Bowling Green, Kentucky

thumb|The B.G.M.U. Water Tower atop Reservoir Hill is a local landmark visible from many parts of Bowling Green.

thumb|The Warren County Justice Center is the center of the local court system.(also the unofficial town hall)

Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Louisville and Lexington. The Bowling Green metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in the state and had a population of 179,639 in 2020.

Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. In the 21st century, it is the location of numerous manufacturers, including General Motors, Spalding, 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 Western Kentucky University (or WKU for short), and the National Corvette Museum.

History

Settlement and incorporation

The first Europeans known to have reached the area carved their names on beech trees near the river . By 1778, settlers established McFadden's Station on the north bank of the Barren River.

Present-day Bowling Green developed from homesteads erected by Robert

19th century

By 1810, Bowling Green had 154 residents. Growth in steamboat commerce and the proximity of the Barren River increased Bowling Green's prominence. In 1821, the Kentucky Legislature built a toll road between the town and Cloverport on the Ohio River. Canal locks and dams on the Barren River made it much more navigable. In 1832, the first portage railway connected the river to the location of the current county courthouse. Mules pulled freight and passengers to and from the city on the tracks.

Despite rapid urbanization of the Bowling Green area in the 1830s, agriculture remained an important part of local life. A visitor to Bowling Green noted the boasting of a tavern proprietor named Benjamin Vance:

In 1859, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (currently CSX Transportation) laid railroad through Bowling Green that connected the city with northern and southern markets.

Bowling Green declared itself neutral in an attempt to escape the Civil War. Because of its prime location and resources, however, both the Union and Confederacy sought control of the city. The majority of its residents rejected both the Confederacy and the Lincoln administration. On September 18, 1861, around 1,300 Confederate soldiers arrived from Tennessee to occupy the city, placed under command of Kentucky native General Simon Bolivar Buckner. The city's pro-Union feelings surprised the Confederate occupiers. The Confederates fortified surrounding hills to secure possible military approaches to the valuable river and railroad assets. In November 1861, the provisional Confederate government of Kentucky chose Bowling Green as its capital.

On February 14, 1862, after receiving reports that Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River had both been captured by Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant, the Confederates began to withdraw from Bowling Green. They destroyed bridges across the Barren River, the railroad depot, and other important buildings that could be used by the enemy. The city was subject to disruptions and raids throughout the remainder of the war. During the summer of 1864, Union General Stephen G. Burbridge arrested 22 civilians in and around Bowling Green on a charge of treason. This incident and other harsh treatment by federal authorities led to bitterness toward the Union among Bowling Green residents and increased sympathies with the Confederacy.

After the Civil War, Bowling Green's business district grew considerably. Previously, agriculture had dominated the city's economy. During the 1870s, many of the historic business structures seen today were erected. One of the most important businesses in Bowling Green of this era was Carie Burnam Taylor's dress-making company. By 1906, Taylor employed more than 200 women.

In 1868, the city constructed its first waterworks system. The fourth county courthouse was completed in 1868. The first three were completed in 1798, 1805, and 1813. In 1889, the first mule-drawn streetcars appeared in the city. The first electric streetcars began to replace them by 1895.

The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth founded St. Columbia's Academy in 1862, succeeded by St. Joseph's School in 1911. In 1884, the Southern Normal School, which had been founded in 1875, moved to Bowling Green from the town of Glasgow, Kentucky. Pleasant J. Potter founded a women's college in Bowling Green in 1889. It closed in 1909 and its property was sold to the Western Kentucky State Normal School (see below, now known as Western Kentucky University). Other important schools in this era were Methodist Warren College, Ogden College (which also became a part of Western Kentucky University), and Green River Female College, a boarding school.

20th century

In 1906, Henry Hardin Cherry, the president and owner of Southern Normal School, donated the school to the state as the basis of the Western State Normal School. The school trained teachers for the expanding educational needs of the state. This institution is now known as Western Kentucky University and is the fourth-largest public university in the state, having been surpassed by Eastern Kentucky University in 2025.

In 1906, Doctors Lillian H. South, J. N. McCormack, and A.T. McCormack opened St. Joseph Hospital to provide medical and nursing care to the residents and students in the area.

