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Photograph of Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave
Photograph by The original uploader was Bedford at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

From the record

“The Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave is a monument between Horse Cave, Kentucky and Kentucky Down Under, off the main road between Horse Cave and I-65 on the Old Dixie Highway, in Hart County, Kentucky, United States.”

Wikipedia article Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 21 National Register listings published here for Hart County · listed in 1997 · category: Object.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 object as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Old Dixie Hwy. 1 mi. S of jct. of Old Dixie Hwy and I-65, Horse Cave, 42749
  • When was it listed? July 1997
  • Category. object
  • Also known as. Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS
  • Census division. Horse Cave
  • National Register reference number. 97000694 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

13 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave between 1998 and 2017, burning about 118 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/undetermined7
Recreation and ceremony3
Smoking1
Debris and open burning1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
24 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
12 September 1999Recreation and ceremony20 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
24 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
7 July 2012Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreKentucky Division of ForestryYODER FIRE
5 July 2012Smoking2.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryFLINT RIDG
8 March 2010Recreation and ceremony27 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
28 March 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
28 February 2014Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryHARPER

Every fire recorded in Hart County

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Unknown Confederate Soldier Monument in Horse Cave: 1 producer. All of them still produce. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Horse Cave QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Hart County

Storms near this property

40 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Horse Cave, the town this property stands in, in 40 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 6 flash flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 6 injuries. 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
November 1996Tornado (F0)Horse Cave5 hurt, $100,000no account filed
January 1999Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave1 hurt, $110,0005 mobile homes destroyed, 20 barns destroyed, 31 homes damaged, roofs blown off warehouses, trees and power lines down
October 2007Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave$1,500,000A large section of roof was blown off the Dart Plant building on U.S Highway 31W. Several tobacco barns and warehouses, and other industrial buildings suffered structural damage on east Main Street.
November 2000Tornado (F1)Horse Cave$30,000A porch roof and several attached columns were ripped off a house. A large pine tree was ripped apart and debris was spread in three directions. A barn was moved three feet away from its foundation, and one of its sides was caved in.
March 2019Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave$25,000A tree was blown down on a house.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave$20,000Local broadcast media reported that severe thunderstorm winds tipped over a semi-truck on Interstate 65 near Horse Cave Kentucky.
June 2001Flash FloodHorse Cave$12,000Highway 218 was closed due to high water. Three cars had to be pulled from a low lying portion of Highway 218.
September 2017Flash FloodHorse Cave$10,000The Hart County Emergency Manager reported that a water rescue was performed in Horse Cave after a vehicle stalled out in flood waters.
April 2006HailHorse Cave$10,000Hail broke windows and damaged vinyl siding on homes. Damage to vehicles was also reported.
May 2025HailHorse Cave-Quarter sized hail, with some slightly larger hailstones, was reported north of Cave City.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-A roof was blown off of a carport and power lines were blown down along U.S. Route 31W.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Strong winds caused minor structural damage to a building in Horse Cave.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees and power lines were down.
February 2021Flash FloodHorse Cave-Highway 218 in Horse Cave became impassable due to flooding.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-A barn was significantly damaged.
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Horse Cave-This tornado formed approximately 2.3 miles east of Rocky Hill near Goldenrod Lane and tracked northeast for approximately 1.1 miles before crossing into western Barren County. The tornado continued approximately 9 miles into Barren County before crossing into southern Hart County. The tornado traveled approximately 7 more miles into Hart County before dissipating near Red Buck Estes Road at approximately 0154 CST. In Hart County, the tornado continued along US 31W through downtown Horse Cave. Here the damage was rated EF1 with small roof damage, large limbs being snapped, and walls blown out of some older tobacco warehouses. Once reaching Dawson Knob the tornado weakened and likely converged with the supercell moving into Hardyville. Due to the knob terrain in this area, there are spots of weaker damage found, however on the down-sloping side, the tornado strengthened rapidly. This pattern was found twice in this damage path.
February 2021FloodHorse Cave-There was flooding near the intersection of Highway 218 and 31 West.
May 2017Flash FloodHorse Cave-Local law enforcement reported that Kentucky Highway 218 was blocked by high water west of US 31W.
May 2016Flash FloodHorse Cave-Broadcast meteorologists relayed reports of people trapped in the Hidden River Cave System. Initial reports indicated that search and rescue teams were dispatched.
December 2013Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-A storm survey confirmed widespread damage across southern Hart County east of Horse Cave consistent with straight line winds of 70 to 80 mph. A squall line moved across the area, flipping and destroying a single-wide mobile home just east of Horse Cave. Several barns were destroyed along Highway 218. Many trees were downed as well. On Bunnell Crossing Road near Pascal, a dairy silo was toppled and a barn was extensively damaged. Metal sheeting was removed from this barn and blown downwind for 400 yards.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-A county official reported that a tree fell near a truck stop on Old Dixie Highway.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees were blown down near Horse Cave.
February 2009Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Ten inch in diameter tree limbs were blown down and winds were estimated up to 65 mph.
February 2009Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Ten inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-A few trees were downed in the Wig Wam Road area.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees were downed.
January 2008Flash FloodHorse Cave-Highway 218 was closed for a half hour by high water.
April 2006HailHorse Cave-Penny size hail was reported at exit 58 on Interstate 64.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees were downed.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Several trees were blown down.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees and power lines were downed.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-Trees were downed.
May 2025HailHorse Cave-no account filed
June 2009HailHorse Cave-no account filed
April 2005HailHorse Cave-no account filed
April 2005HailHorse Cave-no account filed
July 2003HailHorse Cave-no account filed
November 2002HailHorse Cave-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHorse Cave-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hart County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Henrytown Historic District1.3 miles2025
Horse Cave Historic District1.5 miles2001
Col. Robert A. Smith Monument4.7 miles1997
Gardner House4.9 miles2004
Battle of Munfordville Site4.9 miles1999
Chapline Building5.4 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 97000694 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Hart CountyAll 21 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • 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.