Sonora is a home rule-class city in

Hardin County, Kentucky Hardin County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was formed in 1792. Hardin County is part of the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, as we ...

, United States. The population was 513 at the 2010 census, up from 350 at the 2000 census. It is included in the

Elizabethtown, Kentucky Elizabethtown is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, and was estimated at 30,289 by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019, making it the 11th-largest city ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Sonora began as an

L&N Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

construction camp known as "Bucksnort" in the late 1850s. This name is believed to have been inspired by the sounds of early locomotives, which the workers thought resembled

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

snorts.Robert Rennick,
Kentucky Place Names
' (University Press of Kentucky, 2013). When a depot was established at the site in 1859, the name was changed to "Sonora". This may have referred to

Sonora, Mexico Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

, the home of a railroad contractor.

Geography

Sonora is located in southeastern Hardin County at (37.525783, -85.894373). The city is concentrated around the intersection of

Kentucky Route 84 Kentucky Route 84 (KY 84) is a state highway in Kentucky that runs from KY 401 southwest of Hudson to KY 49 and KY 52 in Lebanon via Eastview, Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State ...

and Kentucky Route 720, with its municipal boundaries stretching eastward to the Hardin- LaRue county line.

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

passes through the eastern end of the city, with access from Exit 81. I-65 leads north to Elizabethtown, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, and south to Munfordville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.98%, are water.

Demographics

At the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, there were 350 people, 138 households and 85 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 423.3 per square mile (162.8/km). There were 159 housing units at an average density of 192.3 per square mile (74.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 94.86%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 2.86%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.29% Native American, 0.29%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.71% from two or more races. There were 138 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.22. The age distribution was 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $27,361 and the median family income was $37,500. Males had a median income of $28,438 and females $14,038. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $13,554. About 6.1% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Hardin County, Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Elizabethtown metropolitan area