In 1925, the third and last Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station was opened. About 27 trains arrived daily at the depot. Intercity bus lines were also a popular form of travel. By the 1960s, railroad travel had dramatically declined in the face of competition from airlines and automobiles. The station has been adapted for use as a museum.

In 1940, a Union Underwear factory built in Bowling Green bolstered the city's economy significantly. During the 1960s, the city's population began to surpass that of Ashland, Paducah, and Newport.

Downtown streets became a bottleneck for traffic. In 1949, the U.S. Route 31W Bypass was opened to alleviate traffic problems, but it also drew off business from downtown. The bypass grew to become a business hotspot in Bowling Green. A 1954 advertisement exclaimed, "Your business can grow in the direction Bowling Green is growing – to the 31-W By-Pass".

By the 1960s, the face of shopping was changing completely from the downtown retail square to suburban shopping centers. Between May and November 1967, stores in Bowling Green Mall opened for business. Another advertisement said, "One-stop shopping. Just park [free], step out and shop. You'll find everything close at hand." Between September 1979 and September 1980, stores in the larger Greenwood Mall came online. The city's limits began to stretch toward Interstate 65.

By the late 1960s, Interstate 65, which runs just to the east of Bowling Green, was completed. The Green River Parkway (now called the William H. Natcher Parkway and renamed I-165 in April 2019), was completed in the 1970s to connect Bowling Green and Owensboro. These vital transportation arteries attracted many industries to Bowling Green.

In 1981, General Motors moved its Chevrolet Corvette assembly plant from St. Louis, Missouri, to Bowling Green. In the same year, the National Corvette Homecoming event was created: it is a large, annual gathering of Corvette owners, car parades, and related activities in Bowling Green. In 1994, the National Corvette Museum was constructed near the assembly plant.

In 1997, Bowling Green was designated a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

21st century

thumb|The new Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce building was one of the first parts of the Downtown Redevelopment Project to reach completion.

In 2012, the city undertook a feasibility study on ways to revitalize the downtown Bowling Green area. The Downtown Redevelopment Authority was formed to plan redevelopment. Plans for the project incorporated Bowling Green's waterfront assets, as well as its historic center and streetscape around Fountain Square. It also proposed a new building for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, construction of a Riverwalk Park where downtown borders the Barren River, creation of a new public park called Circus Square, and installation of a new retail area, the Fountain Square Market.

As of spring 2009, the new Chamber of Commerce, Riverwalk Park, and Circus Square have been completed. The Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, a facility for arts and education, broke ground in October 2009 and celebrated its opening night on March 10, 2012, with a concert by Vince Gill. Ground was broken for the Fountain Square Market in 2012.

In 2005, an effort was made to incorporate a Whitewater Park into the downtown Bowling Green riverfront at Weldon Peete Park. Due to the recession, the project was not funded.

In 2011, the Bowling Green Riverfront Foundation expanded its efforts to develop land on the opposite side of Barren River from Mitch McConnell Park (which is located alongside the U.S. 31-W Bypass and the riverbank, between Louisville Road and Old Louisville Road), upriver to Peete Park. The new plans include use of the adjacent river for white-water sports—the stretch of river includes rapids rated on the International Scale of River Difficulty between Class II and Class IV—as well as a mountain biking trail, a bicycle pump track, and a rock climbing area. Some of this facility will be located on a reclaimed landfill, which had served as Bowling Green's garbage dump for many years.

2021 tornadoes

On December 11, 2021, two destructive tornadoes struck Bowling Green. The first was an EF3 tornado that heavily damaged or destroyed several buildings and homes and killed seventeen people. The second tornado formed alongside the Main EF3 and caused additional damage on the southern and eastern parts of the city and was rated EF2.

Geography

The Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport is above sea level. Located in the Upland South, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.45%, is covered by water.

Neighboring cities

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"

| Brownsville

| Franklin

| Glasgow

| Morgantown

| Russellville

| Scottsville

| Auburn

Climate

Bowling Green has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, 41 days of + highs occur annually, and 11 days occur each winter when the high fails to rise above freezing. Annual precipitation is 47.51 in, with spring being slightly wetter; snowfall averages per year. Extreme temperatures range from on January 23 and 24, 1963, up to on July 28, 1930.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Bowling Green had a population of 72,294 and a population density of . The median age was 29.5 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males age 18 and over.

