Hodgenville

History

Robert Hodgen, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Virginia, 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. Abraham Lincoln 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. 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. U.S. Route 31E passes through the center of Hodgenville, leading northeast to Bardstown and south to Glasgow. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hodgenville has a total area of , of which , or 0.16%, are water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hodgenville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• LaRue County High School
  High · Hodgenville · 744 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Hodgenville Elementary School
  Elementary · Hodgenville · 539 students · 15:1 ratio
• LaRue County Middle School
  Middle · Hodgenville · 533 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
  Elementary · Hodgenville · 451 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Preschool on College Street
  Other · Hodgenville · 91 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• The Life Connection
  Other · Sonora · 35 students · 11.7:1 ratio