Liberty Hall is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

at 218 Wilkinson Street in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

. Built 1796–1800 by American statesman

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

, it was designated in 1971 as a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

for its association with Brown and its fine Federal-style architecture.

Description

Liberty Hall is located west of downtown Frankfort, at the southwest corner of Wilkinson and West Main Streets, overlooking the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...

. It is a two-story five-bay brick house whose main section is in plan; it has a two-story rear ell which is in plan. With .

History

The documented history of Liberty Hall Historic Site can be traced back to 1786, when General

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy. He served in the Continental Army du ...

purchased much of the land that is downtown Frankfort. Wilkinson laid out the town, naming the streets for friends, famous people and places, and himself. Some of Wilkinson's original streets, Wilkinson, Wapping, and Montgomery (now Main), form the boundaries of three of the four sides of Liberty Hall Historic Site. Wilkinson sold the tract that includes Liberty Hall to Frankfort resident Andrew Holmes. In 1796, Holmes sold the four acres to Senator

. Brown began construction of a home on the property shortly after purchasing it, though he was often away on government business in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, then the capital of the United States. The architect of Liberty Hall is unknown, although Brown may have done some of the design. One of the earliest brick homes in Frankfort, this structure was made from bricks fired locally from clay dug from the cellar. The construction continued until 1800 when the house was substantially complete. It lacked only the glass windows, which were added in 1804. In addition to the main house, several dependent structures were built on the property, including a kitchen and laundry, smokehouse, a privy, stables, carriage house, and

slave quarters Slave quarters were buildings or districts where enslaved people were housed. Slave quarters may refer to: * Barracoon, temporary holding quarters for the transatlantic slave trade * , housing for enslaved people in colonial Brazil Colonial Bra ...

. In 1835 John Brown divided his property so that his sons would have equal inheritance. His elder son, Mason, inherited Liberty Hall. For his younger son,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, Brown hired

Gideon Shryock Gideon Shryock (November 15, 1802 – June 19, 1880) was Kentucky's first professional architect in the Greek Revival Style. His name has frequently been misspelled as Gideon Shyrock. Biography Shryock was born in Lexington, Kentucky on November ...

, designer of the

Kentucky State Capitol The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the Politics of the United States, state government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwe ...

, to design a new house. Constructed in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style, the Orlando Brown House was built by local contractor Harrison Blanton. The entire project cost $5,000. In 1934, Mary Mason Scott, John Brown's great-granddaughter and the last resident of Liberty Hall, died; she left Liberty Hall to her brother, John Matthew Scott. He sold Liberty Hall to a group of concerned citizens who had formed Liberty Hall, Inc., a nonprofit organization to preserve the historic building. They opened the house as a museum in 1937. The Orlando Brown House was occupied until 1955. Anne Hord Brown, Orlando Brown's last remaining descendant, left the house to the

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (often abbreviated as NSCDA) is an American lineage society composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services wer ...

in the Commonwealth of Kentucky (NSCDA-KY). The Dames opened the house as a museum in 1955.

Residents

John Brown (September 12, 1757 – August 29, 1837) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

lawyer and statesman who was integral to creating the State of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Before statehood he represented

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

(1777–1778) and the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

(1789–1791). While in Congress he introduced the bill granting statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

by the state legislature for Kentucky, a position he held until 1805. Additionally, Liberty Hall has been the home of two other U.S. Senators, one Vice-Presidential candidate, one

Governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, one Commissioner of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

, one Ambassador to France, one U.S. District Attorney, three U.S. Army colonels, two doctors, and one newspaper editor. It is the ancestral home of

Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' (1947) and ''The Runaway Bunny'' (1942), both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the ...

, a noted children's book author. It was declared as a U.S.

on November 11, 1971.

Today

Today Liberty Hall and the adjacent Orlando Brown House are operated as a historic house museum and historic site. Tours of Liberty Hall are given Monday through Saturday from mid-March to mid-November. The site also hosts several special events and programs throughout the year. Liberty Hall Historic Site is owned and operated by National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Kentucky.

References

External links

*
Liberty Hall, Online Collections DatabaseNational Society of Colonial Dames of America in Kentucky
{{Frankfort, Kentucky Houses completed in 1796 Houses in Frankfort, Kentucky Historic house museums in Kentucky History of slavery in Kentucky Museums in Franklin County, Kentucky National Society of the Colonial Dames of America 1796 establishments in Kentucky Slave cabins and quarters in the United States Federal architecture in Kentucky Corner in Celebrities Historic District Central Frankfort Historic District