History
The history of Liberty Hall Historic Site can be traced back to 1786, when General James Wilkinson purchased much of the land that is downtown Frankfort. Wilkinson laid out the town of Frankfort, naming the streets for friends, famous people and places, and even 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 ultimately sold the tract that includes Liberty Hall to Frankfort resident Andrew Holmes. In 1796, Holmes sold the four acres to Senator John Brown (Kentucky).
John Brown began construction of a home on the property shortly after purchasing it, though he was often away in Philadelphia. The architect of Liberty Hall is unknown, although John himself may have done some of the design. One of the earliest brick homes in Frankfort, the bricks were fired locally from clay dug from the cellar. The construction continued until 1800 when the house was substantially complete, lacking 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.
In 1835 John Brown divided his property in order that his sons would have equal inheritance. His elder son, Mason, would inherit Liberty Hall. For his younger son, Orlando, Brown hired Gideon Shryock, designer of the Kentucky Capitol, to design a new house. Constructed in the Greek Revival 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 leaving 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. They opened the house as a museum in 1937. The Orlando Brown House was occupied until 1955. At her death, Orlando Brown's last remaining descendant, Anne Hord Brown left the house to the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Kentucky (NSCDA-KY). The Dames opened the house as a museum in 1955.
Read more about this topic: Liberty Hall (Frankfort, Kentucky)
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