Stanford, Kentucky
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Stanford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40484. It stands on Saint Asaph Creek. The Survey maps it on the Stanford quadrangle. 3,640 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 942 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Stanford
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 of 15 shown
James W. Alcorn Houselisted 1980
Baughman's Mill and Stanford Railroad Depotlisted 1978
Samuel and Mary Logan Briggs Houselisted 1975
Lincoln County Courthouselisted 1976
Dr. Thomas Montgomery Houselisted 1978
Horace Withers Houselisted 1987- John Baughman Houselisted 1978
- John Logan Houselisted 1975
- McCormack Churchlisted 1976
- Abraham Miller Houselisted 2001
- Adam Pence Houselisted 1978
- Richland Farmlisted 2004
Every listing in Lincoln County
Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record
- Colonel William Whitley House, Stanford-Crab Orchard Pike, Stanfordfederal building survey, 9 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresStanford grew from 3,487 to 3,640 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 | 3,487 | |
| 2020 | 3,640 | +153 (+4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1905 USGS Harrodsburg quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1952 USGS Stanford quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Winchester quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Stanford quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Harrodsburg quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Harrodsburg quadrangle1:100000
Photographs
1 photograph,Taken 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.
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
17 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Stanford between 1998 and 2019, burning about 87 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were 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 | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | LANDFILL |
| 23 September 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HAZZLETT HOLLOW |
| 29 June 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HOLE IN TH |
| 8 April 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | SOUTH FORK |
| 5 April 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 3 April 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 2 April 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 13 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | SKY LINE CEMETERY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Stanford: 3 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Fire Clay (Refractory). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastside Roadcut Clay Bed | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Prospect | ||
| Roadcut Clay Bed | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Prospect | ||
| Westside Roadcut Clay Bed | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Prospect |
Storms near this place
39 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Stanford in 39 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 30 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2010 | Flash Flood | Stanford | 1 killed, $30,000 | Heavy rains caused flash flooding of the Hanging Fork River on KY 300 near Stanford. One person died when a van with multiple passengers was swept off the road into the river. The driver of the van exited the vehicle and climbed onto the roof. He then lost his grip and fell into the rushing water. M47VE. |
| February 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Stanford | $100,000 | An NWS storm survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph touched down about a mile southwest of Stanford. It traveled southeast damaging the middle school complex on Highway 27 about a mile south of Stanford. The tornado continued to damage large barns and out buildings as well as snap trees until it lifted about 2.1 miles northwest of Crab Orchard. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $15,000 | The Lincoln County emergency manager reported trees down in the city and that a tin roof was blown off a home due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $6,000 | The emergency manager reported trees and a few power lines down. Also nickel size hail fell. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down. A tree limb was blown on to a police cruiser. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $5,000 | Trees down. One home was damaged. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | $2,000 | A tree was blown on to a car on Kentucky Highway 3245. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A tree was blown down onto a house and went through the roof on Spring Valley Drive in Stanford. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Power lines were blown down along the 300 block of Anderson Heights in Stanford. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Power lines were downed near the intersection of Danville Avenue and Lee Drive in Stanford. |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A few trees and large tree limbs were downed in Stanford. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A tree and power lines were blown down on Danville Avenue between Portman Avenue and Maxwell Street. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees and power lines were reported down near Stanford and western portions of the county. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | State officials reported trees down in the area due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trained spotters reported trees down in the area. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees were reported down in the city of Stanford due to severe thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Local law enforcement reported trees down throughout the county. At 925 pm EDT, the Kentucky Mesonet 4 miles northeast of Stanford measured a 51 mph wind gust. |
| March 2012 | Flash Flood | Stanford | - | Flash Flooding caused by the training of several storms briefly closed 3rd Street in Stanford. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | A spotter reported trees down around Stanford. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees were blown down county-wide. A roof was also blown off a trailer. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Numerous trees were blown down. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees were downed in Stanford and just west of Stanford on Hatcher Road. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Stanford | - | Some roads were covered with water in the city. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees were downed. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Trees were downed. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Several trees were downed. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | Several trees down as a squall line moved through. |
| January 2006 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| November 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Stanford | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Stanford | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
18,016 digitised pages5 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 4,048 issues, 18,016 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.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| The Interior Journal | 1872 to 1881 |
| Semi-Weekly Interior Journal | 1881 to 1905 |
| The Interior Journal | 1905 to 1910 |
| The Stanford Interior Journal | 1911 to 1912 |
| The Interior Journal | 1912 to 1984 |
What the paper printed
80,121 wordsFront pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 23 issues spread across its run from 1872 to 1918, 80,121 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.
| Issue | Paper | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1872-03-08 | The Interior Journal | 2,703 words |
| 1872-05-10 | The Interior Journal | 5,647 words |
| 1872-07-12 | The Interior Journal | 5,054 words |
| 1872-09-06 | The Interior Journal | 5,759 words |
| 1872-11-08 | The Interior Journal | 3,512 words |
| 1881-12-20 | Semi-Weekly Interior Journal | 2,694 words |
| 1881-12-27 | Semi-Weekly Interior Journal | 4,024 words |
| 1881-12-30 | Semi-Weekly Interior Journal | 3,475 words |
| 1905-04-04 | Semi-Weekly Interior Journal | 2,571 words |
| 1905-05-26 | The Interior Journal | 3,123 words |
| 1905-07-18 | The Interior Journal | 3,549 words |
| 1905-09-12 | The Interior Journal | 3,394 words |
| 1905-11-02 | The Interior Journal | 3,264 words |
| 1910-12-27 | The Interior Journal | 3,965 words |
| 1911-03-14 | The Stanford Interior Journal | 2,097 words |
| 1911-08-04 | The Stanford Interior Journal | 2,077 words |
| 1911-10-17 | The Stanford Interior Journal | 2,121 words |
| 1912-03-22 | The Stanford Interior Journal | 3,731 words |
| 1912-05-17 | The Interior Journal | 1,166 words |
| 1912-07-12 | The Interior Journal | 5,164 words |
| 1912-09-03 | The Interior Journal | 2,392 words |
| 1912-10-29 | The Interior Journal | 3,957 words |
| 1918-11-15 | The Interior Journal | 4,682 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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmon Heights | 0.7 miles | 13 | |
| Morgan Manor Addition | 1.1 miles | 13 | |
| Rowland | 1.7 miles | 13 | |
| West Lynn (historical) | 2.1 miles | 13 | |
| Boneyville | 2.4 miles | 13 | |
| Logantown | 2.7 miles | 13 | |
| Mount Zenia (historical) | 3.6 miles | 12 | |
| Blue Lick | 3.7 miles | 8 |
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 Stanford | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q951131 | 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 504254. 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.






