In the heart of Central Kentucky, Springfield is located in Washington County, the first county to be created after Kentucky was granted statehood in 1792.  Named after President George Washington, the county was founded by General Matthew Walton.  Springfield was established as the county seat in December 1793 on 50 acres of General Walton’s land.

The Washington County Historic 1816 Courthouse was the oldest such building still used as seat of justice west of the Alleghenies, until 2009 when the new Washington County Judicial Center was completed.  The historic structure houses the marriage documents of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, parents of President Abraham Lincoln, who were married here in 1806.  Many years later, more than 60,000 Civil War troops passed through Springfield on their way to the Battle of Perryville.  Confederate President Jefferson Davis attended school here at St. Rose Priory, thus tying two central figures of the Civil War to Springfield.

Kentucky author Elizabeth Maddox Roberts was born in nearby Perryville, KY in 1881 and moved to Springfield in 1884. While living in Springfield she wrote “The Great Meadow” and “Time of Man”.  Roberts died in 1941 at the age of 60. She is buried on Cemetery Hill in downtown Springfield beneath a slab of Kentucky Limestone that bears an inscription from one of her poems, "Blessed Spirit, guard thy sleeping."