Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County
Mercer County
County
	Mercer County Courthouse in Harrodsburg
	Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
	Kentucky's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°48′N 84°53′W / 37.8°N 84.88°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1785
Named for	Hugh Mercer
Seat	Harrodsburg
Largest city	Harrodsburg
Area
• Total	253 sq mi (660 km2)
• Land	249 sq mi (640 km2)
• Water	4.5 sq mi (12 km2) 1.8%
Population (2020)
• Total	22,641
• Estimate (2023)	23,097
• Density	89/sq mi (35/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.mercercounty.ky.gov

Mercer County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,772.^[1] Its county seat is Harrodsburg.^[2] The county was formed from Lincoln County, Virginia in 1785^[3] and is named for Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer, who was killed at the Battle of Princeton in 1777.^[4] It was formerly a prohibition or dry county.

^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2. Collins & Company. p. 26.
^ The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp. 36.