The R. T. Brooks Pavilion

The R. T. Brooks Pavilion. . R.T. Brooks was born in Shelby County in 1917. A graduate of Frankfort High School, he attended Eastern State Normal School. He served in the 83rd Infantry during five campaigns in World War II, including Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. For forty-four years, he was an employee of National Distillers. , Mr. Brooks was an outstanding athlete and participated in many sports. He played golf skillfully into his nineties. One of his sons, Steve was director of the City of Frankfort Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Sites for many years. He and his wife Betty Jean Smith Brooks had three other sons; Bruce, David, and Glenn. , This pavilion is both a functional shelter and a demonstration of the building skills used by early settlers across the eastern United States. The timbers in its frame were all hewn by hand at an outdoor workshop site about two miles away, then brought here and erected according to plans developed by a master builder. The Shelters frame is held together by wooden pegs rather than nails. The slate roofing was shaped by hand as well. , This structure was erected in July, 2009 as part of the Frankfort Preservation Rendezvous, a traditional skills workshop sponsored by the Preservation Trades Network, Inc. the Timber Framers Guild, and the Slate Roofing Contractors Association. Rudy Christian of Christian and Son, Inc. designed the structure. Buckingham Slate Company donated the slate. The Slate Roofing Contractors Association donated the copper flashing and nails. Members of the Slate Roofing Contractors Association installed the roof. Meyer Midwest provided scaffolding.