A Town Defined by a Legend: Hodgenville, Kentucky

Downtown Hodgenville, Ky. has Abraham Lincoln front and center. Deena Bouknight

A small town in central Kentucky is home to only about 3,000 people today, but a boy born there changed America forever. Abraham Lincoln was born just south of Hodgenville, in Sinking Spring. Until age 7, he was raised in Knob Creek, a few miles to the northeast.

Hodgenville is situated almost squarely between the first two places in rural Kentucky where Abraham Lincoln lived. In fact, the drive from the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park to Hodgenville is a little over three miles, while the distance between Hodgenville and The Lincoln Boyhood Home at Knob Creek is around seven.

Visitors to Hodgenville will notice immediately that practically every aspect of the town’s center-point, appropriately named Lincoln Square, acclaims the Civil War-era president. Most noticeable are the two statues representing Lincoln as a boy and as America’s leader. The former was installed in 2008. Sculpted by Eugene Daub, the statue features an almost 8-year-old Lincoln—while he still lived in Kentucky. After he turned 8, his family moved to Indiana. Lincoln’s dog, Honey, is depicted beside young Abraham as he reads a fable by Noah Webster.

The statue of a boy Lincoln gazes up at his adult counterpart, in Hodgenville, Ky. Deena Bouknight

The statue of an adult Lincoln resembles the massive memorial in Washington. This one was created by sculptor Adolph Weinman and installed in 1909, with Lincoln’s only surviving son in attendance, 66-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln. A reporter for the Frankfort, Kentucky-based Courier-Journal wrote about the May 31, 1909 statue unveiling:

“While ten thousand people stood in reverence with bared heads, and the sweet familiar strains of America, sung by hundreds of white-clad children, floated out upon the air, a veiling of the Stars and Stripes fell gracefully away from a bronze memorial of Abraham Lincoln, the man who fought to save the Union and won with his victory undying fame and love of former foes. The canopy that hid the statue from view was drawn away by the hand of Mrs. Ben Hardin Helm, a sister of the wife of Lincoln, and cheer after cheer went up.”

The statue of the adult Lincoln was dedicated over a century ago in 1909. Lincoln's only surviving son was able to attend the unveiling ceremony. Deena Bouknight

On Every Corner

While Hodgenville is named for 18th-century settler and miller Robert Hodgen, it’s to Lincoln that the town pays homage in the names of its businesses, events, and even its radio station. Stand in Lincoln Square and look around—up and down North and South Lincoln Boulevard—to notice the references to the great man: Lincoln National Bank, Lincoln Museum, ABE 93.7 FM, and Top Hat Tavern.

The cleverly named radio station is visible from the downtown of Hodgenville, Ky. Deena Bouknight

The Lincoln Museum, opened in 1989, is a treasure-trove of period artifacts, Civil War memorabilia, and original Lincoln-themed art. Practically every type of collectible sporting Lincoln’s image, from campaign buttons to plates, has been donated to the museum.

Lifelike wax figures within 12 life-size dioramas educate visitors about Lincoln’s life and the era of history he dramatically affected. A plus at the museum is the funeral train exhibit. It depicts the train that carried Lincoln’s body 1,700 miles on a “farewell tour” before he was buried in Springfield, Illinois.

On the opposite corner from the museum is the Sweet Shoppe and Dessert Café. It’s a sponsor of the annual October Lincoln Days’s ice cream eating contest.

Another Lincolnesque establishment is located two miles from Lincoln Square: the 1954-established Lincoln Jamboree show and family-style restaurant on Lincoln Farm Road.

Hodgenville, Ky., is determined to keep the memory of President Abraham Lincoln alive. Deena Bouknight

Held annually in tiny Hodgenville is a Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln Look-alike contest, a Lincoln Days Parade, a Rail-splitter Run 5K and 10K race, and a Lincoln Days Art Show.

And, on the brochure for the town’s historic walking tour is a famous quote by Lincoln, “I walk slowly, but I never walk backwards.”

Although Hodgenville, Kentucky, is most definitely off the beaten path, surrounded by vast farmlands and rolling Kentucky hills, it’s a must-see for visitors who appreciate the honor a community has bestowed on such a historically significant individual as Abraham Lincoln.

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