Franklin County, Kentucky GenWeb
Church of the Good Shepherd
The first Catholic congregation in Frankfort met at the little tunnell house on the corner of High and Broadway. By 1837, the congregation had outgrown the little building and moved across the street to a larger building they called St. Patrick's Church.
Father
J. M. Lancaster, a priest of considerable personal wealth, was appointed
pastor of the Catholic community in Frankfort. His first concern was locating
a site for the construction of a new church.
The First Presbyterian Church of
Frankfort, located on Wapping Street was also growing and in search of a
site for their new church. Rev. Eli Smith and followers offered the old property
for sale. On November 11, 1848,
Father Lancaster purchased Frankfort's first Presbyterian Church and lot
for the benefit of the over-crowded congregation attending St. Patrick's
Church. The selling price for the property was $5,000. Father
Lancaster paid $1,500 cash and gave his note for the
balance.
John
Haley and his brother Denis had recently arrived in Frankfort. Father
Lancaster contracted the brothers to built the new church. While under
construction, the little Presbyterian Church remained standing and celebration
of mass was never interrupted. With construction completed, the old
Presbyterian Church was razed and the congregation moved into their new church,
which was dedicated as the Church of the Good Shepherd. In 1860 the first
Catholic school in Frankfort was established.
Few changes have been made to the original building. However, the choir loft was constructed after the original construction. The original construction lacked a center door, which caused difficulty for funeral processions. Father Lambert Young, contracted stonemason John Glenn to install the center door, which some thought would cause the steeple to crumble. Around 1869 the steeple bell was installed.
The Church of the Good Shepherd still stands today on Wapping Street and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources:
Frankfort
200 Celebration 1786-1986, by Frankfort's 200th Birthday Historical Research
Committee
Article
on Church of the Good Shepherd, by Nettie Henry
Glenn
Capital
on the Kentucky, by
Kramer
Frankfort
a Pictorial History, by Stuart Sprague and Elizabeth
Perkins
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