Bowling Green, Kentucky | |
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City | |
Shops along Fountain Square in downtown Bowling Green
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Location of Bowling Green within Warren County in Kentucky. |
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Location in the United States | |
Coordinates: 36°58′54″N 86°26′40″W / 36.98167°N 86.44444°WCoordinates: 36°58′54″N 86°26′40″W / 36.98167°N 86.44444°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Kentucky |
County | Warren |
Government | |
• Mayor | Bruce Wilkerson |
Area | |
• City | 35.6 sq mi (92.1 km2) |
• Land | 35.4 sq mi (91.7 km2) |
• Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
Elevation | 547 ft (166.7 m) |
Population (2015) | |
• City | 63,616 |
• Density | 1,536.9/sq mi (537.5/km2) |
• Metro | 165,732 |
Time zone | CST (UTC−6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC−5) |
ZIP codes | 42101-42104 |
Area code(s) | 270 & 364 |
FIPS code | 21-08902 |
GNIS feature ID | 0487744 |
Website | www |
Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. As of 2015, its population of 63,616 made it the third most-populous city in the state after Louisville and Lexington; its metropolitan area had an estimated population of 165,732; and the combined statistical area it shares with Glasgow has an estimated population of 218,870.
Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. The city was the inspiration for the 1967 Everly Brothers song "Bowling Green". It is the home of numerous manufacturers, including General Motors and Fruit of the Loom. The Bowling Green Assembly Plant has been the source of all Chevrolet Corvettes built since 1981. Bowling Green is also home to the state's second-largest public university, Western Kentucky University. In 2014, Forbes magazine listed Bowling Green as one of the Top 25 Best Places to Retire in the United States.
The first Europeans known to have reached the area carved their names on beech trees near the river around 1775. By 1778, settlers established McFadden's Station on the north bank of the Barren River.
Present-day Bowling Green grew out of homesteads erected by Robert and George Moore and General Elijah Covington, the namesake of the town near Cincinnati. The Moore brothers arrived from Virginia circa 1794. In 1798, only two years after Warren County had been formed, Robert Moore donated 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land to county trustees for the purpose of constructing public buildings. Soon after, he donated an additional 30 to 40 acres (120,000 to 160,000 m2) surrounding the original plot. The city of Bowling Green was officially incorporated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky on March 6, 1798.