History Of Louisville, Kentucky
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The history of Louisville, Kentucky spans nearly two-and-a-half centuries since its founding in the late 18th century. The geology of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
, with but a single series of
rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...
midway in its length from the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to its union with the
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, made it inevitable that a town would grow on the site. The town of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
was chartered there in 1780. From its early days on the frontier, it quickly grew to be a major trading and distribution center in the mid-19th century and an important industrial city in the early 20th. The city declined in the mid-20th century, but by the late 20th, it was revitalized as a culturally-focused mid-sized American city. The area's
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
and proximity to the Falls of the Ohio River attracted people from the earliest times. However, prior to arrival of Europeans, the region was depopulated from the
Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...
of the 17th century, and no permanent Native American settlements existed in the area. It was used as hunting grounds by northern
Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...
and southern
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
. By the late 18th century, as the Falls created a barrier to river travel, settlements by Europeans began to grow at this
portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...
point. The earliest such settlements occurred during the latter stages of the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
by Virginian soldiers under
George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...
, first at Corn Island in 1778, then Fort-on-Shore and
Fort Nelson A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
on the mainland. At that time a part of
Kentucky County, Virginia Kentucky County (aka Kentucke County), later the District of Kentucky, was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Big Sandy River and Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective 1777. The name ...
, the town was chartered in 1780 and named Louisville in honor of King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France. In 2003, the city of Louisville merged with Jefferson County to become Louisville-Jefferson Metro. As of the 2010 census, it is the largest city in the state of Kentucky, the largest on the Ohio River, and 28th largest city in the nation. Important events occurring in the city include the second largest American exhibition to date (1883), which had the largest to-date installation of light bulbs by their recent inventor and then-former resident
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
, as well as the first free public library in the US to be staffed by and provide services exclusively for
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
(1905). Medical advances include the 1999 first human hand transplant in the US and the first self-contained
artificial heart An artificial heart is a artificial organ, device that replaces the human heart, heart. Artificial hearts are typically used as a bridge to heart transplantation, but ongoing research aims to develop a device that could permanently replace the ...
transplant in 2001. Other notable residents of the city have included boxing legend
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
,
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
Justice
Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis ( ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to ...
, newscaster
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20 (U.S. TV series), 20/20'', and ...
, actors
Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...
,
Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...
and
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
, actresses
Sean Young Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress. She is particularly known for working in science fiction films, although she has performed roles in a variety of genres. Young's early roles include the Independent film, indepe ...
and
Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...
, singers
Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...
and
Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single ...
, rapper
Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper and singer. He began his recording career in 2015, and released several EPs and mixtapes until signing with Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now, an imprint of A ...
, the Speed family (including
U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...
James Speed James Speed (March 11, 1812 – June 25, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and professor who was in 1864 appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the United States Attorney General. Speed previously served in the Kentucky legislature and in l ...
and
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's close friend Joshua Fry Speed), the
Bingham family Bingham may refer to: Places Australia * Bingham, Queensland, former name of the town of River Heads United Kingdom * Bingham, Nottinghamshire, a town in England * Bingham (wapentake), a historic district of Nottinghamshire, England * Bingham, Ed ...
, industrialist/politician James Guthrie, U.S. Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
, and contemporary writers
Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...
and
Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" ('' "A" Is for Alibi'', etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the ...
.


Pre-Anglo-American settlement history (pre-1778)

