3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 134 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1870.
The Horse Cave post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Caverna (1869), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 479 in 18702020 census: 2,212166 years
How historic is Horse Cave?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Horse Cave post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Horse Cave’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Horse Cave is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Horse Cave’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 Horse Cave’s 625 sits above most of its state (93% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 134 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Horse Cave’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was settled by Major Albert Anderson in the 1840s. The landowner donated land for a Louisville and Nashville Railroad station in 1858 on the provision that it be named after nearby Horse Cave. The community around the station developed quickly, so that a post office was erected in 1860, and the city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1864.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Horse Cave. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1938Horse Cave sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Horse Cave.
Every building
Horse Cave, building by building, 1916–1923
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.
The Horse Cave post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Horse Cave rank for history?
Horse Cave is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. 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 Horse Cave?
Three places: the Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave (listed 1997), the Horse Cave Historic District (2001) and the Henrytown Historic District (2025).
How old are the homes in Horse Cave?
14% of Horse Cave’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
![Cave City [actuallt Horse Cave] on Saturday afternoon, Kentucky](https://images.townratings.com/story/6918/e0185f59833c5d8f3d84-s.jpg)
1940![Cave City [actually Horse Cave] on Saturday afternoon. Kentucky](https://images.townratings.com/story/6918/b9bec0fba749ba6e6d3d-s.jpg)
1940![Untitled photo, possibly related to: Cave City [actuallt Horse Cave] on Saturday afternoon, Kentucky](https://images.townratings.com/story/6918/b6d8af579db8385a2155-s.jpg)
1940![Farmers in front of store on Saturday afternoon in Cave City [actually Horse Cave], Kentucky](https://images.townratings.com/story/6918/541a9df981eecc51de0e-s.jpg)
1940![Farmers in front of store on Saturday afternoon in Cave City [actually Horse Cave], Kentucky](https://images.townratings.com/story/6918/7c65203163602e696fdd-s.jpg)
1940
