Stanford, Kentucky
Location of Stanford, Kentucky
Coordinates: 37°31′56″N 84°39′37″W / 37.53222, -84.66028
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Lincoln
Government
- Mayor	Bill Miracle
Area
- Total	3.1 sq mi (8.0 km²)
- Land	3.1 sq mi (8.0 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	942 ft (287 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,430
- Density	1,114.5/sq mi (430.3/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	40484
Area code(s)	606
FIPS code	21-73110
GNIS feature ID	0504254
Website: http://stanford-ky.com

Stanford is a city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States. It is the second oldest settlement in Kentucky (with the first being Harrodsburg), having been founded in 1775. The population was 3,430 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County^[1].

History

Lincoln County Courthouse

Stanford was founded in 1775 by Benjamin Logan as Logan's Fort, alternately known as St. Asaph after the small creek near the original fort. The site of the original fort is about one mile west of the courthouse at the center of town, in land now overrun and abandoned. The term "Fort Logan" is still used to this day to name local businesses, including the local Fort Logan Hospital. The main street of the town was built on what was originally a buffalo trail.

The name Stanford is believed to be derived from "Standing Fort", which Fort Logan became known as in the late 1770s as it survived multiple attacks by native americans. Although it was one of the smaller forts in Kentucky, it never fell to native attacks. In 1781, the original fort settlement expanded as Benjamin Logan donated a parcel of his own land for the construction of a courthouse. The original county court met at Fort Harrod (now Harrodsburg), although by 1786 the town of Stanford received its charter, making it one of the first towns in Kentucky County, Virginia to receive a formal charter. In 1787 the first courthouse opened, built of logs. While it has been expanded and upgraded over time, the basic courthouse remains on the same site to this day. Unlike most county courthouses in Kentucky, it has never suffered a fire or other major loss of records, so it has all its original records and archives dating to November 1789, including original land deeds kept on vellum, including deeds granting land to Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, making it one of the more complete archives of the history of Kentucky.

The first recorded church in Stanford was a Presbyterian church built in 1790, the building still stands to the modern day, and is now part of the Harvey Helm Memorial Historic Library and Museum on Main Street. Other denominations, including Baptist and Methodist, would not be established in the area until the 1830s. The local bias towards Presbyterianism reflected the staunch Presbyterian beliefs of the Logan family. The current Presbyterian Church in Stanford has stood on the same site since around 1850.

A small local library was first established in the 1830s, and the first school was built sometime in the 1850s, as the Male Academy. It was established in a building that is now the Fox Funeral Home on West Main Street. The corresponding Female Academy was built in the 1870s. The Stanford School was founded in 1900, and after much expansion, still serves to this day, now as the Lincoln County Alternative school. During the antebellum era the city generally grew very slowly. The library was renamed in 1970 in honor of Harvey Helm, a native son who became a noted Kentucky statesman and member of the United States House of Representatives between 1909 and 1917.

Generally untouched by the American Civil War (the nearest conflict was the Battle of Perryville, around 20 miles away), the city began to grow significantly after the war. In the late 1860s, the town opened its own newspaper, the Stanford Banner (still publishing today as the Interior Journal). In the 1870s and 1880s, the city began to grow, especially after the Louisville and Nashville Railroad built a station and line into the town circa 1865. The railroad line was closed, and the tracks removed, in 1988, leaving only a small spur line outside of town which connects to Mount Vernon, Kentucky, although in recent years the old rail depot has been restored. Stanford is also notable as the location of the first automobile garage in Kentucky, in 1905.

Famous residents

• Richard C. Saufley Naval aviation pioneer
• Anthony Gale Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
• William Whitley Early pioneer.
• Harvey Helm Congressman and Statesman.
• William P. "Tiger Bill" Campbell Judge, Wichita Kansas, 1873-1882 and Civil War P.O.W.

Geography

Stanford is located at 37°31′55″N, 84°39′37″W (37.532302, -84.660358)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), of which, 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) of it is land and 0.32% is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 3,430 people, 1,417 households, and 919 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,114.5 people per square mile (430.0/km²). There were 1,522 housing units at an average density of 494.6/sq mi (190.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.97% White, 8.10% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 1,417 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,087, and the median income for a family was $32,550. Males had a median income of $28,583 versus $20,975 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,811. About 15.9% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 27.8% of those age 65 or over.

Books

Kleber, John J. et al. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. 

References

1. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Stanford, Kentucky is at coordinates 37°31′56″N 84°39′37″W / 37.532302, -84.660358 (Stanford, Kentucky)Coordinates: 37°31′56″N 84°39′37″W / 37.532302, -84.660358 (Stanford, Kentucky)
• Stanford Renaissance Main Street Program
• Official History of Stanford
• Lincoln County Web Site - History of Stanford

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