There was a continuous indigenous human occupation of the area that became Louisville from at least 1,000 BCE until roughly 1650 CE, when the
Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...
resulted in depopulation of much of the Ohio River region. The Iroquois maintained this area as a hunting ground by conquest.
Archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...
s have identified several late and one early Archaic sites in Jefferson County's
wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
. One of the most extensive finds was at McNeeley Lake Cave; many others were found around what is now the
Louisville International Airport Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport — also known by its former official names as Standiford Field and Louisville International Airport — is a civil-military airport in Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The airport was ...
area. People of the
Adena culture The Adena culture was a pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharin ...
and the
Hopewell tradition The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 1 ...
that followed it lived in the area, with hunting villages along Mill Creek and a large village near what became Zorn Avenue, on bluffs overlooking the Ohio River. Archeologists have found 30 Jefferson County sites associated with the
Fort Ancient The Fort Ancient culture is a Native American archaeological culture that dates back to . Members of the culture lived along the Ohio River valley, in an area running from modern-day Ohio and western West Virginia through to northern Kentucky ...
and
Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...
s, which were active from 1,000 AD until about 1650. The Louisville area was on the eastern border of the Mississippian culture, which extended through the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries. Regional
chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...
s built dense villages and cities characterized by extensive earthwork mounds arranged around central plazas. When European explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in the mid-18th century, there were no permanent Native American settlements in the region. The country was used as hunting grounds by
Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...
from the north and
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
from the south. The account of the first European to visit the area, the French
colonizer 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
,
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...
in 1669, is disputed and not supported by facts. La Salle travelled along the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, then to Lake Erie. The two priests traveling with his party departed the group at that point, and the written documentation of the expedition apparently ceased. Reports of what occurred differ, including abandonment of the journey due to illness, or traveling onward but not to the Ohio River. La Salle did not claim to discover the Ohio River on that voyage nor travel to the falls (of the Ohio). The "discovery" of the Louisville area in 1669 is thus perhaps better assigned to myth or legend. Subsequently, La Salle explored areas of the
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ...
and lower Great Lakes region from the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
up to modern-day
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, claiming much of this land for France. In 1751, the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
colonist
Christopher Gist Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...
explored areas along the Ohio River. Following the defeat of France in the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
(part of the Seven Years' War in Europe), it ceded control of its territory east of the Mississippi River to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. In 1769,
American pioneer American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
created a trail from
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
to
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. He spent the next two years exploring Kentucky. In 1773, Captain Thomas Bullitt led the first exploring party into Jefferson County, surveying land on behalf of Virginians who had been awarded
land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
s for their service in the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
. In 1774,
James Harrod James Harrod () was a pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Little is known about Harrod's early life, including the exact date of his birth. He was possibly underage when he served i ...
began constructing Fort Harrod in Kentucky. However, battles with the Native American tribes established in the area forced the American settlers to retreat. They returned the following year, as Boone built the
Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...
and established Fort Boonesborough at a site near Boonesborough, Kentucky. The Native Americans allocated a tract of land between the Ohio River and the
Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
for the Transylvania Land Company. In 1776, the colony of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
declared the Transylvania Land Company illegal and created the county of Kentucky in Virginia from the land involved.


Founding and early settlement (1778–1803)