99.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 28,167 households in Bowling Green, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.1% were married-couple households, 24.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. A 2011 study estimated that WKU salaries account for approximately 10% of all income earned in Warren County, which includes the city.

General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly Plant, which opened in 1981, is located in the city; by 2023, the plant had produced approximately 1.1 million Chevrolet Corvettes. As of 2022, GM employed approximately 1,100 people in Bowling Green.

Auto supplier Holley Performance Products has manufactured products in Bowling Green since 1952, and has been headquartered in the city since 1994. The Japan-based Kobe Steel Ltd. operates a large assembly plant in Bowling Green, manufacturing aluminum products used in car bumpers and frames for the North American auto sector; construction of the plant began in 2016, and began operation in 2018. Camping World Holdings Inc., an RV company, was founded in Bowling Green in 1966 by David Garvin, the owner of the Beech Bend amusement park; the company maintains Bowling Green as one of three headquarters (the others being Lincolnshire, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado).

In April 2022, AESC, a Japanese electric vehicle battery, EV battery company, announced plans to establish the Envision AESC plant at Bowling Green, creating an estimated 2,000 jobs in a $2 billion "gigafactory" investment. In 2025, adjusting to the electric vehicle market, a portion of the facility will now produce energy storage battery solutions for utilities and data centers. The plant is scheduled to be fully operational in 2027.

Apparel manufacturer Union Underwear Co. LLC, doing business as Fruit of the Loom, is headquartered in Bowling Green, employing about 930 people in the city as of 2022. The Swedish company SCA opened a manufacturing facility in Bowling Green in 1988; as of 2016, the company employed about 160 employees in Bowling Green and 500 employees at a paper mill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, acquired from Wausau Paper.

In May 2026, AKFA Aluminum, announced the start of construction of its new aluminum manufacturing facility. Using recycled aluminum billets in the extrusion processes to create products, and supplying materials for global markets including construction, transportation, and renewable energy, and creating 331 jobs.

Top employers

According to the city's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,

Sports

E.A. Diddle Arena, located on the campus of Western Kentucky University, is a multi-purpose arena with a seating capacity of 7,500 persons. Built in 1963 and renovated in 2004, the arena has hosted college sports such as basketball and volleyball. It also hosted the KHSAA Girls' Sweet Sixteen state championship event in high school basketball from 2001 to 2015, after which it moved to BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University. The arena has also played host to various traveling rodeos and circuses. In 2006, Diddle Arena hosted the first WWE event to be held in Bowling Green in over ten years.

thumbnail|right|Bowling Green Ballpark

The city and surrounding area is home to the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers team, which competes in the NCAA, and are part of Conference USA.

Bowling Green Ballpark is a baseball stadium currently in use in Bowling Green. It is primarily used for baseball, for the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods organization of the South Atlantic League. The Hot Rods began play in the spring of 2009 in the South Atlantic League, transferring to the Midwest League for 2010. In 2021 as part of Minor League Baseball's realignment they began play in the newly formed High-A East, which was renamed back to the South Atlantic League in 2022. They are a farm team for Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays.

Parks and recreation

The Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Department administers of public land for recreational use.

Community centers

F. O. Moxley – Facility includes a game room (billiards, video games), board game room, concession stand, racquetball/wallyball courts and basketball courts.
Parker-Bennett – Facility has hourly rental rates for meetings, parties and receptions.
Kummer/Little Recreation Center – Facility includes basketball/volleyball courts, concession stand, and walking trails.
Delafield Community Center – Facility includes an auditorium, basketball courts, a playground, and picnic shelters.

