After citizens chose the center of Franklin County as the new county seat in an August 1848 election, the state legislature incorporated Frankfort because no town existed there, and it became the county seat in 1849. James T. Chisum, John Miller, Charles Womble, Claiborne W. Townsend, and Partain Burgess were appointed to organize the town. The area was surveyed, lots were sold, and the first buildings constructed were the courthouse and jail, believed to have been built with locally made bricks. In early 1850, a post office named “Courthouse” was established, and on August 13, 1850, John Miller became the first postmaster. The post office name changed to Frankfort on April 22, 1852, and remained open until 1909. Tuscumbia attorney L.B. Thornton wrote that in February 1862 Union forces destroyed records of the different courts and took $5,000 from the county treasurer in Frankfort. Frankfort remained the county seat until 1879, when another election moved the county seat to Belgreen. Although Frankfort no longer exists as it once did, it remains a small rural community.