Frankfort community powers flood cleanup after historic river crest in capital
Men dressed in white coveralls splattered with mud were busy cleaning out flood-damaged businesses along Main Street Friday in Kentucky’s capital city, where leftover sandbags were still piled around some storefronts.
Multiple days of relentless rainfall last week brought the Kentucky River at Frankfort Lock to a historic crest of 48.27 feet early Monday morning, just a few inches shy of its all-time record. Flood waters have been gradually receding since, but not without claiming the life of a 9-year-old Frankfort boy, who was swept away as he walked to his bus stop April 5.
The state’s death toll from the flooding stands at seven.
In an emailed response Monday, Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson was unable to provide a final total on the extent of flood-related property damage in downtown Frankfort. Damage assessments have been completed, Wilkerson said, not yet input and tallied.
Just outside of Hoggy’s, a popular ice cream shop in downtown Frankfort, a waist-high wall of sandbags barricaded St. Clair Street Friday.
April 6, before the river reached its crest, locals were lining the doors of Hoggy’s with sandbags and tarps as co-owner Crissy Hogsten worked to move kitchen equipment to higher ground.
The following Friday, the ice cream shop seemed to have been spared from the floodwaters, which locals said stopped a few feet away down St. Clair Street. A friendly employee was working behind the counter, but didn’t want to be interviewed.
Across the street at Wicked Whisk bakery, co-owner Charlie VanHoose was feeling for the loss many have experienced in her community.
Spared from the worst of the damage, the bakery assembled care boxes packed with essentials, VanHoose said. Having just opened in January, her business relies on the community’s support, and she’s ready to pay it forward, VanHoose said.
“The community has been wonderful to us and we would love to return the kindness,” VanHoose said.
Further down Main Street at Goodwood Brewing, bar manager Nicholas Johnson was ready to welcome back patrons with warmth.
Goodwood, which serves burgers and brews in a restaurant overlooking the Kentucky River, was closed for most of the week and reopened April 10. It’s an inviting place with warm wooden interiors and a pleasantly smoky smell in the air.
The prior week, as water began entering Goodwood’s basement, staff worked to relocate equipment to higher ground. The business saw some damage, but Johnson tried to look at the bright side, describing it as an opportunity to give customers “something new to come back to.”
Next door at Bourbon on Main, Johnson said the damage twas much more extensive, given high water at one point engulfed the restaurant’s riverside deck. Bourbon on Main remained closed as of Friday.
Amid disaster, Johnson sees people helping one another, something you don’t see everyday.
“I’m proud of Frankfort for banding together,” Johnson said.
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This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 4:50 AM.