Garrard County, Kentucky

Garrard County
County
Garrard County Courthouse in Lancaster
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°38′22″N 84°32′15″W / 37.63958°N 84.53763°W / 37.63958; -84.53763
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	December 17, 1796
Named for	James Garrard
Seat	Lancaster
Largest city	Lancaster
Area
• Total	234 sq mi (610 km2)
• Land	230 sq mi (600 km2)
• Water	3.9 sq mi (10 km2)  1.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,953
• Estimate  (2023)	17,829
• Density	72/sq mi (28/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	garrardcounty.us

Garrard County (/ˈɡærɪd/ GAIR-id;) is a county located east-central Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 16,953.^[1] Its county seat is Lancaster.^[2] The county was formed in 1796 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804.^[3] It is a prohibition or dry county, although its county seat, Lancaster, is wet. Lancaster was founded as a collection of log cabins in 1776 near a spring that later provided a constant source of water to early pioneers. It is one of the oldest cities in the Commonwealth. Boonesborough, 25 miles to the east, was founded by Daniel Boone in 1775. Lexington, 28 miles to the north, was founded in 1775. Stanford, originally known as St. Asaph, is 10 miles south of Lancaster. It too was founded in 1775. The oldest permanent settlement in Kentucky, Harrodsburg, was founded in 1774 and is 18 miles to the west. Garrard's present day courthouse is one of the oldest courthouses in Kentucky in continuous use.