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Kentucky County
Hart County, Kentucky
Horse Cave's American Cave Museum and the Battle of Munfordville - from Horse Cave's American Cave Museum and Hidden River Cave (the dramatic cave entrance beneath Horse Cave's downtown - with an underground river that once supplied the entire town's water - is now a major attraction whose restoration from severe pollution is one of Kentucky's most celebrated environmental recovery stories) to the Battle of Munfordville (September 14-17, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg captured the Union garrison at Munfordville's Green River railroad bridge in one of the Civil War's most significant Kentucky engagements, leading directly to the Battle of Perryville) and Mammoth Cave proximity.
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Office: Hart County Emergency Management – Courthouse, 1st Floor, P.O. Box 490, Munfordville, KY 42765 | (270) 524-2832.
Sheriff: Hart County Sheriff’s Office – 100 Main Street, Munfordville, KY 42765 | (270) 524-2341 | Fax (270) 524-2342 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Jeff Wilson. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-65 and KY-90 serve Munfordville, the county seat, in south-central Kentucky; Horse Cave is the county’s largest city.
Notes: Hart County, formed in 1819 from parts of Hardin and Barren counties, is named for Captain Nathaniel G.S. Hart, a Kentucky militia officer wounded at the Battle of Frenchtown in the War of 1812. The county is “moist,” with alcohol sales permitted in Horse Cave by city ordinance. Munfordville was the site of the 1862 Civil War Battle of Munfordville.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hart County Courthouse – Munfordville, KY.
Notes: Horse Cave is home to Hidden River Cave, one of America’s most celebrated cave conservation success stories. The cave, which opens directly onto downtown Main Street, once supplied the city with drinking water and hydroelectric power (Horse Cave was the first town in Kentucky with incandescent lights) and operated as a popular tourist cave from 1912-1943, including a documented 1867 visit by John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club. Decades of unmanaged sewage and industrial waste turned it into one of the most polluted caves in America by the mid-20th century, closing it for nearly 50 years. Starting in the late 1970s, the nonprofit American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) relocated to Horse Cave and led a genuine grassroots restoration effort – culminating in a regional sewage treatment system online by 1989 – that allowed the cave to naturally recover; it reopened to the public in 1992 alongside the American Cave Museum, and the ACCA formally secured permanent protection of the cave rights in 2015.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hart County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via hartcounty.ky.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hart County Public Library (Munfordville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Hidden River Cave and the American Cave Museum (guided tours, the world’s longest underground swinging bridge, Sunset Dome) are the county’s premier attractions, located just 16 minutes from Mammoth Cave National Park.
Notes: The genuine environmental restoration story behind Hidden River Cave is one of the most inspiring conservation successes covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hart County Property Valuation Administrator – confirm current contact via hartcounty.ky.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Hart County Animal Shelter – 2190 South Dixie Highway, Munfordville, KY 42765 | (270) 524-1692 | Email: [email protected]. Hours: Mon-Fri 10 AM-3 PM, closed weekends. Focuses on dogs; the nonprofit Animal Rescue Kare (ARK, ark4hart.org) handles the county’s cat/kitten foster program and offers spay/neuter vouchers.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hart County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via hartcounty.ky.gov.
NOTES: Hart County is the seventh and final county in Kentucky’s seventh batch under the Round 3 A+ sourced standard. The genuine environmental restoration story behind Hidden River Cave is one of the most inspiring conservation successes covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Hart County
Hart County is south-central Kentucky’s cave country and Civil War bridge battle county – Hidden River Cave’s environmental recovery story and the 1862 Battle of Munfordville make Hart County an unexpected historical and geological destination.
Horse Cave (population ~2,300) has a cave system entering directly beneath the downtown – Hidden River Cave’s underground river was so polluted by the early 20th century that the town’s water supply was contaminated, but cleanup efforts restored the cave and created the American Cave Museum.
The 1862 Battle of Munfordville – Confederate capture of the Green River railroad bridge – was a pivotal moment in Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hart County PVA at 1 E. Union Street, Suite 200, Munfordville, KY 42765, phone 270-524-2321. KY property assessed at fair cash value.
Courts & Legal
Hart County Circuit Court at 1 E. Union Street, Munfordville, KY 42765, phone 270-524-4355, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2751
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK (Court Records)
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-9341
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2751
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hart County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Hart County’s proximity to Mammoth Cave National Park is a notable local historical resource.
Local societies
No dedicated Hart County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Hart County District Court Hart County Judicial Center, 117 East South Street, Munfordville, KY 42765 (270) 524-5181 Hart County is in south-central Kentucky, seated in Munfordville, near Mammoth Cave National Park.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kentucky has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code; probate is governed by KRS Chapter 395 (Administration of Estates), handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided (KRS 24A.120).
Dispensing with Administration – Kentucky’s simplified small-estate procedure, governed by KRS 395.450, 395.455, and 395.470. Available when the value of the personal estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $30,000, and the petitioner is a surviving spouse, adult child, or other qualifying heir/preferred creditor. The petitioner files a Petition to Dispense with Administration (Form AOC-830) with an affidavit listing assets, debts, and proposed distribution – no personal representative or full administration is required. Real estate is generally not covered by this procedure.
Regular (Full) Administration – for larger or more complex estates, the District Court appoints a personal representative (executor if named in a will, administrator if intestate), who gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains under court oversight.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor/Administrator (Form AOC-805) with the District Court in the county of residence.
If there’s a will, the court admits it to probate; it is then recorded with the county clerk (KRS 394.140).
The personal representative files an Inventory and Appraisement (Form AOC-841) of estate assets.
Notice to creditors is published; creditors generally have 6 months from appointment to file claims.
The personal representative pays valid debts, taxes, and expenses.
A Settlement of Estate (Form AOC-846) is filed, and the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Filing fees and publication costs are collected by the clerk and vary somewhat by county.
Kentucky does not require an attorney for probate, though it is commonly recommended, especially for formal administration.
Typical timelines: full probate generally takes 6-12 months; the creditor claims period is 6 months. Dispensing with Administration can move significantly faster once the estate qualifies.
Before distribution, a surviving spouse may petition for release of up to $2,500 from the estate as an exempt charge against estate property.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2341
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2341
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2751
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
109 Main St., Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-2751
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Hart County Health Department – confirm current contact via chfs.ky.gov local health department directory.
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