A Folk Hero, a Bit of History…and Lunch

…continuing with our exploration of the area around Lexington Kentucky this past October.  Laurie’s sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill had driven over to Lexington from the St. Louis Missouri environs to join us…

After our tour of Kentucky’s state capitol building in Frankfort, our next stop was a historic cemetery.  This scenic cemetery was first established in February of 1845.  The Frankfort Cemetery was only the second Memorial Park to be incorporated in the USA.  It is still in use today. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution established a plot in this cemetery in 1916.  Beginning with the reinternment of 3 Revolutionary War patriots, that hallowed ground now honors 14 persons that have been reinterred or who have memorial headstones in place. 

Three former Governors of Kentucky are also buried in the Frankfort Cemetery…

This is the gravesite of perhaps the best known and most revered Kentuckian.  In 1845, frontiersman, explorer and politician Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca Boone were the first persons to be laid to rest in this cemetery.  Actually they had died in Missouri where Daniel had moved due to financial problems.  When he and Rebecca died, (1820 and 1813 respectively), they were buried near Marthasville Missouri.  Their remains were moved back to Kentucky.  Missourians were none too happy about this event and there is some evidence and much speculation that the wrong remains were disinterred and moved.  In any case, Daniel and Rebecca’s ‘alleged’ remains were moved to Frankfort and they were reinterred with great fanfare in September of 1845. 

There is one other famous person buried in the Frankfort Cemetery that is worthy of note.  Richard Mentor Johnson, the ninth Vice President of the United States.  He served in that position under President Martin Van Buren from 1837 until 1841.  Johnson is the only Vice President elected by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment.  This Amendment held that the Senate would hold a contingent election for Vice President if no candidate won a majority of the Vice Presidential electoral votes.

Johnson was much criticized for his relationship with Julia Chinn, a mixed-race slave who was classified as an octoroon…7/8ths white.  Unlike other upper-class planters and leaders who had African American mistresses but never acknowledged them, Johnson treated Chinn as his common-law wife.  He acknowledged their 2 daughters as his children, ensuring their education as well as giving them his surname.  It was this relationship that caused his ‘election’ as Vice President.  Julia had died in 1833.  However, due to Johnson’s open relationship with her and his acceptance of their daughters, the State of Virginia refused to award Johnson with their electoral votes for Vice President in 1837.  This led to the Senate vote that made Johnson the Vice President… 

Another highlight of our visit to the Frankfort Cemetery was our views of city of Frankfort, the Capitol building and the Kentucky River. 

Frankfort is likely to have been named after an event that took place there in the 1780s.  Native Americans attacked a group of early European colonists from Bryan Station.  They were making salt as a ford in the Kentucky River.  Pioneer Stephen Frank was killed and the settlers began calling the crossing “Frank’s Ford”…later changing it to Frankfort.

During the American Civil War the Union Army built fortifications on what is now called Fort Hill, which overlooks the city.  In 1862 the Confederate Army occupied the town for a short time, the only time that rebel forces took control of a Union capitol. 

With a population of only 28,602, Frankfort is the 4^th smallest state capitol in the USA.  Only Montpelier Vermont, Pierre South Dakota and Augusta Maine have fewer residents.  Juneau Alaska is slightly larger than Frankfort...

FYI, the Kentucky River is a 260 mile long tributary of the Ohio River.  It is navigable as far upriver as Lock 4 at Frankfort.  Other former locks to the east have been permanently closed…

After our exploration of Kentucky’s State Capitol and our visit to the Frankfort Cemetery, it was time for lunch.  I’d done a little research and I was intrigued by the name and description of the Cliffside Diner.  I can tell you that our SUV’s GPS system had a heck of a time finding it though!  “Cliffside” is definitely a great description of this diner’s location…

The interior was a little ‘off putting’ but there was no doubt that Cliffside is an established old time diner.  Not only were they coping with the State’s Covid-19 requirements but as an added attraction, we were nearing Halloween and they had decorated appropriately.  I left out the photo showing stacks of disinfectant and sanitizer supported with a lot of paper towels…

I took this nice photo of Bill and Bonnie at our booth in the diner.  Bill is almost smiling! 

To prevent the spread of Covid-19, Cliffside had hung sheets of plastic between the booths.  The ‘look’ wasn’t good even if the intention was admirable.  I’m sure that the goal for the owners was to stay in business despite the ‘plague’ that was still impacting so many small businesses.

Cliffside’s menu is classic diner…with breakfast items, soups and salads, a broad variety of sandwiches, combos, specials, platters and desserts.  Bill chose a fried bologna sandwich sided with French fries for his luncheon repast… He really liked it!

Both Bonnie and Laurie decided to order bacon cheeseburgers…Laurie with cottage cheese as her side and Bonnie opting for a vegetable medley.  Both reported that the burgers were juicy and quite tasty…

I had to be different…so I ordered an open faced roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes with gravy.  In addition to the sliced tomatoes, as my bread accompaniment, I ordered cornbread.  I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be Johnnycake…a fried cornmeal version of a pancake.  I enjoyed my luncheon comfort food!

FYI…Johnnycakes were also called journey cakes because they could be carried on long trips in saddlebags and then baked along the way.  Some historians believe that they were originally called Shawnee cakes and that colonists slurred the words.  Another possibility was that the American Indian word “janiken”, which meant ‘corn cake’, could possibly be the origin. 

The Cliffside Diner is located at 235 Old Lawrenceburg Road in Frankfort Kentucky.  They are open Monday – Friday from 11 AM until 7 PM, Saturday from 8:30 AM until 7 PM and Sunday from 8:30 AM until 3 PM.  Phone: 859-234-7946.  Cliffside Diner is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cliffside/104023089944761.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave