Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state. It is the principal city of and is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Louisville–Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Scottsburg, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area.

Geography
Elizabethtown is located at 37.70278°N, -85.86611°W (37.702674, &minus;85.866173).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.8 square miles (66.9 km2). 25.4 square miles (65.7 km2) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km2) of it (1.77%) is water.

On the list (by population) of all metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau, Elizabethtown has a population of 28,531. Population estimates are current as of the 2010 Census. Metropolitan statistical area names are current as of December 1, 2005. The Elizabethtown metropolitan area includes Radcliff, a city of almost the same size as "E-town"; the housing area of the Fort Knox Army base; the unincorporated town of Rineyville, where Abraham Lincoln's school teacher lived; and other communities such as Glendale, Hodgenville and Eastview.

History
Samuel Haycraft, Jr., in his History of Elizabethtown, wrote in 1869: "For who can tell what Elizabethtown will be with her delightful location, her enterprising and energetic population, her railroad facilities, her fine water, and her surroundings of intelligent and gentlemanly farmers, the best fruit country in the world, and her future manufactories that must spring up, and when it becomes a large city it will be well to look back upon her starting point."

Founded by in July 1797, Elizabethtown is the Hardin County seat. In 1779, three early settlers, Capt. Thomas Helm, Col. Andrew Hynes, and Col. Samuel Haycraft, built forts with blockhouses to use as stockades for defense against Native Americans, who inhabited the area and resented the settlers' encroachment on their territory. The forts, being one mile (1.6 km) apart, formed a triangle. At the time, there were no other settlements between the Ohio River and the Green River. Soon other European Americans came and settled around these forts.

Established in 1793, the county was named for Colonel John Hardin, an Indian fighter who had been killed by Native Americans while on a peace mission with tribes in Ohio. In a few years, professional men and tradesmen came to live in the area. In 1793, Colonel Hynes had 30 acre of land surveyed and laid off into lots and streets to establish Elizabethtown. Named in honor of his wife, Elizabethtown was legally established on July 4, 1797.

Thomas Lincoln helped Samuel Haycraft build a millrace at Haycraft's mill on Valley Creek. After he married Nancy Hanks in 1806, they lived in a log cabin built in Elizabethtown. Their daughter, Sarah, was born there in 1807. Soon after, they moved to the Sinking Spring Farm, where Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809. Thomas Lincoln took his family to Indiana in 1816. After his wife died in 1818, he came back to Elizabethtown and married Sarah Bush Johnston, widowed since 1816. She and her three children accompanied Thomas back to Indiana, where Sarah was stepmother to Thomas' two children.

On March 5, 1850 the Commonwealth of Kentucky granted a charter to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company authorizing it to raise funds and built a railroad from Louisville to the Tennessee state line in the direction of Nashville. John L. Helm, the grandson of Capt. Thomas Helm, became the president of the railroad in October 1854; he directed construction of the main stem of the rail line through Elizabethtown. The rail line was completed to Elizabethtown in 1858, with the first train arriving on June 15, 1858. The opening of the railroad brought economic growth to Elizabethtown, which became an important trade center along the railroad and a strategic point during the Civil War.

On December 27, 1862, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his 3,000-man cavalry attacked Elizabethtown. During the battle, more than 100 cannon balls were fired into the town. Although he successfully captured Elizabethtown, Morgan's chief goal was to disrupt the railroad and northern transportation. He proceeded north along the railroad, burning trestles and destroying sections of the track. After the battle, one cannon ball was found lodged in the side of a building on the Public Square. After the building burned in 1887 and was rebuilt, the cannon ball was replaced in the side wall, as close to its original site as possible, where it remains in the present day.

From 1871 to 1873 during the Reconstruction era, the Seventh Cavalry and a battalion of the Fourth Infantry, led by General George Armstrong Custer, were stationed in Elizabethtown. The military were assigned to suppress the local Ku Klux Klan under the Enforcement Acts, as their members had been attacking freedmen and other Republicans. They also broke up illegal distilleries, which began to flourish in the South after the Civil War. General Custer and his wife Elizabeth lived in a small cottage behind Aunt Beck Hill's boarding house, now known as the Brown-Pusey House.

Culture
The town is regionally referred to as "E'town". It is notable as one of two larger towns (the other being Bowling Green) along I-65 between Louisville and Nashville. The movie Elizabethtown (2005) was named after the town; most of the footage was filmed in Versailles and Louisville because Elizabethtown has lost much of its historic architecture in recent years due to development.

