Hodgenville, Kentucky

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Hodgenville is a home rule-class city<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in LaRue County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Hodgenville sits along the North Fork of the Nolin River. The population was 3,206 at the 2010 census.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> It is included in the Elizabethtown metropolitan area and is best known for being the birthplace of the 16th United States president Abraham Lincoln.

History

File:Hodgenville, Kentucky (1904).jpg

Hodgenville in 1904

Robert Hodgen, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Virginia, purchased Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly on February 18, 1836.<ref name=sos>Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "Hodgenville, Kentucky". Accessed 29 July 2013.</ref>

Abraham Lincoln birthplace

Template:Main Abraham Lincoln was born in a small cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville on February 12, 1809.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> About two years later, the family moved to another farm in the Hodgenville area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book Template:Dead link</ref>

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 Template:Convert southeast of Elizabethtown via Kentucky Route 61. U.S. Route 31E passes through the center of Hodgenville, leading northeast Template:Convert to Bardstown and south Template:Convert to Glasgow.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hodgenville has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert, or 0.16%, are water.<ref name=Gazetteer>Template:Cite web</ref>

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, Hodgenville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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LaRue County Courthouse

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 2,874 people, 1,235 households, and 781 families living in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,349 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 86.64% White, 11.27% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 for the city was $14,794. About 16.9% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hodgenville has a lending library, the LaRue County Public Library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county's public school system includes two elementary, one middle, and one high school, all located in Hodgenville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people