Col.
George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...
established the first American settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville in 1778, during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. He was conducting a campaign against the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
in areas north of the Ohio River, then called the
Illinois Country The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...
. Clark organized a group of 150 soldiers, known as the Illinois Regiment, after heavy recruiting in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. On May 12, they set out from Redstone, today's
Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a resumption of westward migration after the American Revolutionary ...
, taking along 80 civilians who hoped to claim fertile farmland and start a new settlement in Kentucky. They arrived at the
Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Indiana Department ...
on May 27. It was a location Clark thought ideal for a communication post. The settlers helped Clark conceal the true reason for his presence in the area. The regiment helped the civilians establish an initial settlement on what came to be called Corn Island, clearing land, and building cabins and a springhouse. On June 24, Clark took his soldiers and left to begin their
military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...
. The first local government was established almost immediately. The first Trustees were selected in April 1779, as part of this transition, with the first board consisting of seven men – William Harrod, Richard Chenoweth, Edward Bulger, James Patton, Henry French, Marsham Brashear, and Simon Moore. In May 1779, at the request of Clark, the settlers crossed the river and established the first permanent settlement on the mainland. By April, they called it "Louisville", in honor of King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France, whose government and soldiers aided colonists in the Revolutionary War. Today, George Rogers Clark is recognized as the European-American founder of Louisville; many landmarks have been named for him. During its earliest history, the colony of Louisville and the surrounding areas suffered from Indian attacks, as Native Americans tried to push out the encroaching colonists. As the Revolutionary War was still being waged, all early residents lived within forts, as suggested by the earliest government of
Kentucky County, Virginia Kentucky County (aka Kentucke County), later the District of Kentucky, was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Big Sandy River and Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective 1777. The name ...
. The initial fort, at the northern tip of today's 12th street, was called
Fort-on-Shore Fort Nelson, built in 1781 by troops under George Rogers Clark including Captain Richard Chenoweth, was the second on-shore fort on the Ohio River in the area of what is now downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Fort-on-Shore, the downriver and first ...
. In response to the threat of British attacks, particularly Bird's invasion of Kentucky, a larger fort called
Fort Nelson A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
was built north of today's Main Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, covering nearly an acre. The
GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...
15,000 contract was given to Richard Chenoweth, with construction beginning in late 1780 and completed by March 1781. The fort, thought to be capable of resisting cannon fire, was considered the strongest in the west after Fort Pitt. Due to decreasing need for strong forts after the Revolutionary War, it was in decline by the end of the decade. In 1780, the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
and then-
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
approved the town charter of Louisville on May 1. Clark recruited early Kentucky pioneer
James John Floyd Colonel James John Floyd (1750 – 10 April 1783) was an American military officer. An early settler of St. Matthews, Kentucky, he helped lay out Louisville. In Kentucky, he served as a Colonel of the Kentucky Militia in which he participated i ...
, who was placed on the town's board of trustees and given the authority to plan and lay out the town. Jefferson County, named after Thomas Jefferson, was formed at this time as one of three original
Kentucky counties There are 120 counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Despite ranking 37th in size by area, Kentucky has 120 counties, fourth among states (including Virginia's independent cities). The original motivation for having so many counties wa ...
from the old
Kentucky County, Virginia Kentucky County (aka Kentucke County), later the District of Kentucky, was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Big Sandy River and Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective 1777. The name ...
. Louisville was the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
. Also, during 1780, three hundred families migrated to the area, the town's first fire department was established, and the first street plan of Louisville was laid out by Willian Pope.
Daniel Brodhead Brigadier General Daniel Brodhead (October 17, 1736 – November 15, 1809) was an Continental Army officer and politician who served in the American Revolutionary War. Early life Brodhead was born in Marbletown, Province of New York, the so ...
opened the first
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
here in 1783. He became the first to move out of Louisville's early forts. Jonathan Cessna built the first house in newly platted Louisville. James John Floyd became the first judge in 1783 but was killed later that year. The first courthouse was completed in 1784 as a 16 by
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...
. By this time, Louisville contained 63 clapboard finished houses, 37 partly finished, 22 uncovered houses, and over 100 log cabins. Shippingport, incorporated in 1785, was a vital part of early Louisville, allowing goods to be transported through the Falls of the Ohio. The first church was built in 1790, the first hotel in 1793, and the first post office in 1795. During the 1780s and early 1790s, the town did not grow as rapidly as Lexington in central Kentucky. Factors were the threat of Indian attacks (ended in 1794 by the
Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Indigenous peoples of North America, Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their Kingdom of Gre ...
), a complicated dispute over land ownership between John Campbell and the town's trustees (resolved in 1785), and Spanish policies restricting American trade and travel down the
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. By 1800, the population of Louisville was 359 compared to Lexington's 1,759. From 1784 through 1792, a series of conventions were held to discuss the separation of Kentucky from Virginia. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...
was named the first Governor. In 1803,
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
and
William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to make an expedition across North America; they organized it at the Falls of the Ohio and Louisville. The
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
would take the explorers across the western U.S., surveying the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...
, and eventually to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
.