Despite the county's being "dry", alcoholic drink sales are allowed in restaurants seating at least 100 diners and deriving at least 70% of their total sales from food. The locals classify this as a "damp" or "moist" county.

Transportation
The city is served by the Elizabethtown Regional Airport (EKX) and the Elizabethtown Airport Board is currently exploring options to bring commercial services to the city.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 28,531 people, 11,711 households, and 7,345 families residing in the city. The population density was 936.6/mi2 (361.6/km2). There were 12,664 housing units at an average density of 490.5/mi² (189.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.4% White (78.1% non-Hispanic), 11.6% African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.6% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.3% of the population.

There were 11,711 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94.

The age distribution was 25.1% under 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.4 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

Income data for Kentucky locations from the 2010 Census has not yet been released. As of the 2000 Census, the median income for a household in the city was $35,823, and the median income for a family was $45,399. Males had a median income of $32,406 versus $23,709 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,442. About 8.5% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

In 2000, Hardin County, Kentucky and Larue County, Kentucky were defined as the Elizabethtown, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area by the Bureau of the Census. It is part of the Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area.

Elizabethtown Independent Schools

 * Elizabethtown High School
 * T.K. Stone Middle School
 * Morningside Elementary School
 * Helmwood Heights Elementary School
 * Valley View Educational Center

Hardin County Schools
The Hardin County Schools are another district that encompasses some of the city limits.

Here are the schools located within the City limits:


 * Bluegrass Middle School
 * G.C. Burkhead Elementary School
 * Heartland Elementary School
 * Lincoln Trail Elementary School
 * New Highland Elementary School

Although John Hardin High School has an Elizabethtown mailing address, and some Elizabethtown residents are zoned into that school, it actually lies within the city limits of neighboring Radcliff.

Private schools

 * Saint James Roman Catholic Regional School
 * Elizabethtown Christian Academy
 * Gloria Dei Lutheran School

Post-secondary education
Elizabethtown is home to Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, a member of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. It also has an extended campus of Western Kentucky University as well as Empire Beauty School formerly the Hair Design School on Westport Road.

Sister city
Elizabethtown has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
 * 🇯🇵 Kori, Fukushima, Japan

Churches
The first Baptist settlement west of the Alleghany Mountains was in Elizabethtown at Severns Valley Baptist Church, named after the first name of Elizabethtown. Catholics came west from Nelson County and settled at Colesburg at St. Claire Parish before coming to St. James Parish in Elizabethtown. Lucinda Helm helped bring United Methodists into Elizabethtown and they immortalized her in naming the Helm Memorial United Methodist Church, today simply called MUMC.

Other denomination also came including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Episcopalian, Pentecostalism, and in modern times, Islam. More than 12 denominations are represented by over 100 churches in Elizabethtown.

Notable natives and residents

 * Nathan Adcock, current MLB pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
 * Philip Arnold, confidence trickster, most famous for the diamond hoax of 1872
 * John Y. Brown, 31st Governor of Kentucky and former Representative of Kentucky's 2nd district (1873 - 1877) & 5th district (1859 - 1861)
 * Cecil Collins, former NFL running back for the Miami Dolphins
 * Brandon Deaderick, NFL defensive end for the New England Patriots
 * Greg Downs, award-winning author
 * Benjamin Hardin Helm, Brigadier General, Confederate States Army
 * John LaRue Helm, 18th and 24th Governor of Kentucky
 * Walter Huddleston, U.S. Senator from 1973 to 1985
 * Andrew Hynes, founder of Elizabethtown, which he named after his wife
 * Steve Jameson, award-winning painter and children's book illustrator
 * Joshua Jewett, former Representative of the 5th district, (1855 - 1859)
 * Keen Johnson, 45th Governor of Kentucky
 * Sarah Bush Johnston, second wife of Thomas Lincoln and stepmother to President Abraham Lincoln
 * Thomas Lincoln, father of President Abraham Lincoln
 * Douglas Lucas, singer-songwriter and musician with Sony/ATV Music Publishing
 * Charles B. Middleton, stage and film actor, famous for his role as Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon movie serials
 * Kenny Perry, professional PGA Tour golfer
 * Todd Perry, former NFL offensive guard for the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins
 * Kelly Rutherford, film actress, famous for her roles on Generations, Melrose Place, and Gossip Girl
 * Chris Todd, former college football quarterback for the Auburn Tigers