More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #98 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Hardinsburg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hardinsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hardinsburg is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #98 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hardinsburg’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hardinsburg’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1780.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hardinsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In August 1779, Sinclair Hardin, William's cousin, was the first man killed (by the Shawnee) west of the Alleghenies Mountains at Big Springs during an early excursion into the Kentucky wilderness.
Capt. William Hardin, brother of the Col. John Hardin for whom Hardin County was named, established a frontier fort at the site in 1780. The settlement was known variously as Hardin's Fort and Hardin's Station in the 18th century.
William Hardin received 400 acres as assignee of Benjamin Hardin, Warrant# 2586, dated February 14, 1780, and the tract was surveyed June 8, 1784. According to the description, the land was on Hardin's Creek, a branch of the Ohio River, and it was formally granted on June 21, 1786. This area would become Hardinsburg.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Hardinsburg’s post office has been open since 1803.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Codyville
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hardinsburg’s history
What year was Hardinsburg founded?
In 1780, according to Wikidata. Hardinsburg’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1830 counted 316 people here.
How does Hardinsburg rank for history?
Hardinsburg is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #98 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Hardinsburg?
6% of Hardinsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1980.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2007
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