City development (1803–1900)


Antebellum

Since settlement, all people and cargo had arrived by
flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...
s and later
keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...
s, both of which were non-motorized vessels, meaning that it was prohibitively costly to send goods upstream (towards
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and other developed areas). This technical limitation, combined with the Spanish decision in 1784 to close the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
below
Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...
to American ships, meant there was very little outside market for goods produced early on in Louisville. This improved somewhat with
Pinckney's Treaty Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed on October 27, 1795, by the United States and Spain. It defined the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the United S ...
, which opened the river and made New Orleans a
Free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
zone by 1798. However, most cargo was still being sent downstream in the early 19th century, averaging 60,000 tons downstream to 6,500 tons upstream. Boats passing through still had to unload all of their cargo before navigating the falls, a boon to local businesses. The frontier days quickly fading, log houses and forts began to disappear, and Louisville saw its first newspaper, the '' Louisville Gazette'' in 1807 and its first theatre in 1808, and the first dedicated church building in 1809. All of this reflected the 400% growth in population reported by the 1810 census. The economics of shipping were about to change, however, with the arrival of
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
s. The first, the ''
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
'' arrived in 1811, traveling downstream from Pittsburgh. Although it made the trip in record time, most believed its use was limited, as they did not believe a steamboat could make it back upriver against the current. However, in 1815, the ''Enterprise'', captained by
Henry Miller Shreve Henry Miller Shreve (October 21, 1785 – March 6, 1851) was an American inventor and steamboat captain who removed obstructions to navigation of the Mississippi, Ohio and Red rivers. Shreveport, Louisiana, was named in his honor.Shippingport, at this time. Some steamboats were built in Louisville and many early mills and factories opened. Other towns were developing at the falls:
New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...
in 1813 and
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
in 1814, each competing with Louisville to become the dominant settlement in the area. Still, Louisville's population grew rapidly, tripling from 1810 to 1820. By 1830, it would surpass Lexington to become the state's largest city, and would eventually annex Portland and Shippingport. In 1816 the Louisville Library Company, the city's first library, opened its doors with a subscription-based service. Also, in a series of events ranging from 1798 to 1846, the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
was founded from the
Jefferson Seminary The Jefferson Seminary was one of Kentucky's first schools and is considered to be the direct ancestor of the University of Louisville. The school was chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1798, with the sale of 6,000 acres (24 km2) of ...
, Louisville Medical Institute and Louisville Collegiate Institute. In response to great demand, the Louisville and Portland Canal was completed in 1830. This allowed boats to circumvent the Falls of the Ohio and travel through from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. In response to several epidemics and the increasing need to treat ill or injured river workers, Louisville Marine Hospital was completed in 1825 on Chestnut Street, an area that is today home to Louisville's Medical Center. In 1828, the population surpassed 7,000 and Louisville became Kentucky's first city. John Bucklin was elected the first Mayor. The nearby towns of Shippingport and Portland remained independent of Louisville for the time being. City status gave Louisville some judicial authority and the ability to collect more taxes, which allowed for the establishment of the state's first public school in 1829. In 1831, Catherine Spalding moved from
Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...
to Louisville and established Presentation Academy, a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
school for girls. She also established the St. Vincent Orphanage, which was later renamed as St. Joseph Orphanage. Louisville's famous Galt House hotel—the first of three downtown buildings to have that moniker—was erected in 1834. In 1839, a precursor to the modern
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
was held at Old Louisville's Oakland
Race Course A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...
. Over 10,000 spectators attended the two-horse race, in which ''Grey Eagle'' lost to ''Wagner''. This race occurred 36 years before the first Kentucky Derby. It was a popular competition to test the quality of horses. Louisville became a center for sales of horses and other livestock from the
Bluegrass Region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort, Paris, Kentucky, Paris, Richmond, Kentucky, Ric ...
of central Kentucky, where horse breeding became a major part of the economy and traditions. The
Kentucky School for the Blind The Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) is an educational facility for blind and visually impaired students from Kentucky who are aged up to 21. The school provides a dormitory setting for its students. KSB is a member of the North Central Assoc ...
was founded in 1839, the third-oldest school for the blind in the country. In 1847, William H. Gibson opened one of the city's first schools for African Americans in the basement of the Methodist church on Fourth and Green Streets. In 1840 William Burke Belknap the elder (1811–1884) started the Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company on the banks of the Ohio River. In 1848,
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...
, resident of Jefferson County from childhood through early adulthood and a hero of the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, was elected as the 12th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. He served only sixteen months in office before dying in 1850 from acute
gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...
. He was buried in the east end of Louisville at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. Following the 1850
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, Louisville was reported as the nation's tenth largest city, while
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
was reported as the eighth most populous state. The
Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...
(L&N) Company was founded in 1850 by James Guthrie, who also was involved in the founding of the University of Louisville. When the railroad was completed in 1859, Louisville's strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio became central to the city's development and importance in the rail and water freight transportation business. On August 6, 1855, a day dubbed Bloody Monday,
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
riots stemming from the bitter rivalry between the Democrats and supporters of the
Know-Nothing Party The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...
broke out. Know-Nothing mobs rioted in Irish and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
parts of the city, destroying property by fires and killing numerous people. Founded in 1858, the
American Printing House for the Blind The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is an American non-for-profit corporation in Louisville, Kentucky, promoting independent living for people who are blind and visually impaired. For over 150 years APH has created unique products ...
is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. Since 1879 it has been the official supplier of educational materials for blind students in the U.S. It is located on Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton neighborhood, adjacent to the campus where the Kentucky School for the Blind moved in 1855.


