The Nelson County School District encompasses most of Nelson County, nearly 423 square miles of terrain located in Central Kentucky approximately 35 miles south of Louisville and 60 miles southwest of Lexington. Interstate 65 is 15 miles from Bardstown, the Nelson County seat. The Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway bisects the county.
One of Kentucky's fastest growing counties, Nelson County's population estimate in 2009 was 43,550, an increase of 16.2 percent over the 2000 count. The economy is based mostly on manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and service industry jobs.
Historical figures associated with the county include theologian Thomas Merton, composer Stephen Collins Foster, steamboat inventor John Fitch, outlaw Jesse James, Catholic Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget, humanitarian Mother Catherine Spalding and French King Louis Philippe. The county is named for Thomas Nelson, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
