Hodgenville is a home rule-class city in

LaRue County, Kentucky LaRue County is a county in the central region of the U.S. state of Kentucky, outside the Bluegrass Region and larger population centers. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,867. Its county seat is Hodgenville, which is best known ...

, United States. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of its county. Hodgenville sits along the North Fork of the Nolin River. The population was 3,206 at the 2010 census. It is included in the

Elizabethtown metropolitan area The Elizabethtown–Fort Knox Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Kentucky, anchored by the city of Elizabethtown and the nearby Fort Knox Army post. As of the 20 ...

and is best known for being the birthplace of the 16th

United States president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

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 ...

History

Robert Hodgen, a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

native who moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, purchased of land in the vicinity. In 1789, after the Revolutionary War, when settlers started moving west into Kentucky, he built a mill at the site. After his death, the community that developed around it was called "Hodgenville" upon the petition of his widow and children. The United States post office at the site, however, was known as "Hodgensville" from 1826 to 1904. The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly on February 18, 1836.Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Hodgenville, Kentucky". Accessed 29 July 2013.

Abraham Lincoln birthplace

was born in a small cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville on February 12, 1809. About two years later, the family moved to another farm in the Hodgenville area. Despite claims made later, the cabin Lincoln was born in was likely destroyed by the time of his assassination. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park labels the replica cabin, which was built thirty years after his death, the "Traditional Lincoln Birthplace Cabin". The significance of the two Hodgenville sites (birthplace and boyhood home) are found in the setting. Preservation of these two national sites allows visitors to see the landscape of the earliest period of Abraham Lincoln's life. The Lincoln Museum is opened for visitors downtown, and two bronze Abraham Lincoln statues stand at the town square, one of Lincoln as a child, the other as an adult.

Geography

Hodgenville is in central LaRue County, in the valley of the North Fork of the Nolin River, a west- and south-flowing tributary of the Green River. It is southeast of Elizabethtown via

Kentucky Route 61 Kentucky Route 61 (KY 61) is a long Kentucky State Highway extending north from the Tennessee state line in Cumberland County to Columbia in Adair County through to Greensburg in Green County. From there, the route traverses LaRue, Hard ...

. U.S. Route 31E passes through the center of Hodgenville, leading northeast to Bardstown and south to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Hodgenville has a total area of , of which , or 0.16%, are 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 The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Hodgenville has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

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 2,874 people, 1,235 households, and 781 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,349 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.64%

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 ...

, 11.27%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 1.43% 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 1.18% of the population. There were 1,235 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.76. The age distribution was 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,132, and the median income for a family was $37,125. Males had a median income of $30,678 versus $18,095 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 $14,794. About 16.9% of families and 22.3% 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 27.7% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hodgenville has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, the LaRue County Public Library. The county's public school system includes two elementary, one middle, and one high school, all located in Hodgenville. Notable people * Danny Little Bear, professional wrestler * Erin Boley, former

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

basketball player who has also represented the US in international 3-on-3 competition *

, 16th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

; born in Hodgenville.

References

External links

* {{authority control * Cities in Kentucky Cities in LaRue County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Elizabethtown metropolitan area Abraham Lincoln