"Sold down the river"

Louisville had one of the largest
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
trades in the United States before the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, and much of the city's initial growth is attributed to that trade. Shifting agricultural needs produced an excess of slaves in Kentucky, and many were sold from here and other parts of the
Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, economics, demographics, ...
to the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
. In 1820, the slave population was at its height at nearly 26% of the Kentucky population, but by 1860, that proportion had dropped significantly, even though this percentage still represented over 10,000 people. Through the 1850s, slave traders sold 2500–4000 slaves annually from Kentucky down river.Kleber, p. 825. The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of eastern slaves being split apart from their families in sales to Louisville. Slave traders collected slaves there until they had enough to ship in a group via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers down to the slave market in New Orleans. There slaves were sold again to owners of cotton and sugar cane plantations. Louisville was the turning point for many enslaved
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
s. If they could get from there across the Ohio River, called the "River Jordan" by escaping slaves, they had a chance for freedom in Indiana and other northern states. They had to evade capture by bounty-seeking slave catchers, but many were aided by the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
to get further north for freedom.


Civil War

During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Louisville was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theater. While the state of Kentucky officially declared its neutrality early in the war, prominent Louisville attorney
James Speed James Speed (March 11, 1812 – June 25, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and professor who was in 1864 appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the United States Attorney General. Speed previously served in the Kentucky legislature and in l ...
, brother of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's close friend Joshua Fry Speed, strongly advocated keeping the state in the Union. Seeing Louisville's strategic importance in the freight industry, General
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
formed an army base in the city in the event that the Confederacy advanced. In September 1862,
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
General
Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
decided to take Louisville, but changed his mind. There was lack of backup from General
Edmund Kirby Smith Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate States Army Four-star rank, general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western L ...
's forces. In addition, the decision to install Confederate Governor Richard Hawes in the alternative government in Frankfort made people think the state might change. In the summer of 1863, Confederate cavalry under
John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. In April 1862, he raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, fought at Shiloh, and then launched a costly raid in Kentucky, which encouraged Br ...
invaded Kentucky from
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
and briefly threatened Louisville, before swinging around the city into
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
during
Morgan's Raid Morgan's Raid (also the Calico Raid or Great Raid of 1863) was a diversionary incursion by Confederate States Army, Confederate cavalry into the Union (American Civil War), Union states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia during the A ...
. In March 1864, Generals Sherman and
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
met at the Galt House to plan the spring campaign, which included the capture of Atlanta, Georgia. (, that this meeting actually occurred has fallen into dispute.) By the end of the war, Louisville itself had not been attacked once, although it was surrounded by skirmishes and battles, including the
Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...
and the Battle of Corydon. The Unionists—most of whose leaders owned slaves—felt betrayed by the
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
position of the Republican Party. After 1865 returning
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
veterans largely took political control of the city, leading to the jibe that it joined the Confederacy after the war was over. During the postwar years, the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...
opened a school, led by W. H. Gibson, and a bank in the city to serve the now free and growing African American population. Confederate women organized in associations to ensure the dead were buried in cemeteries, to identify missing men, and to build memorials to the war and their losses. By the 1890s, the memorial movement came under the control of the
United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...
(UDC) and
United Confederate Veterans The United Confederate Veterans (UCV, or simply Confederate Veterans) was an American Civil War veterans' organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was organized on June 10, 1889, by ex-soldiers and sailors of the Confederate Sta ...
(UCV), who promoted the "
Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy, known simply as the Lost Cause, is an American pseudohistorical and historical negationist myth that argues the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not cente ...
". Making meaning after the war was another way of writing its history. In 1895, in one of their successes, a Confederate monument was erected near the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
campus.


