Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky
Consolidated city-county
Lexington-Fayette Urban County
Downtown Lexington
Nickname(s):  LexTown, Horse Capital of the World
Location in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky Location in the United States
Coordinates: 38°01′47″N 84°29′41″W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Counties	Fayette
Established	1782
Incorporated	1831
Government
• Mayor	Jim Gray (D)
Area
• Consolidated city-county	285.5 sq mi (739.4 km2)
• Land	284.5 sq mi (736.9 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (2.6 km2)
• Urban	87.5 sq mi (226.7 km2)
Elevation	978 ft (298 m)
Population  (2016)
• Consolidated city-county	318,449
• Rank	US: 60th Kentucky: 2nd
• Density	1,042.8/sq mi (364.5/km2)
• Urban	318,449
• Metro	606,751
• Demonym	Lexingtonian
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	40502–40517, 40522–40524, 40526, 40533, 40536, 40544, 40546, 40550, 40555, 40574–40583, 40588, 40591, 40598
Area code(s)	859
FIPS code	21-46027
Website	www.lexingtonky.gov

Lexington is the second largest city in Kentucky. In 2010, 295,803 people live there. It is called "the Horse Capital of the World".

History

Lexington was first named by a party of Virginians who camped here in June, 1775, after they heard the news about the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts in April of that year starting the American Revolution against the British government. A fort was begun at the same spot in 1779, and by 1782 there was a town here known as Lexington, Virginia. This is because Kentucky was still part of Virginia then, and was not made into a state of its own until 1792.