GEORGETOWN, Ky. — With the new Ford plant announcement coming to Glendale, Scott County residents are reminded of the impact from a similar plant that came to their small town. 


What You Need To Know

  • Scott County residents are reminded of the changes in their community from the Toyota plant

  • The Toyota plant came into Georgetown in 1988 bringing in more than 10,000 jobs

  • Some of the improvements included more roads within the area, new houses and more retail shop

  • Hockensmith Insurance Agency has been on Main street since 1984 and says they has seen the changes first hands

 

“I can't remember there was either one or two stop lights in Georgetown, so that kind of tells you a lot about what's happened to Georgetown over the years,” Mike Hockensmith, the President of the Hockensmith Insurance Agency in Georgetown said. 

Hockensmith says his insurance company has been located on Main Street since 1984, and says he’s been able to see the changes first hand.

“There's been just multiple changes in Georgetown, over the years and, and most of those have come since Toyota came here. It was really amazing when the Toyota plant was announced, how people from everywhere showed up,” Hockensmith said. 

Hockensmith says the Toyota Plant has been a blessing for the community. And inside the Georgetown and Scott County Museum are pictures of the transformation over the years.

“These couple of pictures right here, is when Main Street stills didn't have any paved streets. That one right there is just dirt roads with carriages and horses, and the little small postcard there is when we actually had a railroad on Main Street,” Griffith said. 

Melanie Griffith, social media coordinator with the museum says seeing pictures of Main Street from years ago, simply shows the impact Toyota has brought to her hometown.

“It's kind of cool to see places that you walk now that people in the past used to walk on and it looks so different from what it is today,” Griffith said. 

Hockensmith says if it wasn’t for Toyota, he believes Georgetown would have been struggling, and says from one small town to another, good luck.

“Good luck to Hardin County, expect it to be different,” Hockensmith said. 

The Toyota Plant in Georgetown has been a part of the community since 1988, and has employed over 10,000 people within the facility.