Post-Reconstruction

James Callahan and other area businessmen organized the Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railway in 1870 and continued construction through the
Long Depression The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in Panic of 1873, 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1899, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been e ...
before failing in 1879. Although the LHC&W never reached beyond Harrods Creek, its service was continued by the L&N and contributed to growth in the city's eastern suburbs, particularly after the LRC purchased and electrified the track between Zorn Avenue and Prospect in 1904. The first
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
was held on May 17, 1875, at the Louisville Jockey Club track (later renamed to
Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...
). The Derby was originally shepherded by Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., the grandson of
William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
, and grandnephew of the city's founder
George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...
. Ten thousand spectators were present at the first Derby to watch
Aristides Aristides ( ; , ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''díkaios''), he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. ...
win the race. On February 2, 1876,
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...
launched the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
, and the
Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were at ...
were a charter member. While the Grays were a relatively short-lived team, playing for only two years, they began a much longer lasting relationship between the city and baseball. In 1883, John "Bud" Hillerich made his first
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...
from white ash in his father's wood shop. The first bat was produced for Pete "The Gladiator" Browning of the
Louisville Eclipse The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...
(minor league team). The bats eventually become known by the popular name, ''Louisville Slugger'', and the local company Hillerich & Bradsby rapidly became one of the largest manufacturers of baseball bats and other sporting equipment in the world. Today, Hillerich & Bradsby manufactures over one million wooden bats per year, accounting for about two of three wooden bats sold worldwide. In 1877 the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...
relocated to Louisville from
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...
, where it had been founded in 1859. Its new campus, at Fourth and Broadway downtown, was underwritten by a group of Louisville business leaders, including the Norton family, eager to add the promising graduate-professional school to the city's resources. It grew quickly, attracting students from all parts of the nation, and by the early 20th century it was the second largest accredited seminary in the United States. It relocated to its present campus on Lexington Road in 1926. In February 1882
Oscar Wilde lectured in the city
and on that occasion met Emma Speed Keats, the niece of his poetical hero (
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...
), who had settled in the city. She was the daughter of Keats' brother
George Keats George Keats (28 February 1797 – 24 December 1841) was an American businessman and civic leader in Louisville, Kentucky, as it emerged from a frontier entrepôt into a mercantile centre of the old northwest. He was also the younger brother of t ...
and she later sent Wilde an autograph manuscript by Keats of his poem 'Sonnet on Blue'. On August 1, 1883,
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...
opened the first annual
Southern Exposition The Southern Exposition was a five-year series of world's fairs held in Louisville, Kentucky, from 1883 to 1887 in what is now Louisville's Old Louisville neighborhood. The exposition, held for 100 days each year on immediately south of Central ...
, a series of
World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
s that would run for five consecutive years adjacent to
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
in what is now Old Louisville. Highlighted at the show was the largest to-date installation of
incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a #Filament, filament until it incandescence, glows. The filament is enclosed in a ...
s, having been recently invented by
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
, a former resident. Downtown Louisville began a modernization period in the 1890s, with Louisville's second skyscraper, the Columbia Building, opening on January 1, 1890. The following year, famous
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...
was commissioned to design Louisville's system of parks (most notably,
Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
,
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
and
Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...
Parks) connected by tree-lined parkways. Passenger train service arrived in the city on September 7, 1891, with the completion of the
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
train hub. The first train arrived at 7:30 am. Louisville's Union Station was then recognized as the largest
train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
in the South. Interrupting these developments, on March 27, 1890, a major tornado measuring F4 on the
Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
visited Louisville. The "whirling tiger of the air" carved a path from the Parkland neighborhood all the way to Crescent Hill, destroying 766 buildings ( $2.5 million worth of property) and killing an estimated 74 to 120 people. At least 55 of those deaths occurred when the Falls City Hall collapsed. This is one of the highest death tolls due to a single building collapse from a tornado in
U.S. history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
. In 1893, two Louisville sisters,
Patty A patty is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Common ground meat used include beef, bison, elk, turkey, chicken, ostrich, and salmon. Patties are found in multiple cuisine ...
and
Mildred J. Hill Mildred Jane Hill (June 27, 1859 – June 5, 1916) was an American songwriter and musicologist, who composed the melody for "Good Morning to All", later used as the melody for " Happy Birthday to You". Biography Mildred Jane Hill, born in Louis ...
, both schoolteachers, wrote the song "Good Morning to All" for their kindergarten class. The song did not become popular, and the lyrics were later changed to the more recognizable, "
Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", or simply "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He' ...
". This is now the most performed song in the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
. Also in 1893, the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary was founded, building a handsome campus at First and Broadway downtown (now occupied by Jefferson Community College). Eight years later, it absorbed an older Presbyterian seminary in
Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...
. In 1963 Louisville Seminary relocated to a modern campus on Alta Vista Road near Cherokee Park.


