Bowling Green is located in the southern-central part of the state of Kentucky and a city and seat of Warren County. It sits on the northeastern part of Tennessee and along the Barren River. The area where the present-day Bowling Green stands was first settled by Robert and George Moore in 1780, and that tradition suggests that the name was taken after their sport of wooden bowling balls across the green. The area was designated in 1861 as the Confederate capital of Kentucky and was occupied by the troops up until the Union takeover in 1862. The railroad was constructed in the middle of the 19th century, which paved the way for the development and the rail transportation center of Bowling Green. The city has served as the market for tobacco, corn, livestock, and hay.