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Hartford, Kentucky

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Hartford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42347. It stands on North Fork Muddy Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hartford quadrangle. 2,668 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 417 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Hartford within Ohio County

On record in Hartford

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 5 records

Population over time

2 figures

Hartford fell from 2,672 to 2,668 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.

YearPeople Change
20102,672
20202,668-4 (-0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

25 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 25 fires within 5 miles of Hartford between 1998 and 2012, burning about 136 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined14
Recreation and ceremony5
Debris and open burning4
Natural1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 September 2008Debris and open burning1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
12 September 2002Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 July 2012Natural14 acresKentucky Division of ForestryBEAGLE CLU
6 April 1998Debris and open burning11 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 April 2010Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
11 April 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ohio County

Storms near this place

56 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hartford in 56 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 32 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2016Tornado (EF2)Hartford$150,000A tornado briefly touched down on Spinks Drive just off of Highway 69, initially causing EF-0 damage. The tornado was only on the ground for approximately 200 yards with a path width about 30-40 yards. A basement crawlspace door was blown out along with siding and roof damage at 125 Spinks Dr. There was evidence of isolated straight-line winds with some maple trees on Hamlin Chapel Dr. The tornado touched down for a second time at 41 El Retiro Ln where the path width increased to 50 yards and the winds speed increased to 90-95 mph. Numerous large hardwood trees were snapped and twisted. An outbuilding, previously used to make brooms, next to the house had significant damage when a large tree fell on top of it. The residents observed pea size hail. ||The tornado increased in size at 532 Stoneridge Ln. A custom-built home had exterior wall damage in the master bedroom with adjacent bathroom. Their insulation blew out in all directions in the house and the back porch resembled a snow globe. Numerous trees were down along the property as well as a grain silo. The family survived the tornado by sheltering in a 3-foot crawlspace and when they came out, there was quarter-sized hail on the ground. Winds in this area were 110 mph with a path width about 125 yards.||The tornado continued to move east northeast along the countryside uprooting twisting and damaging numerous hardwood trees. The tornado significantly increased in width to approximately 300 yards and did a lot of damage along Halls Creek Rd. At 1130 Halls Creed Road 2-inch hail occurred before the EF-2 tornado, with winds of 111 mph, did significant damage to the property, which included a 30x50 large barn sliding the wall 12 feet.||Along Walnut Rd, the tornado caused damage to several barns and numerous softwood trees and hardwood trees. Metal sheeting from barns was thrown in excess of 400 yards downwind.||At the intersection of Highway 1164 and 1544 at the Cedar Grove Church there was roof damage to the church and many trees were twisted and uprooted. The last visible damage was along Highway 1544 just east of 1164 with some trees uprooted and twisted. About 30 feet from the tree there was an outbuilding that had half its roof blown off and the roof remnants were found about 50 yards away. The tornado lifted approximately 400 yards from Highway 1544 near the intersection of 1164.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindHartford$30,000Thunderstorm winds caused severe roof damage to a house.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindHartford$20,000Trees and power lines were down in central Ohio County.
October 2017Thunderstorm WindHartford$20,000Officials reported 5 power poles fell along north Main Street.
October 2007Thunderstorm WindHartford$20,000The roof was blown off a building in Hartford.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindHartford$20,000no account filed
May 1995Thunderstorm WindHartford$10,000Several trees were blown down in Hartford.
September 1996Thunderstorm WindHartford$5,000no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindHartford-There were power lines and trees down along Crab Tree Alley.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindHartford-There were power lines and trees down near Walnut and Clay Streets.
April 2026Tornado (EF1)Hartford-The EF-1 tornado touched down briefly near the Rough River. It intensified as it crossed Highway 69, doing significant tree damage and some minor structural damage to homes along Highway 69. The tornado continued to the southeast where it ripped much of the roof of a home along Mill Run Lane, before lifting just before the Hartford, KY Airport.
April 2025Flash FloodHartford-Highway 69 was closed between Main Street and Interstate 165 due to high water.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees and power lines were downed across Ohio County, including in and around Hartford.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindHartford-A 60 mph wind gust was measured at the Ohio County Mesonet site.
February 2019Flash FloodHartford-Roads were reported to be flooded.
May 2019HailHartford-Broadcast media reported that 1.75 inch hail fell along the Natcher Parkway.
February 2018FloodHartford-Multiple roads closed due to high water and flooding.
April 2016FloodHartford-An Ohio County official reported water over roadways across parts of the county.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees and power lines were reported down in the area.
April 2016Thunderstorm WindHartford-A Ohio County official reported trees down in the area.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees were reported down in the area.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trained spotters reported trees down in the area.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindHartford-The local department of highways reported numerous trees down in the area due to severe thunderstorm winds.
July 2016Flash FloodHartford-The Ohio County emergency manager reported that most city streets were covered by high water due to excessive rainfall.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindHartford-A picture on Twitter relayed to the NWS by the public showed a large tree fell down due to severe thunderstorm winds.
July 2015Flash FloodHartford-An Ohio County law enforcement official reported that Highway 69 north of town was flooded due to excessive rainfall and high water.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindHartford-The Ohio County dispatch center reported downed trees blocking the roadway.
March 2012HailHartford-A supercell brought 1 inch hail to Hartford along with extensive wind damage and a report of a funnel cloud.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHartford-Two large trees fell across power lines in Hartford.
April 2011Flash FloodHartford-Roads were flooded and a few were impassable west of Beaver Dam.
May 2010HailHartford-Local law enforcement from the towns of Hartford, Beaver Dam, and Rockport in Ohio County reported quarter size hail.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees were down across HWY 136.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees were downed.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees and power lines were downed.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindHartford-Trees were downed. A spotter estimated wind speeds of up to 70 mph.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindHartford-A spotter estimated a 60 mph gust.
September 2003Flash FloodHartford-Mount Vernon Road, Lake Lane, and Round Hill Road were all closed and barricaded due to high water.
September 2002Thunderstorm WindHartford-Power lines were downed.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindHartford-A large tree was downed by thunderstorm winds.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindHartford-Large trees down across county
May 2017HailHartford-no account filed
May 2016HailHartford-no account filed
May 2016HailHartford-no account filed
April 2011HailHartford-no account filed
April 2006HailHartford-no account filed
April 2006HailHartford-no account filed
April 2006HailHartford-no account filed
April 2006HailHartford-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindHartford-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindHartford-no account filed
January 2002Thunderstorm WindHartford-no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindHartford-no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindHartford-no account filed
May 2000HailHartford-no account filed
June 1998HailHartford-no account filed
April 1998HailHartford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ohio County

Newspapers printed here

23,558 digitised pages

2 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 4,003 issues, 23,558 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
The Hartford Republican18?? to 1926
The Hartford Herald1875 to 1926

What the paper printed

39,926 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 9 issues spread across its run from 1875 to 1916, 39,926 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1875-01-06The Hartford Herald8,005 words
1875-03-31The Hartford Herald808 words
1875-06-23The Hartford Herald5,679 words
1875-09-08The Hartford Herald5,973 words
1875-12-01The Hartford Herald4,704 words
1916-01-07The Hartford Republican4,059 words
1916-01-14The Hartford Republican4,195 words
1916-01-28The Hartford Republican2,831 words
1916-02-04The Hartford Republican3,672 words

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
No Creek3.3 miles11
Beaver Dam3.8 miles11
Beda4.5 miles13
Sandefur Crossing4.7 miles11
McHenry4.8 miles11
Combs Ford4.9 miles13
Dukehurst4.9 miles13
Centertown5.2 miles11

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 HartfordAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1897716The 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 493841. 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.

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.