20th Century and beyond


Early 20th century

Seventy of the Ladies' Memorial Associations, formed between 1865 and 1900, were unified into the
Confederated Southern Memorial Association Confederated Southern Memorial Association (Confederated Southern Memorial Association (U.S.); acronym CSMA; est. 1900) was a Neo-Confederates, Neo-Confederate women's organization of unified memorial associations of the Southern United States. I ...
, which was established on May 30, 1900, during the
United Confederate Veterans The United Confederate Veterans (UCV, or simply Confederate Veterans) was an American Civil War veterans' organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was organized on June 10, 1889, by ex-soldiers and sailors of the Confederate Sta ...
Reunion at Louisville. In the early 20th century, controversy over
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
came to a head in the 1905 Mayor election, called the most corrupt in city history. An anti-corruption party unique to Louisville, called themselves the Fusionists, briefly emerged at this time. Democratic boss John Whallen succeeded in getting his candidate, Paul C. Barth, elected, but the results were overturned in 1907. Elections gradually became less corrupt, but political machines would still hold considerable power for decades. The
Waverly Hills Sanatorium The Waverly Hills Sanatorium is a former sanatorium located in the Waverly Hills neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. In the early 1900s, Jefferson County was ravaged by an outbreak of tuberculosis – known as the "White Plague" – ...
was opened in 1910 to house
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
patients. The hospital was closed in 1961. It was later used as a
retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...
(1963–1982). It was unused for more than a decade until 1991, when it was reopened for tours. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Louisville became home to Camp Taylor. In 1917, the English-bred colt "Omar Khayyam" became the first foreign-bred horse to win the
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
. Two years later, in 1919,
Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...
became the first horse to win the Triple Crown, though the term for the three prime races did not come into use for another 11 years. In 1920, Louisville's first zoo was founded at Senning's Park (present-day Colonial Gardens), next to Iroquois Park. Barely surviving through the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, it closed in 1939. Its successor, the current Louisville Zoo, did not open until 1969. In 1923, the Brown Hotel's chef Fred K. Schmidt introduced the
Hot Brown A Hot Brown sandwich (sometimes known as a Louisville Hot Brown or Kentucky Hot Brown) is an American hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It is a variation of traditional Wels ...
sandwich in the hotel restaurant, consisting of an open-faced "sandwich" of turkey and bacon smothered with cheese and tomato. The Hot Brown became rather popular among locals and visitors alike, and can be ordered by many local restaurants in the area today. The Belle of Louisville, today recognized as the oldest river steamboat in operation, came to Louisville in 1931. That same year, the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes was established to allow black Louisvillians to attend classes. (The college was dissolved into the University of Louisville with the ending of segregation in 1951.) On March 28, 1936, the river reached a level of 60.6 feet, flooding parts of the city. In late January and February 1937, a month of heavy rain throughout the Ohio River Valley prompted what became remembered as the "Great Flood of '37". The
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
