Owenton, Kentucky
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Owenton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40359. The Survey maps it on the Owenton quadrangle. 1,682 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 968 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Owenton
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 12 records
Central Owenton Historic Districtlisted 1984
Cox, L. 0., Houselisted 1984
Highfieldlisted 1977
William Linsey Houselisted 1984
McKay Houselisted 1984
Owen County Courthouse and Jaillisted 1976- Byrns Landinglisted 1997
- Ford Houselisted 1984
- Monterey Grade Schoollisted 1997
- North Main-North Adams Historic Districtlisted 1984
- Old Cedar Baptist Churchlisted 1997
- E. E. Settle Houselisted 1984
Population over time
2 figuresOwenton grew from 1,327 to 1,682 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 | 1,327 | |
| 2020 | 1,682 | +355 (+27%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 9 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.
- 1950 USGS Owenton quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Louisville quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Louisville quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Falmouth quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
4 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Owenton between 2004 and 2011, burning about 39 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 | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 28 March 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 21 March 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | ELK CREEK FIRE |
| 24 October 2010 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | ROB FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
54 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Owenton in 54 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 32 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 6 flash flood, 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $20,000 | A barn was partially destroyed and blown onto Highway 22 East. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $20,000 | The garage doors of a wrecker service station were blown in. Numerous trees were also downed. |
| August 1996 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $15,000 | Trees were knocked down and a roof was blown off a barn on Slippery Rock Road. |
| August 2009 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $10,000 | Flooding forced the evacuation of a trailer on Teresita Road. |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $10,000 | Strong winds knocked down numerous trees and destroyed a metal shed. |
| January 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $8,000 | Several trees were downed across the county. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | Numerous 6 to 7 inch diameter trees downed on Highway 22, 227 and 330. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | A barn was damaged due to thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | Trees were downed. |
| June 2001 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $5,000 | Thunderstorms produced heavy rain which caused high water on roads as well as a couple of culverts washed out along Twin Creek. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | Power poles were knocked down just south of Owenton and trees and large limbs were knocked down in Gratz. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | Numerous trees and power poles downed. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | Trees were downed, some knocking down power lines. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $4,000 | Multiple trees were blown down along Old Monterey Road. |
| April 2018 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $3,000 | A car was stuck in high water on Cull Road. |
| March 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Several large tree limbs were downed. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Large tree limbs were downed at the intersection of State Routes 22 and 355. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | A couple of trees were knocked down. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Trees were downed. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Trees were knocked down along State Route 845. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Several trees were knocked down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Trees downed. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Trees downed. |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Numerous trees downed. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $3,000 | Several trees downed. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $2,000 | A couple of trees were downed on the southeast side of Owenton. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $2,000 | A tree and a power pole were knocked down. |
| October 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $2,000 | Trees were downed near New Columbus and Harmony in the southeast part of the county. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $1,000 | A tree was downed on Old Sweet Owen Road. |
| March 2012 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $1,000 | High water due to heavy rain was reported across Cull Road. |
| April 2011 | Heavy Rain | Owenton | $1,000 | A couple roads were closed due to an overflowing stream. |
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Owenton | $1,000 | A road was reported closed due to high water. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | $1,000 | Two trees were downed near Fairbanks. |
| February 2022 | Flood | Owenton | - | Cull Road was closed due to high water. |
| May 2022 | Flood | Owenton | - | High water was reported in downtown Owenton. |
| February 2021 | Flood | Owenton | - | High water was reported on several roads throughout the county. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | - | The wind gust was estimated. |
| May 2010 | Flood | Owenton | - | Roads were still reported closed due to previous flash flooding. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | - | Several trees were reported down countywide. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| March 2010 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| November 2005 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| February 2002 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Hail | Owenton | - | no account filed |
| April 1995 | Hail | Owenton | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallam | 3.6 miles | 9 | |
| Long Ridge | 3.6 miles | 9 | |
| Cull | 4.3 miles | 9 | |
| Pleasant Home | 4.5 miles | 9 | |
| Sweet Owen | 4.5 miles | 9 | |
| Squiresville | 6.0 miles | 9 | |
| Hesler | 6.1 miles | 12 | |
| Needmore | 6.3 miles | 6 |
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 Owenton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3181169 | 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 500083. 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.