Parks

Swimming centers

Swim centers include Russell Sims Aquatic Center, and Warren County Aquatics Facility.

thumb|Lovers Lane Park [[disc golf course, one of eight such courses in Bowling Green]]

Education

Primary and secondary education

Public education is provided by the Bowling Green Independent School District in inner sections of Bowling Green and by Warren County Public Schools in outlying sections. Several private schools also serve Bowling Green students.

thumb|right|A view of the campus of [[Western Kentucky University]]

thumbnail|right|Pearce Ford Tower at Western Kentucky University

Elementary schools

Warren County Public Schools

Alvaton Elementary
Briarwood Elementary
Bristow Elementary
Cumberland Trace Elementary
Jennings Creek Elementary
Jody Richards Elementary
Lost River Elementary
North Warren Elementary
Oakland Elementary
Plano Elementary
Rich Pond Elementary
Richardsville Elementary
Rockfield Elementary
Warren Elementary
William H. Natcher Elementary

Bowling Green Independent School District

Dishman-McGinnis
Parker Bennett Curry
Potter Gray
T.C. Cherry
W.R. McNeill

Middle and junior high schools

All of these schools are operated by the Warren County district except Bowling Green Junior High.

Bowling Green Junior High
Drakes Creek Middle School
Henry F. Moss Middle School
Warren East Middle School
South Warren Middle School

High schools

All schools are operated by the Warren County district except Bowling Green High and Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science.

Bowling Green High
Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky
Greenwood High
Warren Central High
Warren East High
South Warren High School
Lighthouse Academy High School

Religious schools

Legacy Christian Academy - Preschool through 12th grade
Foundation Christian Academy – Preschool through 12th grade Church of Christ Christian school
Holy Trinity Lutheran – Preschool through 6th grade Lutheran Christian school
Old Union School – Preschool through 12th grade Christian school
Saint Joseph Interparochial School– Preschool through 8th grade Catholic school

Postsecondary education

Bowling Green Adult Learning Center
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Western Kentucky University

Media

Print media

The Amplifier – Arts & Entertainment monthly
Bowling Green Daily News
College Heights Herald – WKU student newspaper
Soky Happenings

Television

WDNZ Antenna TV Channel 11
WBKO ABC Channel 13
WKYU PBS Channel 24
WCZU Court TV Channel 39
WNKY NBC Channel 40
WKGB PBS/KET Channel 53

Digital broadcast

WDNZ Antenna TV Channel 11.1 720i
WDNZ Stadium Channel 11.2 1080i
WDNZ The Country Network Channel 11.3 480i
WBKO ABC Channel 13.1 720p
WBKO Fox Channel 13.2 480i
WBKO CW Channel 13.3 480i
WKYU PBS Channel 24.1 1080i
WKYU Create Channel 24.2 480i
WCZU Court TV Channel 39.1 480i
WCZU Buzzr Channel 39.2 480i
WCZU Bounce TV Channel 39.3 480i
WCZU SBN Channel 39.4 480i
WCZU GRIT Channel 39.5 480i
WCZU Court TV Mystery Channel 39.6 480i
WCZU Cozi TV Channel 39.7 480i
WNKY NBC Channel 40.1 1080i
WNKY CBS Channel 40.2 480i
WNKY MeTV Channel 40.3 480i
WKGB PBS Channel 53.1 KET1 720p
WKGB PBS Channel 53.2 KET2 480i
WKGB PBS Channel 53.3 KETKY The Kentucky Channel 480i
WKGB PBS Kids Channel 53.4 480i

Radio

AM 930 WKCT – News/Talk
AM 1340 WBGN – The Ticket(Fox Sports Radio)
AM 1450 WWKU – ESPN Radio
FM 88.1 WAYFM – WAYFM
FM 88.9 WKYU – Western Kentucky University Public Radio
FM 90.7 WCVK – Christian Family Radio
FM 91.7 WWHR – "Revolution" WKU's student radio station
FM 93.3 WDNS – Bowling Green's Classic Rock Station
FM 95.1 WGGC – Goober 95.1 – Country
FM 96.7 WBVR – The Beaver – Country (licensed to Auburn, Kentucky)
FM 100.7 WKLX – Sam 100.7 – Classic hits (licensed to Brownsville, Kentucky)
FM 103.7 WHHT – Howdy 103.7 – Country (licensed to Cave City, Kentucky)
FM 105.3 WPTQ – The Point – Classic / Active Rock (licensed to Glasgow, Kentucky)
FM 106.3 WOVO – Wovo106.3 – Adult contemporary (licensed to Horse Cave, Kentucky)
FM 107.1 WUHU – Woohoo – Top 40 (licensed to Smiths Grove, Kentucky)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Major highways

