Magnolia, KY

Magnolia is a LaRue County census-designated place in central Kentucky, where the 2020 census counted 535 residents. The area was settled in the 1780s by Virginians looking for land after the American Revolution. By the nineteenth century, the community sat along the Louisville and Nashville turnpike, serving as a stagecoach stop between the Nolin and Green River watersheds. It was first known as Center Point before the Magnolia name took hold around 1850.

A post office opened in 1851, and LaRue County's history identifies the name as a reference to the postmaster's wife. The Jackson Highway still gives Magnolia a strong through-road identity, while Hodgenville lies about nine miles to the north. LaRue County School District serves the community, keeping the school route tied to the wider county. Magnolia's map blends old road travel, timbered beginnings, river divides, and the regular routines of a small Kentucky crossroads. The turnpike still gives the community a direct line through the county. That road history remains visible in Magnolia's layout.