Cave City, Kentucky
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Cave City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42127. It lies near Huckleberry Knob. The Survey maps it on the Horse Cave quadrangle. 2,356 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 633 feet above sea level.
On record in Cave City
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 4 records
Cave City Commercial Districtlisted 1983- Andrew McCoy Houselisted 1983
- Rock Cabin Camplisted 2017
- Wigwam Village No. 2listed 1988
Population over time
2 figuresCave City grew from 2,240 to 2,356 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,240 | |
| 2020 | 2,356 | +116 (+5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1935 USGS Horse Cave quadrangle1:48000
- 1938 USGS Horse Cave quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Horse Cave quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Horse Cave quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Campbellsville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Photographs
8 of 15 photographs shown, 1940 to 2020Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1940. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Barren County
Fires near this place
5 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Cave City between 2001 and 2014, burning about 21 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 April 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 28 March 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 28 February 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HARPER |
| 25 November 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 12 November 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Cave City: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pace Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
27 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cave City in 27 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $250,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down two walls at an apartment complex in the Cave City area. Winds blew the roof off a home in the Capitol Hill communitiy near Glasgow. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $60,000 | Straight line winds blew over a mobile home downed some large trees. |
| December 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $50,000 | A storm survey confirmed widespread wind damage associated with a squall line around Cave City. Several businesses had signs blown down or damaged. A 60 foot tall Super 8 sign next to Interstate 65 was toppled. Trees and power lines were downed. A grocery store had structural damage, while several other businesses received roof damage. Wind damage was noted north of Cave City along US 31, where Alvey's Towing Recovery was damaged. Surveyors estimated straight line winds of between 65 and 70 mph. |
| January 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $30,000 | The roof was ripped off the metal shop of an auto dealership on the south side of Cave City, and a barn was destroyed on the east side of town. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $25,000 | A barn was destroyed along Old Munfordville Road. Several trees were downed nearby. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged the roofs of a trailer and a barn on Wilson Road southeast of Cave City. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | A tree was blown down at the intersection of Happy Valley Road and Old Happy Valley Road. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Cave City | - | Up to golf ball sized hail was observed around Cave City. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Cave City | - | Ping pong ball sized hail was observed in Cave City. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Trees and power lines were blown down near Cave City. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | There were trees and power lines down in Cave City. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | One tree and multiple large branches fell down and caused slight siding damage to a trailer. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Trees were reported down due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | The Barren County emergency manager reported trees down in northern Barren County near the Hart County line. |
| April 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | A home's siding was damaged in Cave City. Several trees were downed nearby as well. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | The emergency manager reported that two trees fell across roads near Cave City. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Local law enforcement reported a tree down on Mammoth Cave Street. |
| March 2011 | Hail | Cave City | - | A spotter reported pea to nickel sized hail via eSpotter. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Cave City | - | The media relayed a report from a viewer of water covering the roadway at Duke St. |
| February 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Trees reported downed in Cave City. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | A spotter estimated a 70 mph wind gust. |
| January 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| November 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Springs | 3.7 miles | 22 | |
| Griderville | 4.9 miles | 13 | |
| Goodnight | 5.0 miles | 13 | |
| Bear Wallow | 5.4 miles | 11 | |
| Park City | 5.6 miles | 24 | |
| Stovall | 6.2 miles | 24 | |
| Carden | 6.9 miles | 13 | |
| Oil City | 7.3 miles | 13 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Cave City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2559676 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 489114. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






