Short answers, pulled from the story.
Frankfort takes its name from a pioneer named Stephen Frank, who was killed by Native Americans at a ford on the Kentucky River in 1780. Survivors named the crossing Frank's Ford in his memory, and the name shortened to Frankfort over time.
Five commissioners selected Frankfort as Kentucky's capital on the 20th of June 1792, after a competitive process. A key factor was an offer from a local named Andrew Holmes, who pledged his log house as a temporary capitol for seven years, along with town lots, £50 worth of locks and hinges, 10 boxes of glass, 1,500 pounds of nails, and $3,000 in gold.
As of the 2020 census, Frankfort had a population of 28,602, making it the 13th-largest city in Kentucky. It is the fourth-smallest state capital by population in the United States.
Confederate forces occupied Frankfort beginning on the 3rd of September 1862, making it the only Union state capital to be seized by Confederate troops during the Civil War. The occupation was brief and Union control was restored.
William Goebel was the 34th Governor of Kentucky. He was shot on the 3rd of February 1900, while walking toward the state capitol in Frankfort. Former Secretary of State Caleb Powers and several others were convicted of conspiracy in his murder, though all were eventually pardoned.
The Mayo-Underwood State Office Building, completed in 2019, is a state government office in Frankfort named after the Mayo-Underwood School, a public school for African American students that operated from 1929 to 1964. The school was torn down to make way for the Capital Plaza, which itself was demolished in 2018, and the replacement building was given the school's name.