The current name came from Richard Jones Munford, who donated the land to establish the new county seat in 1816.

Munfordville is located in central Hart County at 37°16′36″N 85°53′52″W / 37.27667°N 85.89778°W / 37.27667; -85.89778 (37.276608, -85.897822),[7] on the north side of the Green River.

U.S. Route 31W is Munfordville's Main Street, while Interstate 65 passes just northwest of town, with access from Exit 65.

Thomas John Wood, a US Army major general, and Simon B. Buckner Sr, a Confederate lieutenant general, knew each other as boys but then fought on opposing sides during the American Civil War.

Buckner became governor of Kentucky (1887–1891) and ran unsuccessfully for vice president of the United States (1896).

His son, Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., was also born in Munfordville and served as a lieutenant general during World War II.

Thelma Loyace Hawkins Stovall was a pioneering female Southern politician who won several statewide elective offices in Kentucky.