LaRue County, Kentucky
county in Kentucky, United States
LaRue County is a county in the central region of the U.S. state of Kentucky, outside the Bluegrass Region and larger population centers. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,867. Its county seat is Hodgenville, which is best known as the birthplace of United States President Abraham Lincoln. The county was established on March 4, 1843, from the southeast portion of Hardin County. It was named for John P. LaRue, an early settler. LaRue County is included in the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Louisville/Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Bardstown, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area. It is a dry county.
Geography
The low rolling hills of LaRue County have been largely cleared and devoted to agriculture or urban development, with only the drainages of the eastern portions still wooded. The highest point (1,100 feet (340 meters) ASL) is a small hill near its border with Taylor County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 264 square miles (680 km2), of which 262 square miles (680 km2) is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2) (0.8%) is water.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “LaRue County, Kentucky” as county in Kentucky, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Kentucky, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q498128. VIAF identifies the subject as 147776591. The Library of Congress control number is n82215045. Authority coordinates are 37.577, -85.687. 5 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 1843.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “LaRue County, Kentucky”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow LaRue County, Kentucky primary sources, LaRue County, Kentucky archive and LaRue research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “LaRue County, Kentucky”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “LaRue County, Kentucky” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.