{"id":4080,"date":"2023-06-15T10:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T10:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=4080"},"modified":"2026-08-08T22:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T22:53:17","slug":"lincoln-county-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lincoln-county-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln County, Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lincoln County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the south-central part of the state<br \/>\nalong the Knobs region, about 40 miles south of Lexington. It had a population of 24,275 at the<br \/>\n2020 census, an estimated 25,353 by 2025, and covers 337 square miles (872.8 km2) centred near<br \/>\n37&#176;28&#8242;N 84&#176;40&#8242;W.<\/p>\n<p>Stanford is the county seat and the county&#8217;s largest city; its postal code is 40484. The<br \/>\ncounty holds 5 cities, 1 census-designated place and 16 smaller unincorporated communities, and<br \/>\nit runs on Eastern Time. Kentucky counties have no civil townships, so places here are not<br \/>\ngrouped under one.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Lincoln County<\/h2>\n<p>Lincoln County has 22 named places on record: 5 incorporated cities, 1 census-designated<br \/>\nplace (McKinney) and 16 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP<br \/>\nstands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no<br \/>\nformal boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Stanford<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>3,640<\/td>\n<td>40484<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Junction City<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>2,268<\/td>\n<td>40440<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Crab Orchard<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>744<\/td>\n<td>40419<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hustonville<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>387<\/td>\n<td>40437<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Eubank<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>313<\/td>\n<td>42567<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>McKinney<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>201<\/td>\n<td>40448<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kings Mountain<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>40442<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Waynesburg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>40489<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blue Lick<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chicken Bristle<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dog Walk<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Halls Gap<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Highland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hubble<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jumbo<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Miracle<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Moreland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ottenheim<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Preachersville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rowland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Turkeytown<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Walnut Flat<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two places on this list straddle county lines. Eubank sits mostly in Pulaski County, with only<br \/>\na northern edge of the city reaching into Lincoln &mdash; its population figure above is<br \/>\ncitywide. Junction City runs the other way: most of the city is in Boyle County, and only a small<br \/>\nsouthern portion extends into Lincoln, so its 2,268 residents are overwhelmingly Boyle County<br \/>\nresidents, not Lincoln County ones.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>40484 &mdash; Stanford<\/li>\n<li>40440 &mdash; Junction City (shared with Boyle County)<\/li>\n<li>40419 &mdash; Crab Orchard<\/li>\n<li>40437 &mdash; Hustonville<\/li>\n<li>42567 &mdash; Eubank (shared with Pulaski County)<\/li>\n<li>40448 &mdash; McKinney<\/li>\n<li>40442 &mdash; Kings Mountain<\/li>\n<li>40489 &mdash; Waynesburg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Blue Lick, Chicken Bristle, Dog Walk, Halls Gap, Highland, Hubble, Jumbo, Miracle, Moreland,<br \/>\nOttenheim, Preachersville, Rowland, Turkeytown and Walnut Flat have no ZIP code of their own;<br \/>\nmail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town&#8217;s code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Lincoln County sits astride the southern part of the Knobs region, a ring of steep, isolated<br \/>\nhills that separates the Bluegrass region to the north from the Pennyroyal Plateau to the south<br \/>\nand east. Of its 337 square miles, 334 are land and 2.5 are water, about 0.7 percent &mdash; low<br \/>\nfor Kentucky, since the county holds no large lake and its water comes mainly from creeks. The<br \/>\ncounty contains the source and headwaters of the Green River, and Hanging Fork Creek, which gave<br \/>\nHustonville one of its early names, runs through the county&#8217;s western half. Lincoln County<br \/>\nis part of Appalachia.<\/p>\n<p>Boyle County lies to the northwest, Garrard County to the northeast, Rockcastle County to the<br \/>\neast, Pulaski County to the south, and Casey County to the west. