Elizabethtown, KY Summary

Elizabethtown is located 38 miles south of Louisville in central Kentucky. An attractive place, with gracious homes, landscaped gardens, and tree-lined streets, it was settled in 1779. Its historic buildings and sites are covered in historic walking or driving tours.

Abraham Lincoln’s parents, Thomas and Nancy, lived in Elizabethtown for the first 18 months of their marriage. Their first child, Sarah, was born here in 1807. The Lincoln Heritage House is a log structure crafted in part by Thomas Lincoln. The family moved on in 1808 but, after the death of his wife in 1818, Thomas returned to Elizabethtown in 1819 and married Sarah Bush Johnston.

The Brown-Pusey House, built in 1825, is a Federal-style building, which was once an inn that housed General George Custer and his wife in the 1870s. Also of interest are the Black History Gallery, Swopes Cars of Yesteryear, and Schmidt’s Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia.

Louisville has an international airport, and train and bus service.