Harrodsburg, Kentucky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harrodsburg, Kentucky
City
Downtown Harrodsburg, 2007
Location of Harrodsburg in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Harrodsburg, Kentucky Location in Kentucky Show map of Kentucky Harrodsburg, Kentucky Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Mercer
Founded	June 16, 1774
Incorporated	March 1, 1836
Named for	James Harrod
Area
• Total	6.94 sq mi (17.98 km2)
• Land	6.92 sq mi (17.93 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation	850 ft (260 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,064
• Density	1,309.64/sq mi (505.63/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	40330
Area code(s)	859
FIPS code	21-34966
GNIS feature ID	0493831
Website	harrodsburgcity.org

Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census.

Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesborough and was not incorporated by the Kentucky legislature until 1836, it is usually considered the oldest city in Kentucky and has been honored as the oldest permanent American settlement west of the Appalachians.

History

Harrodstown (sometimes Harrod's Town) was laid out and founded by its namesake James Harrod on June 16, 1774. Amid Dunmore's War, the settlement was abandoned later the same year as a result of Native American attacks, but it was resettled a year later in 1775. Fear of attacks from the Native Americans during the American Revolutionary War left it one of only three settlements in Kentucky after 1777, along with Logan's Fort and Boonesborough. Also known as Oldtown, Harrodstown was the first seat of Virginia's Kentucky (1776), Lincoln (1780), and Mercer (1785) counties upon their formations. It remains the seat of Mercer County in Kentucky.

The settlement was formally established by the Virginia legislature in 1785 as Harrodsburg. In 1789, it was named the location of the Kentucky Federal District Court. The Kentucky legislature incorporated Harrodsburg in 1836.

During the Civil War, the town was pro-Confederate but Union control permitted the organization of the 19th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry at nearby Camp Harwood for a three-year enlistment commencing January 2, 1862, under the command of Col. William J. Landram. Following the Battle of Perryville, much of the city was converted into makeshift hospitals; 1600 sick and wounded Confederate soldiers were captured during a raid by the 9th Kentucky Cavalry under Lt Col. John Boyle on October 10, 1862. The city then remained under martial law for the remainder of the war.

The Louisville Southern Railroad (LS) network reached the city in 1888. Louisville Southern Railway's construction commenced in 1884 and ran from Louisville through Shelbyville and Lawrenceburg to Harrodsburg, which was reached in 1888. A spur was constructed to Burgin, where the Louisville Southern joined the Cincinnati Southern's Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway CNO&TP mainline. Now all run and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway.

Pioneer Memorial Park (now Old Fort Harrod State Park) was opened on June 16, 1927. In 1936, Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt honored the city with a monument honoring the 'first permanent settlement west of the Appalachians'.

Company D of the 192nd Tank Battalion in the Battle of Bataan was from Harrodsburg.

Home to Shaker Village. http://shakervillageky.org

Geography

Harrodsburg is located at 37°45′50″N 84°50′46″W / 37.76389°N 84.84611°W / 37.76389; -84.84611 (37.764019, -84.845974). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 sq mi (13.7 km²), all land.

Transportation

U.S. 127 runs north–south through Harrodsburg. U.S. 127 Bypass goes around Harrodsburg. U.S. 68 runs east–west through the city, but U.S. 68 turns onto U.S. 127 some of the time in Harrodsburg. SR 152 also runs east–west through the area.

Climate

Harrodsburg is in the humid subtropical climate zone, although verging on a humid continental climate. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are cool with mild periods.

Average high is 87 °F in July and August, the warmest months, with the average lows of 26 °F in January, the coolest month. The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F in September 1954. The lowest recorded temperature was -18 °F in January 1985. Average annual precipitation is 45.73 inches (1,162 mm), with the wettest month being May, averaging 4.68 inches (119 mm).

Demographics

Mercer County Courthouse, 2006

As of the census of 2000, 8,014 people, 3,449 households, and 2,234 families were residing in the city. The population density was 1,510.5/sq mi (583.2/km²). The 3,709 housing units had an average density of 699.1/sq mi (269.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.92% White, 7.52% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.15% of the population.

Of the 3,449 households, 31.3% had children under 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were not families. About 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.91.

The city's age distribution was 25.1% under 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was US $27,500, and for a family was $34,503. Males had a median income of $31,214 versus $21,216 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,327. About 14.2% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Sister city

• Unnao, India

Economy

• Hitachi Automotive Products is based in Harrodsburg.
• Corning Incorporated has a plant located in Harrodsburg that makes Gorilla Glass.

Education

Public education is provided by the Mercer County School District. These schools located are within the district:

• Mercer County Senior High School

Conover Education Center (Campbellsville University Branch) of Harrodsburg

The Harrodsburg Independent Schools, which operated Harrodsburg High School, merged into the Mercer County Schools in 2006.

Harrodsburg has a lending library, the Mercer County Public Library.

Harrodsburg's Beaumont Inn (1917–present) was known as the Christian Baptist School (1830–1833), Greeneville Institute (1841–1856), Daughters' College (1856–1893), Young Ladies College (1893–1894), Beaumont College (1895–1915), and Daughters' College (1916), prior to becoming Beaumont Inn.

Notable people

• Ralph G. Anderson, founder Belcan Corporation, philanthropist
• Jane T. H. Cross (1817–1870), author
• Maria T. Daviess (1814–1896), author; grandmother of Maria Thompson Daviess
• Maria Thompson Daviess (1872–1924), author
• Jason Dunn, National Football League player
• David Winfield Huddleston, Christian author and minister
• Rachel Jackson, wife of President Andrew Jackson
• Frances Wisebart Jacobs, philanthropist
• Dennis Johnson, National Football League player
• William Logan, politician
• Beriah Magoffin, Governor of Kentucky (1859 − 1862) and namesake of Magoffin County, Kentucky
• William Sullivan, politician and lawyer
• John Burton Thompson, politician
• Al Wilson, actor and stunt pilot
• Craig Yeast, National Football League player

See also

In Spanish: Harrodsburg (Kentucky) para niños