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/boyle-county\/\">Boyle County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/garrard-county\/\">Garrard County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/rockcastle-county\/\">Rockcastle County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/pulaski-county-kentucky\/\">Pulaski County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/casey-county\/\">Casey County<\/a> all border Lincoln directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Lincoln County had a population of 24,275 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 24,742 in<br \/>\n2010, and the latest estimate puts the county near 25,353 residents by 2025. Stanford and Junction<br \/>\nCity&#8217;s Lincoln County portion are the two largest communities, though Stanford alone holds<br \/>\nwell under a fifth of the county&#8217;s total population &mdash; most residents live outside the<br \/>\nincorporated towns. Median household income runs $52,440 (2024 estimate), well below<br \/>\nKentucky&#8217;s 2023 statewide figure of $61,118. Population density works out to roughly 73<br \/>\npeople per square mile of land, low even by rural Kentucky standards. The county is 93.4 percent<br \/>\nWhite, 3.5 percent multiracial, and 2.0 percent Hispanic or Latino, with small Black and Asian<br \/>\npopulations.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 1,486 people, followed by health<br \/>\ncare and social assistance at 1,261 and educational services at 1,249, out of roughly 9,488<br \/>\ntotal jobs countywide in 2024. Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford, named for the pioneer fort the<br \/>\ntown grew from, is a major local health care employer. The Lincoln County Public Library and the<br \/>\nHarvey Helm Memorial Historic Library and Museum, both on Stanford&#8217;s Main Street, anchor<br \/>\nthe county seat&#8217;s downtown. Stanford&#8217;s historic commercial district, built around the<br \/>\n1787 log courthouse site, still forms the retail core of the county.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Virginia General Assembly formed Lincoln County, then part of Virginia, in June 1780,<br \/>\nnaming it for Revolutionary War general Benjamin Lincoln. It is one of Kentucky&#8217;s nine<br \/>\noriginal counties, carved along with Fayette and Jefferson out of Virginia&#8217;s Kentucky<br \/>\nCounty. Harrodsburg served as the first county seat until an 1785 partition moved that territory<br \/>\ninto the new Mercer County; Stanford has been the permanent seat since.<\/p>\n<p>Stanford itself began in 1775 as Benjamin Logan&#8217;s fort, known as St. Asaph or<br \/>\nLogan&#8217;s Fort, one of the earliest American settlements in Kentucky. It was chartered by<br \/>\n1786, and the log courthouse built on its original site in 1787 still stands &mdash; Lincoln<br \/>\nCounty has preserved its original records back to November 1789. Crab Orchard, on the Wilderness<br \/>\nRoad, grew into a major 19th-century destination after mineral springs were discovered there; the<br \/>\nCrab Orchard Springs Resort operated from 1827 until 1922, at its 1850s peak drawing nearly 500<br \/>\nvisitors a day before the hotel burned in 1871 and was rebuilt with more than 250 rooms.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate crosses Lincoln County. US 27 runs north&#8211;south through the county&#8217;s<br \/>\neastern side, and KY 1247 and KY 70 cross near Eubank on the Pulaski County line.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Danville &mdash; about 15 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Somerset &mdash; about 25 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Lexington &mdash; about 40 miles north<\/li>\n<li>London &mdash; about 30 miles southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, roughly 40 miles north of Stanford, is the nearest major<br \/>\ncommercial airport. Amtrak does not serve Lincoln County; the nearest station is in Maysville,<br \/>\nwell outside normal commuting range, so most residents drive to Lexington or Louisville for rail<br \/>\nconnections.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Lincoln County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in south-central Kentucky along the Knobs region, about 40 miles south of Lexington,<br \/>\nbordered by Boyle, Garrard, Rockcastle, Pulaski and Casey counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Lincoln County?<\/strong><br \/>\n24,275 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 25,353.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Lincoln County?<\/strong><br \/>\n337 square miles (872.8 km2), of which 334 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Lincoln County?<\/strong><br \/>\nStanford, settled in 1775 as Logan&#8217;s Fort, is the county seat and largest city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and cities are in Lincoln County?<\/strong><br \/>\nFive incorporated cities &mdash; Stanford, Junction City (partly), Crab Orchard, Hustonville and<br \/>\nEubank (partly) &mdash; plus the McKinney census-designated place and 16 unincorporated<br \/>\ncommunities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Lincoln County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n40484 for Stanford, 40440 for Junction City, 40419 for Crab Orchard, 40437 for Hustonville, 42567<br \/>\nfor Eubank, 40448 for McKinney, 40442 for Kings Mountain and 40489 for Waynesburg.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Lincoln County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nBeing one of Kentucky&#8217;s nine original 1780 counties, Stanford&#8217;s 1787 log courthouse,<br \/>\nand Crab Orchard&#8217;s 19th-century mineral springs resort.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/kentucky\/\">Towns and villages in Kentucky<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lincoln County is a county in Kentucky, United States, in the south-central part of the state along the Knobs region, about 40 miles south of Lexington. It had a population of 24,275 at the 2020 census, an estimated 25,353 by 2025, and covers 337 square miles (872.8 km2) centred near 37&#176;28&#8242;N 84&#176;40&#8242;W. Stanford is the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Lincoln County, Kentucky","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 22 towns and communities in Lincoln County, Kentucky - type, population and ZIP for each, plus Stanford's 1787 courthouse and Crab Orchard's history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-kentucky","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4080"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9601,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4080\/revisions\/9601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}