Alright, right here on your right is the Old Governor’s Mansion-though back when it was built in 1798, locals liked to call it the “Palace.” Not a bad bit of real estate for a place built from funds set aside by the Kentucky General Assembly-three thousand dollars back then, which is roughly seventy thousand dollars in today’s money. Of course, it’s gotten a touch-up or two along the way: note the splash of Victorian design in the windows and trim, layered over its original style like architectural patchwork.
This spot claims a dramatic history-fires, long bouts of neglect, and enough political maneuvering to fill a novel. Somehow, it’s hung on as the official residence for Kentucky’s lieutenant governor longer than any executive mansion in the lower forty-eight. Imagine the guest list: Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, French royalty, even the Marquis de Lafayette blowing through for a nightcap. The bricklayer and stonemason who helped build it-Robert Letcher and Thomas Metcalf-both wound up as governors and lived here. Now, it’s in the care of the Kentucky Historical Society.
Alright, ready to keep exploring? The Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort is just a 4-minute walk northeast.
