Morganfield dates to 1812, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #49 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Morganfield was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1830.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morganfield is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #49 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morganfield’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 Morganfield’s 104 sits above most of its state (69% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 33 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±5.0 points). Two sources give 1812.
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 Morganfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew more than tenfold.
19 censuses, 1830–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morganfield’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Morganfield, building by building, 1886–1912
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The story so far
Morganfield, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Morganfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Morganfield is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As of the 2020 census, Morganfield had a population of 3,256.
Morganfield was established in 1812. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,285 in 2010, 3,256 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Morganfield, 1812 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1812, according to Wikidata. Morganfield’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1830 counted 295 people here.
How does Morganfield rank for history?
Morganfield is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #49 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 Morganfield?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Union County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), 1 historic district, the Morganfield Commercial District, with 30 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 33 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Morganfield?
7% of Morganfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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