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Frankfort, Indiana
Clinton County Courthouse in Frankfort
Clinton County Courthouse in Frankfort
Location of Frankfort in Clinton County, Indiana.
Location of Frankfort in Clinton County, Indiana.
Country United States
State Indiana
County Clinton
Township Center
Founded 1830
Incorporated 1846
Named for Frankfurt am Main
Area
 • Total 8.05 sq mi (20.86 km2)
 • Land 8.05 sq mi (20.86 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
850 ft (259 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 16,715
 • Density 2,075.11/sq mi (801.21/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
46041
Area code(s) 765
FIPS code 18-25324
GNIS feature ID 0434761
Website frankfort-in.gov

Frankfort is a city in Clinton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,422 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clinton County.

History

Brothers John, William and Nicholas Pence, previously of Warren County, Ohio, settled on the land on which Frankfort now stands in 1869, having entered it from the government in 1867 and 1868. In 1860, the brothers donated 60 acres (240,000 m2) of the land to the county commissioners, a donation which led to the establishment of the county seat at that site rather than in Jefferson, a community which had also been vying for the honor. The new town was named Frankfort at the brothers' request and honors their German great-grandparents' home of Frankfurt am Main.

The town of Frankfort was laid off on the 60-acre (240,000 m2) tract by William Douglass, the county agent, and the plat filed on June 8, 1830. The original plat consisted of 64 lots in eight blocks surrounding a public square where the courthouse now stands. The county board paid contractors Allen & Michael the sum of $20 to erect the first courthouse, a 1+12-story temporary structure made a logs hewn from trees that grew on the square and surrounding streets. Its replacement was built by contractor John Elder in 1837–1838 for $12,000 and operated for 45 years. Indianapolis architect George W. Bunting in 1881 designed the third courthouse, a 165-foot (50 m) tall structure built of Indiana limestone by contractors Farman & Pearce for approximately $200,000. Its cornerstone was laid September 2, 1882.

The youngest elected Mayor of Frankfort was Robert Keene at the age of 21 when he took office in January 1922 just one month prior to the fire at Old Stoney on February 24, 1922. At the time of the fire, Old Stoney was used as the High School. Today, Old Stoney is used as City Hall.

In addition to Old Stoney, the Christian Ridge Historic District, Clinton County Courthouse, Charles H. and Emma Condon House, Frankfort Commercial Historic District, and South Frankfort Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Frankfort has a total area of 6.31 square miles (16.34 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1850 582
1860 773 32.8%
1870 1,300 68.2%
1880 2,803 115.6%
1890 5,919 111.2%
1900 7,100 20.0%
1910 8,634 21.6%
1920 11,585 34.2%
1930 12,196 5.3%
1940 13,706 12.4%
1950 15,028 9.6%
1960 15,302 1.8%
1970 14,956 −2.3%
1980 15,168 1.4%
1990 14,754 −2.7%
2000 16,662 12.9%
2010 16,422 −1.4%
2020 16,715 1.8%
Source: US Census Bureau

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 16,422 people, 5,835 households, and 3,972 families living in the city. The population density was 2,602.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,004.8/km2). There were 6,551 housing units at an average density of 1,038.2 per square mile (400.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 71.9% White, 0.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 13.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.0% of the population.

There were 5,835 households, of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.9% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.26.

The median age in the city was 33.5 years. 28.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.4% were from 25 to 44; 22.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

Transportation

Airport

Frankfort is served by the Frankfort Municipal Airport.

Highways

U.S. 421 and Indiana state routes 28, 39 and 75 converge in the city. Interstate 65 is a short distance to the west of Frankfort.

Rail

The city is at the junction of several rail lines. The Monon Railroad (The Hoosier and the Tippecanoe Chicago-Indianapolis trains), New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate) (The Blue Arrow and the Blue Dart St. Louis-Cleveland trains) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (The Kentuckian [Chicago-Indianapolis] and South Wind [Chicago-Miami/Tampa/St. Petersburg] trains) ran passenger trains through the city. Successor railroads such as CSX and Norfolk Southern have the tracks or right of ways of the routes today.

Education

Public

  • Community Schools of Frankfort

In the fall of 2013 Ivy Tech opened a campus in Frankfort on a site that once housed The Frankfort Times, the local newspaper.

The city has a free lending library, the Frankfort Community Public Library.

Notable people

  • Charles Aidman, film and television actor. He appeared several times on The Twilight Zone and The Wild Wild West and in such films as Pork Chop Hill.
  • Anthony Caruso, film and television actor. He appeared several times on Perry Mason and also on Star Trek and in such films as The Asphalt Jungle.
  • Everett Case, who made Frankfort his home for more than 20 years and coached the men's high school basketball team to state championships in 1925, 1929, 1936, and 1939
  • Kyle Cook from the bands Matchbox Twenty and The New Left
  • Reuben W. Coon, Illinois state legislator, newspaper editor, and lawyer
  • Jim Davis, legislator
  • Will Geer, film and stage actor, best known as Grandpa Zeb on The Waltons and for movies such as Winchester '73 and Bandolero!
  • Rana Foroohar, financial reporter for Time
  • Mahlon D. Manson, Union Army brigadier general (died in Frankfort while returning home via train from Monticello to Crawfordsville)
  • John Stonebraker, NFL player
  • James P. Ulm, U.S. Air Force brigadier general
  • Talitha Washington, mathematician and STEM education activist at Howard University

See also

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