Bowling Green KY - About (2024)

Here's the Gist

Located 60 miles north of Nashville and 110 miles south of Louisville off Interstate 65, Bowling Green is thethird-most populous cityin the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington. The 2020 U.S. Census Bureau total for Bowling Green is 72,294, and the population of Warren County is 134,554. In 2003, Bowling Green and its surrounding communities were designated as a "metropolitan area" but separate city and county governments remain. Significant companies in Bowling Green include theGM Corvette Assembly Plant,Fruit of the Loom/ Russell Athletics,Houchens Industries,Holley Performance Products, Bowling Green Metalforming, andCamping World. The third largest Kentucky public university,Western Kentucky University, is situated upon a hill in central Bowling Green. Its athletic teams are calledHilltoppers, and the Men’s Basketball program is the 14th winningest Division 1 program in the country. The city of Bowling Green and the county of Warren (as of January 2019) areboth ‘wet’ allowing establishments with alcohol licenses to serve and sell liquor, beer and wine seven days a week.

Brief History

Warren County consists of 546 square miles and was named for General Joseph Warren, a hero of the famous American Revolution Battle of Bunker Hill. The area was first settled in 1785 when Andrew McFadin built McFadin's Station on Barren River. Shortly afterward, another explorer, Robert Moore, paused for a few days at the station before deciding to build in the area. Brothers George and Robert Moore may not have realized how forward-looking they were when they selected a site on the Barren River in south central Kentucky for a new settlement in 1796. At the first county commissioners meeting in early 1798, the pioneers decided that the new town would be "called and known by the name of Bolin Green." This name was after the Bowling Green Square in New York City, where patriots had pulled down a statue of King George III and used the lead to make bullets during the American Revolution. In laying out the town, the Moore’s designed two acres for the construction of public buildings. Those same two acres today make up Fountain Square Park in the heart of downtown. This is symbolic of the city of Bowling Green whose central location allowed it quickly to become a major agricultural community and river port, and later, an important commercial and educational center. Today Bowling Green is a regional entertainment hub for more than 275,000 people in 11 surrounding counties.

Noteworthy

We’re humbled and honored to have been:

• Named one of The South's Best Cities on the Rise 2022 by Southern Living readers
• Designated one of National Geographic'sWorld's Best Citieswith inclusion on its10 Best All-American Citieslist
• Ranked by MONEY Magazine as The Best Place to Live in Kentucky in 2018(Learn more from our Chamber of Commerce here)
• Named aDozen Distinctive Destinationby the National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Selected as anAll-America City Finalistin 2010 by the National Civic League
• Chosen as aTop Ten Great Public Space(Downtown Fountain Square)by the American Planning Association
• Included in Forbes'Top 25 Places to Retirelist in 2014 and 2015, and regularly appear on its listofBest Small Places for Businesses and Careers(highest placement of #5 in 2011)
• Tabbed as one of theFifty Best Adventure Townsin the country by National Geographic Adventure magazine - 2007 '50 Best Places to Live and Play' issue
• Named by SportsEventsas a "Destination to Watch"and recipient of aReaders' Choice Awardbased on our high standard of professionalism and quality service in hosting events
• Picked as atop 25Best Place to Launch a Small Businessby CNNMoney.com
• Rankedamong the top metropolitan areas with populations less than 200,000 for its number of industry expansions and locations by Site Selectionmagazine
• Included in the 2020 Top 100 Places to Live list by Livability.com, coming in at #89

Notable recognition for some of our attractions include:

• The National Corvette Museum was honored as the Best Attraction for Car Lovers in the 2020 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice awards and was previously named one of theTop 10 Automobile Museumsby Edmunds.com
• The NCM Motorsports Park was named as the2014 Outstanding Facility of the Year(the track opened in August 2014!) by theRace Track Business Conference
• The has been recognized numerous times with aTripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellencefor consistently receiving great traveler reviews
• The Club at Olde Stone has been included in Golfweek Magazine'sBest Residential Golf Course,Best Modern Golf Course,Top 100 Modern Courses list as well as ranking#8 in Golf Digest's ranking of America's Best New Courseswhen it opened
• Beech Bend Amusem*nt Park is consistently recognizedas one of theTop 5 Friendliest Parksand its Kentucky Rumbler is one of theTop 20 Best Wooden Roller Coastersby Amusem*nt Today readers
• The Professional Disc Golf Association rated Kereiakes Park Disc Golf Course a NationalTop 25 Disc Golf Course
• Chaney’s Dairy Barn was named theBest Ice Cream Parlor in Kentuckyby USA Today in 2010
• Western Kentucky University(WKU)has been the fastest growing university in Kentucky for fourteen years and is one of three universities in Kentucky listed in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition," making its third appearance in the guide
• WKUis one of 25 Safe Communities in the U.S. as accredited by the National Safety Council, becoming the fourth academic institution worldwide to receive the designation.

Some well-known former and current residents include:

• Duncan Hines, the travel writer turned packaged foods and cake mix king, was born, lived and is buried here.Learn more.
• John Carpenter, the horror film writer, producer, and director of Halloween fame, grew up here.Learn more.
• Newgrass RevivalmembersSam Bush, a world-renowned mandolin player and "Father of Newgrass,"andCurtis Burch, an award-winning dobro player, are from Bowling Green.
• Members ofNappy Roots, a platinum album-selling rap group, and indie rock bandCage the Elephant (Grammy-award winners!) andSleeper Agentare from Bowling Green.
• United States Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky.and U.S. Representative Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., reside in Bowling Green.
• Broadway leadingactor Bronson Norris Murphy is from BG and a graduate of Greenwood High School and Western Kentucky University. Prominent roles include the Phantom in Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns.
• Miss Kentucky 2011,Ann-Blair Thornton, is a Bowling Green native and WKU student. Ann-Blair won the Quality of Life Award at The Miss America Pageant in 2012.