LaRue County is a county located in the center of the U.S. state of Kentucky, outside the Bluegrass Region and larger centers of population. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,193. Its county seat is Hodgenville, a city best known as the birthplace of United States President Abraham Lincoln. The county was formed on March 4, 1843 from portions of Hardin County and named after John LaRue, an early European-American settler in this area.