Frankfort Faces
The Capital City Museum launched The Frankfort Faces Project to cast a light on some of the city’s famous faces.
Albert Blanton (1881-1959)
As a sixteen year old office boy, Albert Blanton began his bourbon career in 1897 at the plant that was to be known years later as The Albert Blanton Distillery. He was actively engaged in all phases of the distilling business for fifty-five years. Prior to his retirement in 1952 he simultaneously managed four other Schenley Plants in Kentucky. The Blanton Distillery would later develop into the current Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Ruth Booe (1891 – 1973)
Ruth Hanly Booe and Rebecca Gooch began selling their now famous candies in 1919. When Rebecca opted for marriage in 1929 she withdrew from the partnership and Ruth went on to become famous as the originator of chocolate bourbon balls and other delicious confections.mage
Ruth Hanly Booe and Rebecca Gooch began selling their now famous candies in 1919. When Rebecca opted for marriage in 1929 she withdrew from the partnership and Ruth went on to become famous as the originator of chocolate bourbon balls and other delicious confections.mage
John Brown (1757 – 1837)
Virginian John Brown was instrumental in bringing statehood to Kentucky in 1792 and became one of the state’s first senators. He built the historic family home “Liberty Hall” on Wilkinson Street in 1796. At his death he was the last surviving member of the Continental Congress.
John Cannon (1820 – 1882)
Cannon was the steamboat captain of the Robert E. Lee when she won her fabled 1870 Mississippi River race with the Natchez from New Orleans to St. Louis. This escapade made him one of the most famous men in America at that time. His residence still stands at 420 Ann Street in Frankfort.
Cannon was the steamboat captain of the Robert E. Lee when she won her fabled 1870 Mississippi River race with the Natchez from New Orleans to St. Louis. This escapade made him one of the most famous men in America at that time. His residence still stands at 420 Ann Street in Frankfort.
Will Chase (1970)
After graduating from Western Hills High School and a stint at The Oberlin Conservatory where he studied percussion and conducting, Chase began his acting career in Chicago. He has starred on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, receiving a 2013 Tony Award nomination. Chase also appeared in Rent, Miss Saigon, The Full Monty, had recurring roles on television’s Smash, Nashville, and Rescue Me. In 2016 he played William Shakespeare on Broadway in Something Rotten, and filmed The Deuce for HBO. He is the son of Jerry and Betty Chase of Frankfort.
John J. Crittenden (1787 – 1863)
Crittenden was one of the most accomplished men who ever claimed Frankfort as his home. He served several terms in the KY General Assembly, five times as US Senator, twice as US Attorney General, and Governor of Kentucky. His “Crittenden Compromise” was a last minute unsuccessful attempt to avoid the Civil War. His home still stands at 401 West Main Street.
Emma Guy Cromwell (1865 – 1952)
Born in Allen County, KY, Cromwell was the first woman in the Commonwealth elected to a state office, serving as state librarian, secretary of state, state treasurer, state parks director, and state bond commissioner. As secretary of state Cromwell became the first female to act as Governor of Kentucky. Her Frankfort home still stands at 124 West State Street.
Johnny Depp (1963)
Actor John Christopher Depp II was born in Owensboro, KY and lived in Frankfort from 1966 to 1969. His father worked for the Frankfort Plant Board and served for a short time as Frankfort’s City Manager. Johnny has starred in many motion pictures but is most famous for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirate of the Caribbean series.
Albert Bacon Fall (1861 – 1944)
Born in Frankfort and raised by his grandfather, the minister of First Christian Church, Philip Slater Fall. Albert taught school at Bald Knob. He became the U. S. Senator from New Mexico and would later serve in President Warren G. Harding’s cabinet where he wound up in prison due to his involvement in the nefarious “Tea Pot Dome” scandal.
John Fallis (1879 – 1929)
A political boss in Frankfort’s Craw neighborhood, a gambler, bootlegger, womanizer, and Frankfort legend. Often referred to as “King of Craw,” Fallis was a notorious folk hero in his own time and now an icon in Frankfort memory. A fictional account of his life written by author and Frankfort native Ron Rhody appeared in 2016.
Clarence Gayle (1866 – 1948)
Gayle operated a precision instrument shop at 514 Logan Street specializing in custom, handcrafted fishing reels and inexpensive machine-made reels. During WWII the Gayle shop fulfilled several government contracts including parts for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. The Gayle Company remained in business until the late 1980s.
John Marshall Harlan (1833 – 1911)
Born in what is now Boyle County, Kentucky, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan is best known for condemning racial segregation in his dissent from Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, when he declared, “Our Constitution is color-blind.” He resided in Frankfort for many years, served as Franklin County Judge, and unsuccessfully ran for Kentucky governor on the Republican Party ticket.
Amos Kendall (1789 – 1869)
Reputed intellectual engine behind Andrew Jackson’s administration, Amos Kendall lived for a time in Frankfort on Broadway. He tutored Henry Clay’s children, owned a paper mill at the Forks of Elkhorn, and was editor of a popular Frankfort newspaper, Argus of Western America. In Washington he served as United States Postmaster General, was sales agent for telegraph inventor Samuel F. B. Morse and was also instrumental in funding and creating Gallaudet University.
Leopold Labrot (1842 – 1911)
Born in France, Labrot turned his attention to bourbon whiskey when he partnered with Frankfort banker James H. Graham to purchase the old Oscar Pepper Distillery and created the Labrot-Graham Distillery which exists today as Woodford Reserve. The Labrot home in Frankfort is located at 421 West Main Street.
