Kentucky: National Guard History eMuseum

National Register Plaque - "This property has been place on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior

In 1850 the Kentucky legislature ordered the building of the State Arsenal and appropriated $8,000 to pay for its construction. The initial appropriation bill required that the State Arsenal be at least one-half mile away from the state capitol. This distance would protect the capitol from damage like that suffered in 1836 when an earlier arsenal on the capitol grounds exploded and burned.

Frankfort resident Nathaniel C. Cook was the architect selected to design the building. Cook also designed several other public buildings in Kentucky, including courthouses and churches. He had served as a private in the First Kentucky Regiment of Mounted Volunteers in the Mexican War and in the Civil War was a member of the 36th Regiment of Enrolled Militia called out by the governor to defend Frankfort against Confederate raiders in June 1864. The success of this defense probably saved the Arsenal from destruction at the hands of the Confederates.

Picture of fire at Old State Arsenal 1934

Upon completion, the two-story, brick, Gothic-revival "castle" became the primary depot for some 12,000 weapons. These weapons would be used to equip Kentucky's troops as well as the local citizenry. The Arsenal also served as a cartridge factory during the first years of the Civil War. Union troops from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan were all supplied with ammunition made by the ladies of Frankfort. During the 1862 capture of Frankfort by Confederate forces, the cartridge factory ceased operation. Only capable of holding Frankfort for one month in 1862, the Confederates once again had the opportunity to capture Kentucky's capital city in 1864. During this attack the State Arsenal came under fire for the only time in its history. Union gunners on the Arsenal lawn exchanged shots with Confederate cavalrymen on the opposite bank of the Kentucky River, contributing to the failure of the Confederate attack.

Following the Civil War, the Arsenal resumed its function as munitions storehouse, supplying troops of the Kentucky State Guard in several riots, the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border Campaign, and the First World War. In 1934, a fire of indeterminate origin gutted the interior of the building and destroyed its contents. The exterior brick walls of the structure remained serviceable and a new interior was constructed.

Old State Arsenal

By the early 1970s, the Department of Military Affairs had built a new complex called Boone National Guard Center and the State Arsenal was no longer needed. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Historical Society's restoration of the Old State Capitol had displaced the extensive collection of weapons and other military relics once housed there. In 1973, officials of both agencies decided to place this collection in the State Arsenal, thus creating the Kentucky Military History Museum.