Hodgenville’s post office opened in 1826, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #39 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Hodgenville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Hodgenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hodgenville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hodgenville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #39 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hodgenville’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 Hodgenville’s 148 sits above most of its state (75% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 50 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1839 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Hodgenville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Hodgenville, building by building, 1886–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Robert Hodgen, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Virginia, purchased 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land in the vicinity. In 1789, after the Revolutionary War, when settlers started moving west into Kentucky, he built a mill at the site. After his death, the community that developed around it was called "Hodgenville" upon the petition of his widow and children. The United States post office at the site, however, was known as "Hodgensville" from 1826 to 1904.
The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly on February 18, 1836.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a small cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville on February 12, 1809. About two years later, the family moved to another farm in the Hodgenville area.
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.
The Hodgenville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1839.
How does Hodgenville rank for history?
Hodgenville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #39 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.
What is on the National Register in Hodgenville?
10 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (listed 1966, the first), 1 historic district, the Hodgenville Commercial Historic District, with 37 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 50 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hodgenville?
8% of Hodgenville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
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