[music playing] [music playing] We're having a great time here today at Liberty Hall in Frankfort, exploring this fantastic old home.

This is John Walker.

He's the curator of collections here.

John, thanks so much for letting us be here today.

Absolutely.

Thank you for being here.

So, tell us the story of John Brown and his wife.

Why are they such important and influential figures in Kentucky history?

Well, the main reason is because John Brown was our representative when we were still a part of Virginia, and he was sent to Philadelphia and New York and Washington as the capital changed time and time again to represent our interests.

And our interests were specifically to get trade navigation on the Mississippi River and to create a state.

They wanted independence from our mother state, Virginia.

And he was instrumental in the creation of Kentucky as a state, correct?

Absolutely.

As Isaac Shelby and Daniel Boone and all of our known founders are here at Danville and eventually Lexington, fighting to create this independent entity on the ground here.

John Brown is our representative in Congress.

And in fact, he went to Congress in 1788.

His roommate was James Madison, and he was pushing for these things.

And Madison said, “Wait, wait.

We can get you all in, but we have this new government coming."

So, he was present when the Constitutional Congress was convening to create the Constitution that we have today.

Such a remarkable figure in history.

And when he built this place, Liberty Hall was really ahead of its time when it was constructed, wasn't it?

It really was.

In a way, it was actually more of a retirement home for him.

He was living on the road most of his life.

When he started building this place, he knew he wanted to be in the Capitol.

Frankfort had just been chosen as the capital city, and he wanted a place that was open and accessible, but also made a statement.

This is a man who was sending private letters to Washington and Jefferson and Madison.

And he knew that people would be coming West.

This was a very small capital city.

When they came here, this building said, “This is a place where power resides.” It was a statement piece.

It really was.

And a lot of famous people came through here back in the day.

Extremely.

People we don't even know, because it was the place you stopped off.

If you went to the old governor's mansion today, you also came here.

This is where you came.

And we've been to a lot of old houses this season, a lot of older structures.

They all have a great ghost story, and you've got one as well.

We do.

So, the Browns had a daughter, and she passed away very young.

Margaretta, the wife, grieved for a long time.

And her aunt came from New York to help her through that grief.

Helped get the house in order, in a way.

Helped her get back on her feet.

And the aunt came here, and her name was Margaretta Varick.

And she passed away three days after getting here.

Since then, there have been stories of people who have seen this figure, this ghostly figure throughout the home.

She is kind of a benevolent helper within the home.

Well, it really is a remarkable story and a remarkable place.

John, thanks so much for letting us be here today.

We look forward to continuing to explore the place.

Yeah, thank you so much.

[music playing]