862 – July 8, 1919) was an American journalist, novelist, and short story writer. Biography Born in Stony Point, Kentucky, to John William Fox Sr. and Minerva Worth Carr, Fox studied English at Harvard University ...

and Robert Burns Wilson.

Other Wapping Street properties

Some of the other structures on Wapping Street that are part of this historic district include: * Rodman-Hewitt House (c.1817) — Two story brick

residence named for two previous owners Hugh Rodman and ex-

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

officer Fayette Hewitt who served for ten years as State auditor and president of the State National Bank of Frankfort. * Carneal-Watson House (c.1855) — Brick

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

residence named for Thomas Carneal and

* Graham Vreeland House (c.1913) — Also called "Vauxhall" and "Garden Hall", this

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

mansion was built with all the latest technical amenities of the day, including a bell-call system and a built-in vacuum. Built for Anne Graves Crutcher Vreeland, second wife of Graham Vreeland, founder and editor of the longest-running local newspaper. * South-Willis House (c.1875) — Named for original owner

John Glover South John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and later owner Governor

. * Pruett House (c.1928) — Residence of Pruett family. In 1966, daughter Rebecca Pruett authored ''The Browns of

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

'' for

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services were rendered during the Colonial Pe ...

* The Old Post Office (c.1887) — A large Victorian and French Empire building * Good Shepherd Parish (1850) — A

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church building

Wilkinson Street

Wilkinson Street is a public thoroughfare named for town founder,

General Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an Americans, American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution ...

, who ran a ferry on the northern bank of the Kentucky River where the street started. The street runs north through the Corner in Celebrities historic district.

Crittenden-Garrard House

Crittenden-Garrad House; Franklin County, Kentucky-1

The Crittenden-Garrad House, also called the Hoge House, is located at 302 Wilkinson Street. The Federal style structure was constructed in approximately 1810. Property records show that Frankfort Judge Jacob Swigert and his wife Rebecca were early owner of the house. In 1855, the Swigert's sold the property to Thomas Crittenden. Crittenden, the son of John J. Crittenden, was a Major General for the Union Army in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Additionally, Crittenden was U.S. Consul to Liverpool and later Kentucky State Treasurer. In 1859, James H. Garrard, the grandson of Kentucky's second Governor, purchased the property. Garrard served as a General for the Union Army in the American Civil War. Garrard represented Clay, Letcher, and Perry Counties in the

Kentucky Constitutional Convention Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia t ...

Later, Garrard was the Kentucky State Treasurer from 1857 to 1865. After James' death, his wife Letitia continued to live in the home. The Garrard family retained the property until 1902 when the house was sold to Callaway Hoge, wife of Will H. Hoge. The Hoge family keep the home until after 1944.

Liberty Hall Historic Site

Liberty Hall Historic Site is located at 202 and 218 Wilkinson Streets and encompasses a full city block of two historic homes and 4 acres of gardens. Liberty Hall, built in 1796, was the home of

, one of Kentucky's first Senators. The Orlando Brown House was built in 1835 for his son. Today Liberty Hall Historic Site serves as a learning center that engages the public in exploring the history, politics, social and cultural life in early Kentucky through the homes, gardens, documents, and artifacts of Senator John Brown and his family. Owned and operated by the

, the site and museums are seasonally open to the public.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Frankfort, Kentucky Federal architecture in Kentucky Geography of Franklin County, Kentucky Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Neighborhoods in Kentucky