LaRue County, Kentucky

LaRue County is a county in Kentucky, United States, about 12 miles southeast of
Elizabethtown, the seat of neighboring Hardin County. It had a population of 14,867 at the 2020
census, an estimated 15,184 by 2025, and covers 264 square miles (684 km2) centred near
37°35′N 85°41′W.

Hodgenville is the county seat and the county’s only fully-contained incorporated city;
its postal code is 42748. The county holds 2 incorporated cities, 2 census-designated places and
11 smaller unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Kentucky counties have no
civil townships, so LaRue’s local government sits entirely at the county and city level.

Towns & Villages in LaRue County

LaRue County has 15 named places on record: 2 incorporated cities, 2 census-designated places
(CDPs), and 11 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for
census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal
boundary.

Upton sits astride the Hardin County line, and most of its houses and its post office fall on
the Hardin side — only its LaRue County edge counts toward this page. Malt lost its post
office decades ago and survives today only as a place name on county maps, not a working
settlement. The old scraped list that ran on this page for years also named Attilla, Boundary
Oak, Lyons, Maxine, Roanoke, South Buffalo and Talley; none of those turned up in any current
gazetteer or historical record for LaRue County, so they have been dropped rather than repeated
on faith. Boundary Oak, for the record, was a 400-year-old white oak on Sinking Spring Farm, not
a settlement — it died in 1976 and its remains were removed a decade later.

ZIP Codes

• 42748 — Hodgenville (also serves Tonieville)
• 42784 — Upton (shared with Hardin County)
• 42716 — Buffalo
• 42757 — Magnolia
• 42764 — Mount Sherman

Athertonville, Ginseng, Gleanings, Jericho, Leafdale, Malt, Mathers Mill, Tanner and White
City have no ZIP of their own; their post offices closed decades ago and mail now routes through
whichever of the five towns above sits nearest.

Geography

LaRue County lies in the rolling hill country south of the Bluegrass Region, drained by the
North Fork Nolin River near Hodgenville and by the Rolling Fork River along its eastern edge.
Of the county’s 264 square miles, 262 square miles are land and 2.1 square miles are
water. The terrain rises into knobs and ridges toward the south and east, the same country that
gives neighboring Hart County its name recognition for caves.

Six counties border LaRue. Nelson
County lies to the northeast, Marion
County to the east, Taylor
County to the southeast, Green
County to the south, Hart
County to the southwest, and Hardin
County to the northwest.

Demographics

LaRue County had a population of 14,867 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 15,184 residents by 2025. Hodgenville and Buffalo are the two largest communities,
together home to more than a quarter of the county’s population. Median household income
runs about $67,067, above Kentucky’s 2023 statewide figure of $61,118. Population density
works out to roughly 57 people per square mile of land, low even by rural Kentucky standards.
About 91 percent of residents identify as White and 3 percent as Hispanic or Latino, per the 2020
count.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing is the county’s largest employment sector, with about 1,713 workers,
ahead of health care and social assistance at 1,112 and educational services at 506. Nationwide
Uniform Corp. runs a sewing factory in Hodgenville that expanded with an $11.5 million investment
in 2022, adding 63 jobs. Konsei USA and Hodgenville Machine & Tool are two other named
manufacturers with plants in the county seat. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical
Park, just south of Hodgenville, is the county’s biggest visitor draw and a year-round
tourism employer. The county’s biggest annual event is Lincoln Days, held the first full
weekend of October in Hodgenville, with a look-alike contest, a rail-splitting competition and a
parade.

History

Kentucky’s legislature formed LaRue County on 4 March 1843 out of the southeastern
corner of Hardin County. It was named for John P. LaRue, an early pioneer settler in the area.
Hodgenville itself predates the county: it was incorporated on 18 February 1836 and named for
Robert Hodgen, who built a mill on the site in 1789.

Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 at Sinking Spring Farm, then part of Hardin
County and folded into LaRue when the new county was drawn in 1843. Later in the century,
Athertonville grew into a distillery boomtown: the J.M. Atherton Company built a major distillery
there in 1866 that became the county’s largest employer within a decade, with hotels,
stores and churches supporting more than 200 workers. Prohibition ended that boom; a brief
revival under Seagram ownership from 1933 lasted until a fire destroyed the distillery in 1972,
and Athertonville never recovered its former size.

Getting There

US 31E runs through the center of Hodgenville, leading northeast 24 miles to Bardstown and
south 43 miles to Glasgow. KY 61 connects Hodgenville to Elizabethtown. No interstate highway
crosses LaRue County.

• Elizabethtown — about 12 miles northwest
• Bardstown — about 24 miles northeast
• Campbellsville — about 27 miles southeast
• Glasgow — about 43 miles south

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, north of the county via I-65, is the nearest
major commercial airport. No Amtrak route serves LaRue County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is LaRue County located?
It sits in central Kentucky, outside the Bluegrass Region, about 12 miles southeast of
Elizabethtown, bordered by Nelson, Marion, Taylor, Green, Hart and Hardin counties.

What is the population of LaRue County?
14,867 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 15,184.

How big is LaRue County?
264 square miles (684 km2), of which 262 square miles are land and 2.1 square miles are water.

What is the county seat of LaRue County?
Hodgenville, incorporated in 1836, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in LaRue County?
Fifteen named places: the cities of Hodgenville and Upton, the census-designated places Buffalo
and Magnolia, and 11 smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does LaRue County use?
42748 (Hodgenville and Tonieville), 42784 (Upton), 42716 (Buffalo), 42757 (Magnolia) and 42764
(Mount Sherman).

What is LaRue County known for?
Being the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, born at Sinking Spring Farm in 1809, and for the annual
Lincoln Days festival held each October in Hodgenville.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Kentucky.