Greensburg is a home rule-class city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Green County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 2,163 at the 2010 census, down from 2,396 at the 2000 census. The Downtown Greensburg Historic District is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and includes the oldest courthouse west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Geography

Greensburg is located east of the center of Green County at (37.259665, -85.497863), on the north side of the Green River, a west-flowing tributary of the Ohio River. U.S. Route 68 passes through the city as Main Street; it leads northeast to Campbellsville and southwest to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. Kentucky Route 61 joins US 68 on Main Street through Greensburg; KY 61 leads northwest to Elizabethtown and southeast to Columbia. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Greensburg has a total area of , of which , or 0.59%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Greensburg has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The highest recorded temperature at Greensburg was on July 28, 1930, the highest temperature ever recorded in Kentucky.

History

The 1780 settlement was originally known as "Glover's Station", for local landowner John Glover, who received in the area as a military grant after the American Revolution. Following the establishment of Green County (named for Revolutionary War Maj. General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

) from parts of Lincoln and Nelson counties in 1792, Greensburg was laid out and established two years later as its eponymous seat of government. It was incorporated as a city a year after that. The central Public Square was also laid out in 1795 and has been retained as designed since then, with the only changes being the paving of the square with concrete and the installation of concrete dividers in the four quadrants. The first post office arrived in 1807 and was variously known as "Greensburg" and "Greensburg Court House" during the early 19th century. The first courthouse in Greensburg was established in 1803. The first bank, Greensburg Independent Bank, was established in 1818. The first known school in Greensburg, called Greenburg Academy, was open from 1815 to 1818.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,396 people, 1,061 households, and 648 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,190 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.99%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.63% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population. There were 1,061 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.75. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,556, and the median income for a family was $29,818. Males had a median income of $26,065 versus $18,031 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,296. About 21.3% of families and 24.8% 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 ...

, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Greensburg has a lending library, the Green County Public Library. The public school system, Green County Public Schools, consists of 4 different schools. As of 2021, the school system consists of 1,648 students.

Events

Greensburg holds an annual festival called Cow Days

Notable people

* John Richard Barret, U.S. congressman from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

* Aylette Buckner, U.S. congressman from Kentucky * George Washington Buckner, physician and diplomat; United States minister to Liberia from 1913 to 1915 * Richard Aylett Buckner, U.S. congressman from Kentucky and father of Aylette Buckner * Mentor Graham, teacher best known for tutoring Abraham Lincoln * Aaron Harding, U.S. congressman from Kentucky * Rod Henderson, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

* William Herndon, friend and biographer of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

* Edward H. Hobson, Union Army general during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

* Blake Judd, independent filmmaker * John W. Lewis, U.S. congressman from Kentucky * Dakota Meyer,

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and Medal of Honor recipient * William Thomas Ward, Union general during the Civil War and U.S. congressman

References

External links

City of Greensburg official website
{{authority control * Cities in Green County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Cities in Kentucky 1794 establishments in Kentucky