MG Billy G. Wellman The Kentucky National Guard's Armory 1, located on Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, was named in honor of MG Billy Wellman during a ceremony on October 21, 2006
Frankfort’s Kentucky National Guard Armory # 1 is located in the heart of Boone Center. The facility was named in honor of former Adjutant General, MG Billy Wellman, during a ceremony on October 21, 2006. Architect Jaspar Ward designed the armory with engineering by E. R. Ronald and Associates, consulting engineers, and Hummel Engineering Associates, Inc., structural engineers.
Much like the previous armory of 1957, it is a long, rectangular, single story, flat roofed brick structure, with a raised central clerestory over the drill hall. The building front is designed in a simple but elegant manner and the landscaping and the reflecting lake in front of the building enhance its beauty.
Inside, offices and classrooms in a U-shaped arrangement surround the drill hall area, a space that steps down below the floor level of the rest of the building. The armory is the home of Joint Forces Kentucky Headquarters, replacing the more familiar State Area Command (STARC) reflecting the current progress toward fighting, training and command and control in a truly joint environment with not only the Kentucky Army and Air National Guard but also representatives from other reserve component command across the state of Kentucky. Kentucky’s number one armory houses the largest number of units in the state with many unique to Frankfort including: 63rd Aviation Group, HHC, 63rd Aviation, Co F, 135th Aviation, Co B, 2-147th Aviation, Det 1, Co D, 2-147th Aviation, Det 1 Co E, 2-147th Aviation, Det 1, HHC, 2-147th Aviation, Det 2, Co C, 1-69th Aviation, Det 5, Co D, 1-169th Aviation, Det 5, Co E, 1-169th Aviation, Co C, 1-134th Aviation (S&S), 141st Personnel Service Detachment and Det 1, 207th Maintenance.
Frankfort was the first city in the state to have a military building - the State Arsenal - built in 1850. The State Arsenal occupied a strategic place on the side of a hill overlooking the Kentucky River. Weapons were stored in the Arsenal, and it housed offices as well.
Before the State Police building, the wooden storage building on Maryland Avenue was one of two buildings that served as armories for the National Guard. A stable was erected in 1932 at the Maryland Avenue site when a cavalry unit was located in Frankfort. The earlier armory on Louisville Road was completed in 1957 and used until 1974.
View photos from the 1958 dedication ceremony.
The drill hall has seen many remarkable events and regularly hosts not only military events such as general officer promotions and changes of command or receptions for new Adjutants General but it has also often been used by members of the community for all manner and stripe of events ranging from political receptions to circuses and truckload tool sales. The armory is truly a community resource and one of a few structures in the community with a large open space that the community can use for a variety of activities. This is true of armories all over the Commonwealth.