The Origin Story of Campbellsville, KY

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Chris Grimes & Stephen Bird
July 09, 2025

The Origin Story of Campbellsville, KY

Campbellsville, Kentucky, didn’t sprout up randomly like a weed in a fencerow, it was planted with intention and grit.

Andrew Campbell

The town’s roots trace back to 1817, when Andrew Campbell, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia, rolled into the Green River region with his wife Rebecca and four brothers: James, Adam, Michael, and David.

Their land was part of a grant passed down from their father, a classic American frontier hand-me-down. And Andrew didn’t just settle, he got to work.

Within a few years, he built a gristmill and a tavern, two essentials for frontier life. (You’ve got to grind corn, and you’ve got to unwind.)

He also began plotting out land for sale, laying the groundwork for what would become a thriving hub.

By 1848, Campbellsville became the county seat of the newly formed Taylor County. And get this, the Campbells sold the public square for just one dollar so a courthouse could be built.

That’s either civic virtue or the best land flip in Kentucky history.

The town’s early economy thrived on livestock, timber, and tobacco, with the Green River acting as a trade lifeline. The river was used to float logs and ship goods, so in a sense, Campbellsville was a river town before it was a college town.

In the 1900s, the area blossomed thanks to the arrival of the railroad, which brought industrialization and jobs.

Later, the establishment of Campbellsville College (now University) in 1906 helped the town evolve from an agricultural outpost into an educational center.

Today, the university draws students from around the world, giving Campbellsville a surprising splash of global flair for a small-town heartland city.

So next time you’re in town, standing on Main Street or watching a Tigers football game, remember, you’re walking ground that’s been brewing with ambition and resilience since before Kentucky was cool.

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