Bowling Green is the fourth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kentucky after Louisville, Lexington and Owensboro, with an estimated population in 2006 of 53,112. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of and is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated population of 110,990 (2005). Bowling Green was founded in 1798 after Robert and George Moore donated 30-40 acres to the Warren County trustees. The land surrounded the 2-acre plot they had previously donated for the construction of public buildings. In 2003, Bowling Green and its surrounding communities were designated as a metropolitan area.