A Kentucky Kind of Place: Barren County

Photo: Glasgow-Barren Co. KY Tourism

Barren County was formed in 1798 and named for the open grasslands early settlers called “barrens”—a term they used because the land lacked trees.

The county seat is Glasgow, named after the city in Scotland. Its downtown square is lined with 19th-century buildings that have survived fires, floods, and more than a century of change.

Despite the name, the barrens were anything but empty. Native Americans maintained these prairie-like grasslands through controlled burns. Remnants still exist at Beaver Creek Park, where wildflowers bloom in spring and summer.

Though Mammoth Cave National Park barely crosses into the county’s western edge, Barren County shares the same limestone base. Small caves and sinkholes are scattered across the region, formed by the same underground streams that carved out the larger cave system.

The early landscape was ideal for raising livestock, and Scottish settlers in particular saw familiar terrain in the rolling hills. Many made Barren County their permanent home.

Water worth finding: Skaggs Creek runs cold and clear, cutting through limestone and forming natural pools that locals have used as swimming holes for generations.

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