Lilian Lindsey (1878 – 1939)
A charter member of The Garden Club of Frankfort, Lilian was the founder of the Frankfort Public Library, and served as its first librarian. In 2006 the Paul Sawyier Library building opened across the street from her former residence, the Vest-Lindsey House, at 401 Wapping Street.I
William Mayo (1862 – 1931)
The nineteen year old Cincinnatian, William Mayo became the first principal for the Frankfort Clinton Street School for African-Americans in 1882. He worked hard to create educational opportunities for blacks. The Mayo-Underwood High School was named in part in his honor. One of his greatest successes was the establishment of the State Normal School for Colored Persons in 1886, now Kentucky State University.
Theodore O’Hara (1820 – 1867)
Confederate soldier Theodore O’Hara is best remembered as author of the poem Bivouac of the Dead, one of the most popular poems ever written by a Kentuckian. Its lines appear in many of the country’s National Cemeteries and have been memorized by generations of Kentucky school children. O’Hara grew up in Frankfort, studied law, and was a journalist and editor of the Kentucky Yeoman.
Paul Sawyier (1865 – 1917)
Ohio born Paul Sawyier attended Second Street School and the Dudley Institute of Frankfort before studying at the Cincinnati Art Academy. He studied with accomplished artist Frank Duveneck. Sawyier captured many urban and rural scenes of Frankfort and Franklin County. He was locally famous for his impressionistic water colors and oil portraits.
Winnie Scott (1864 – 1926)
A teacher at Clinton Street Colored School, Scott was instrumental in establishing the Winnie A. Scott Hospital for African-Americans in Frankfort. The hospital opened in 1903 as the Women’s Improvement Club Hospital, located at 228 Second Street. It closed in 1959 when Kings Daughters Hospital desegregated. The structure itself was destroyed by fire in August of 1994. A high resolution photograph of Ms. Scott could not be found to create a street banner in her honor, but for her contributions she is included in this project.
Hal Sparks (1969)
Raised in Peaks Mill, actor/comedian Hal Sparks is best known for a hosting role on cable TV’s “Talk Soup” and a starring role in the ShowTime drama “Queer as Folk.” He began his professional career as a comedian at age 15 in Chicago. He also performed in the rock band Zero1. Sparks had a lead in the Disney sitcom “Lab Rats.” He was reportedly a cut-up at Peaks Mill Elementary School and the class clown at Elkhorn Elementary School.
George T. Stagg, Sr. (1834 – 1893)
Born in Garrard County to Samuel and Margaret Goodnight Stagg, George made quite an impact on the bourbon industry. He was a whiskey salesman in St. Louis and teamed up with Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr., to buy the distillery in 1878. The former George T. Stagg Distillery was renamed Buffalo Trace Distillery in June 1999. George T. Stagg died in Baltimore, Maryland and is buried in the Richmond, Kentucky Cemetery.
Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. (1830 – 1923)
Grandnephew of President Zachary Taylor, Edmund Haynes Taylor has been called the “father of the modern bourbon industry.” He was an expert at both the production and marketing of bourbon whiskey. Among his innovations were copper fermentation tanks, state of the art grain equipment, modernized buildings, a more efficient sour mash technique and a first-of-its- kind steam heating system. The Colonel served as Frankfort mayor for several terms and raised Hereford cattle on his Woodford County farm. He lived in the “Thistleton” mansion on Louisville Road and is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery, Section D.
Emily Thomas Tubman (1794 – 1885)
The sister of noted local historian and lawyer Landon Thomas, Emily was one of Frankfort’s most famous philanthropists. Following a devastating fire in 1870, she donated funds to restore the First Christian Church on Ann Street. Her generosity was also felt by Bethany College, and the Midway Orphan School (now Midway College). Tubman was the god-daughter of statesman Henry Clay, a family friend.
Edward Ellsworth Underwood (1864 – 1942)
E.E. Underwood was an African-American physician, minister, historian, editor, orator, politician, and poet who came to Frankfort from Ohio and established a medical practice here in 1891. He was a very vocal advocate for the rights of black citizens and was memorialized in the naming of the Mayo-Underwood School. He edited a black newspaper, the Bluegrass Bugle, from 1899 to 1918. Underwood was the first to organize the Frankfort Chapter of the NAACP.
George Graham Vest (1830 – 1904)
A Kentucky newspaper editor and U. S. Senator from Missouri, Vest was born in Frankfort and grew up at the Vest-Lindsey House at 401 Wapping Street. He is known for the essay “Tribute to a Dog,” which he made use of in testifying in a lawsuit seeking damages for the death of a favorite dog. The phrase “dog is man’s best friend” was developed from this essay. Vest was a member of the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War. He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.
James Wilkinson (1757 – 1825)
Patriot, general, spy: James Wilkinson was a consummate contradiction. At age twenty, the youngest general in the revolutionary Continental Army, serving with both Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr. Following the Revolutionary War he founded Frankfort, KY in 1786 as a trade center to send local flour, whiskey, tobacco and hemp down the KY River, the Ohio and the Mississippi River to New Orleans. While serving as the commander of American military forces he was “Agent 13” in the Spanish secret service! He schemed with Aaron Burr in a conspiracy to break up the Union.
Robert Burns Wilson (1850 – 1916)
An artist and poet, Wilson was born in Pennsylvania. He lived in Louisville for a time and then came to Frankfort at the behest of newspaperman S. I. M. Major. His poem “Remember the Maine,” commemorating the battleship USS Maine that sank in Havana harbor, was set to music and became the anthem to the 1898 Spanish American War. His 1900 novel Until the Day Break was based on the residents of the Vest-Lindsey house at 401 Wapping Street. An accomplished painter, his works rival those of Paul Sawyier and are often confused.
