(Background)"L&N Railroad Station at Elizabethtown where Morgan centered his fire on the warehouses on the cemetery hill behind a supply company." - Frank Dunn Photographs Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library; (Inset) "Gen. John Hunt Morgan, C.S.A. Served 1860-1865" - Hunt-Morgan Photograph Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Fast Fact:

Abraham Lincoln was born in what was then part of Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.

(Left) Abraham Lincoln - Frank Dunn Photographs Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library; (Right) Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (1900-1915) - Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library

WPA Project 251, Elizabethtown Training Work Center (March 20, 1936); women from relief families employed to make wearing apparel and other articles - Goodman-Paxton Photograph Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Non-commissioned officers' club, Ft. Knox (1934-1942) - Goodman-Paxton Photograph Collection, Kentuckiana Digital Library

Hardin County Websites

County of the Month: Hardin County, Kentucky

Hardin County was the 15th county created in Kentucky in 1792. It was named for Col. John Hardin, a pioneer and Indian fighter from neighboring Nelson County. Hardin County was originally 140 miles long and sixty miles wide, but eventually six counties were carved from it: Ohio (1799), Breckinridge (1800), Grayson (1810), Hart (1819), Meade (1824), and LaRue (1843). In 1918, 10,000 acres was transferred to the U.S. government for the establishment of Camp Knox, which later was expanded to 100,000 acres and became known as Fort Knox and the U.S. Buillion Depository (also known as the Gold Vault). Even so, the county now is considered Kentucky's fourth largest, at 616 square miles.

The county's terrain is characterized by broad, gentle slopes, with the central portion having flat sandy areas, known as the barrens. This area was considered a rich hunting ground for the Indians. Thousands of Indians migrated to the area in the spring, then autumn to harvest corn and hunt. Settlement in the area by colonists was difficult due to the Indian population. Several explorers chose the area for settlement, but attacks made it impossible until 1780, when Col. Andrew Hynes, Capt. Thomas Helm and Samuel Haycraft each built forts within a mile of each other.

Thirty acres was then set aside for county buildings and 51 lots were portioned off with streets and alleys. The settlement, named Severn's Valley, was officially named Elizabethtown in 1797, after Col. Hynes's wife and became the county seat.

Source: Kentucky Encyclopedia

Hardin County Trivia

Civil War

In 1862, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan burned two bridges of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The next day, from Cemetery Hill, southwest of Elizabethtown, Morgan's men fired a hundred rounds into the town before someone found a petticoat and waved it to signal a truce.

Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, February 7, 1982; Kentucky Files: Counties-Hardin

Fort Knox

The United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky holds 147.3 million ounces of gold, valued at $42.22 per ounce. The size of a standard gold bar is 7" x 3 5/8 " x 1 3/4" and weighs 27.5 pounds. The only gold removed has been very small quantities used to test the purity of gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years.

In the past, the Depository has stored the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, Lincoln's Gettysburg address, three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible, and Lincoln's second inaugural address. In addition to gold bullion, the Mint has stored valuable items for other government agencies. The Magna Carta was once stored there. The crown, sword, scepter, orb, and cape of St. Stephen, King of Hungary also were stored at the Depository, before being returned to the government of Hungary in 1978.

The Depository is a classified facility. No visitors are permitted, and no exceptions are made.

Source: U.S. Mint (http://www.usmint.gov/)

Family History and Christian County Research Resources

Below are some resources available at KDLA for genealogists and researchers interested in the Christian County area.

County Clerk records

General cross index to deeds - 1795-1904
Deed books - 1793-1975
Deeds (loose) - 1794-1962
Land entry book - 1793-1798
Dower Slaves and Chattel Book - 1844-1855
Indenture of Apprenticeship - 1798-1857
Marriage books - 1793-1965
Order books - 1798-1875
Surveyors/Processioners book - 1809-1838
Tax assessment books - 1793-1975
General index to wills - 1793-1838
Will books - 1793-1915
Wills (loose) - 1793-1899

Circuit Court records

General index to civil cases - 1794-1925
Civil case files - 1783-1985
Equity case files - 1807-1959
Ordinary case files - 1804-1954
Criminal case files - 1800-1977
Complete records book - 1823-1824
Mental inquest books (indexed) - 1957-1977
Lunacy inquest books (indexed) - 1922-1957
Feeble-minded inquest book (indexed) - 1919-1936
Judgment books - 1851-1898
Judgments from inferior courts book - 1898-1960
Judgments by default - 1871-1893
Record of land sold under execution by sheriff books - 1860-1915
Order books - 1799-1878
Civil order books (indexed) - 1878-1977
Criminal order books (indexed) - 1878-1951
Naturalization papers - 1837-1913