20px Interstate 65 north to Louisville, Kentucky south to Nashville, Tennessee
25px Interstate 165 north to Owensboro, Kentucky
25px U.S. Route 231 north to Morgantown, Kentucky south to Scottsville, Kentucky
25px U.S. Route 31W north to Park City, south to Franklin, Kentucky
20px 20px U.S. Route 68 / Kentucky State Route 80 west to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, east to Lexington, Kentucky / Somerset, Kentucky

Other highways

25px Kentucky State Route 185
25px Kentucky State Route 234
25px Kentucky State Route 242
25px Kentucky State Route 880

Former highways

25px Kentucky State Route 67 (1929–1969)
William H. Natcher Green River Parkway-KY-9007(Replaced by I-165, North to Owensboro, Morgantown, Beaver Dam, South to Bowling Green)

Air transport

The city is served by Bowling Green–Warren County Regional Airport.

Buses

Community Action of Southern Kentucky operates GO bg Transit, which provides public transportation within Bowling Green. Western Kentucky University operates transit around campus, branded as Topper Transit.

Bowling Green was served for many years by intercity bus carriers, primarily Greyhound. But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greyhound downgraded their existing station to an unstaffed stop, and then eliminated the stop entirely in May 2020. The end of Greyhound service marked the first time the city has been without some form of public intercity transportation since 1858, when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad first reached the city.

Greyhound now serves a stop in Franklin, Kentucky, about south of Bowling Green.

Tornado Bus Company, based in Mexico to primarily serve the Hispanic market, lists Bowling Green as a destination, but the stop is actually located in Smiths Grove, Kentucky, about northeast of downtown Bowling Green.

Rail

Bowling Green receives rail freight service from CSX through the former Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) namesake line. The R.J. Corman Railroad Group operates freight service on the former L&N line to Memphis from Bowling Green to Clarksville, Tennessee; the line joins with CSX at Memphis Junction on Bowling Green's southern side.

Notable people

Thomas Lilbourne Anderson – U.S. Representative from Missouri
Ben Bailey – comedian and host of TV game show Cash Cab
Gary Barnidge – professional football tight end for the Cleveland Browns
David Bell - author
Danny Julian Boggs – United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Sam Bush – musician
Athena Cage – musician
Cage the Elephant – rock band
Chris Carmichael – musician
John Carpenter – film director, producer, actor, screenwriter, and composer
Rex Chapman – former professional basketball player, played for the Kentucky Wildcats in college, played professionally for the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns
David F. Duncan – epidemiologist and drug policy consultant in the Clinton Administration
Robert Duvall - Kentucky state representative
George Fant - Professional football offensive tackle for the Houston Texans, former offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, played college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers before pursuing football career
Frances Fowler – painter
Foxhole – instrumental post-rock group
Dorothy Grider – artist and illustrator of children's books
Henry Grider – U.S. Representative
Brett Guthrie – U.S. Representative
Eliza Calvert Hall - author and women's rights advocate
Mordecai Ham – Christian evangelist and pastor of the Burton Memorial Baptist Church early in the 20th century
Corey Hart – Milwaukee Brewers right fielder, 2008 and 2010 MLB All Star
Duncan Hines – food critic and cookbook author
Hillbilly Jim – professional wrestler
Ben Keith – American pedal steel guitarist, solo musician and producer
Paul Kilgus – former professional baseball player
John D. Minton Jr. – Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
Doug Moseley – former United Methodist clergyman and former state senator
Louise Murphy – poet
William Natcher - U.S. Representative from 1953 to 1994
Thomas Nicholson – Professor at Western Kentucky University, drug abuse and drug policy expert
Jordan Meredith - NFL Offensive Lineman for the Las Vegas Raiders
Rand Paul – ophthalmologist and U.S. Senator; son of U.S. Representative Ron Paul from Texas
Deborah Renshaw – former NASCAR driver
Robert Reynolds – former professional football player
Jody Richards – former Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives
Nappy Roots – platinum album selling rap group
B. Chance Saltzman - General and 2nd Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force
Sleeper Agent – rock band
Zachary Stevens – vocalist of the band Savatage
Mary Hall Surface - American playwright
Chris Turner – former professional baseball player
Terry Taylor - Professional Basketball player for the Indiana Pacers

References

External links

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