city, seat of Hardin county, central Kentucky, U.S., 44 miles (71 km) south of Louisville. Settled as Severns Valley Station (1779–80), it was laid out in 1793 by Colonel Andrew Hynes and named for his wife when it was officially established in 1797. Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham)'s parents lived for a time in Elizabethtown in the early 1800s. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site is at Hodgenville, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of the city. During the American Civil War, the town was occupied by Union troops and was bombarded by the forces of the Confederate general John Hunt Morgan (Morgan, John Hunt). In the early 1870s the U.S. 7th Cavalry, commanded by George Armstrong Custer (Custer, George Armstrong), was stationed in Elizabethtown to restrain the activities of the Ku Klux Klan and to break up the illegal distilleries that were flourishing there.

Elizabethtown developed as a trading centre for agricultural produce, tobacco, and distilled spirits. Manufactures include automotive and machine parts, inks, sealants and adhesives, and tools. The Elizabethtown Community College, a member of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, was opened in 1964. My Old Kentucky Home State Shrine, the Patton (Patton, George Smith) Museum of Cavalry and Armor, and Fort Knox (Knox, Fort) (the U.S. Bullion Depository) are in the vicinity. Inc. city, 1893. Pop. (1990) 18,167; (2000) 22,542.