city, seat of Mercer county, central Kentucky, U.S., near the Salt River, in the Bluegrass region, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Lexington. The oldest permanent settlement west of the Alleghenies (Allegheny Mountains), it was founded in 1774 on the Wilderness Road as Harrodstown (later Oldtown, then Harrodsburg) by James Harrod and his pioneer group. A replica of the original fort (1776) where frontiersman Daniel Boone (Boone, Daniel) once lived is in nearby Old Fort Harrod State Park; the park also includes the George Rogers Clark (Clark, George Rogers) Memorial and the Lincoln Marriage Temple, a brick building sheltering the cabin removed from Springfield, Kentucky, where Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham)'s parents were married. Other historic restorations include Morgan Row Houses (a four-unit row with a museum, built 【1807–30】 by tavern keeper Joseph Morgan), and the Old Mud Meeting House of the Dutch Reformed Church (c. 1800). The preserved Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is 7 miles (11 km) northeast.

Harrodsburg's basic market economy (horses, tobacco, and dairy products) is supplemented by tourism and manufactures, including automotive components, paper, and optical products. Inc. town, 1776; city, 1875. Pop. (1990) 7,335; (2000) 8,014.