The Old Governor's Mansion, also known as Lieutenant Governor's Mansion, is located at 420 High Street,

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 ...

. It is reputed to be the oldest official executive residence officially still in use in the

Contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

, as the mansion is the official residence of the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

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 ...

. In 1796, the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

appropriated funds to provide a house to accommodate the

governor 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 ...

. Construction was completed in 1798. The home barely survived fires and neglect through the years. It has undergone several style changes as evidenced by some Victorian design elements that were added. The Mansion was often referred to as the "Palace" in its early days. Dignitaries including

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

, and the Marquis de Lafayette have been guests of the Mansion. The last occupants of the mansion were Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry and his wife Heather French Henry. Since Henry, lieutenant governors chose not to live in the mansion but to maintain residences in their hometowns and travel to Frankfort as needed. Because of this, the mansion was turned over to the

Kentucky Historical Society The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is an agency of the Kentucky state government that records and preserves important historical documents, buildings, and artifacts of Kentucky's past. It was originally established in 1836 as a private organiz ...

. Both a bricklayer and stonemason who helped build the house, Robert P. Letcher and Thomas Metcalf, later became governors and lived there. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971. and '

References

External links

Old Governor's Mansion
Houses in Frankfort, Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Frankfort, Kentucky Houses completed in 1798 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Georgian architecture in Kentucky Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Kentucky Government buildings completed in 1798 1798 establishments in Kentucky

Governor of Kentucky Lieutenant governors' mansions in the United States Thomas Metcalfe buildings Stone houses in Kentucky Central Frankfort Historic District

See also

References

Further reading

External links