submerged about 70 percent of the city and forced the evacuation of 175,000 residents. In Louisville, 90 people died. At the crest on January 27, 1937, the waters reached above flood level in Louisville.
Photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...
Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White (; June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1971) was an American documentary photography, documentary photographer and photojournalist. She was known as an architectural and commercial photographer for the first half of her career, ...
documented the flood and its aftermath in a series of famous photos. Later,
flood wall A floodwall is a freestanding, permanent, engineered structure designed to prevent encroachment of floodwaters. Floodwalls are mainly used on locations where space is scarce, such as cities or where building levees or dikes (dykes) would in ...
s were installed to prevent another such disaster. Standiford Field was built in Louisville by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1941. Bowman Field, a smaller airport, had been previously opened in 1919. Louisville was a center for factory war production during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In May 1942, the U.S. government assigned the
Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...
Aircraft Company a war plant located at Louisville's air field for wartime aircraft production. The factory produced the
C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company ...
cargo plane, among other aircraft. In 1946 the factory was sold to
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...
, which began large-scale production of tractors and agricultural equipment. Otter Creek Park was given to Louisville by the U.S. Government in 1947, in recognition of the city's service during World War II. Throughout the 20th century, the arts flourished in Louisville. The Speed Art Museum was opened in 1927 and is now the oldest and largest museum of art in Kentucky. The Louisville Orchestra was founded in 1937. In 1949 the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival was begun, and today it is the oldest free and independently-operating Shakespeare festival in the United States. The Kentucky Opera was started in 1952, and the Louisville Ballet was founded that same year, though it only achieved professional status in 1975. In 1956 the Kentucky Derby Festival was started to celebrate the annual Kentucky Derby. The next year, in 1957, the St. James Court Art Show was started. Both these are still popular festivals in the region.


Decline in mid-century

Eight whiskey distilleries opened on 7th Street Road after the end of Prohibition in the United States, prohibition, and Louisville attempted to annex them to increase its Tax, tax base. Not wanting to pay city taxes, the whiskey companies persuaded the Kentucky General Assembly to pass the Shively Bill, which made it much more difficult for Louisville to annex additional areas. The distilleries used Kentucky's existing laws (which favored the mostly rural communities in the state) to form a 0.5 square-mile city named Shively, Kentucky, Shively in 1938. Shively grew to include residential areas. In 1946 the General Assembly passed a law allowing the formation of a Metropolitan Sewer District, and Louisville Board of Aldermen, Louisville's Board of Aldermen approved its creation a few months later. With the expansion of sewer service outside of traditional city limits and laws hindering Louisville's annexation attempts, areas outside of the city limits that were developed during the building boom after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
became cities in their own right. This status prevented their annexation by Louisville. As a result, Louisville's population figures leveled off. The incorporation of such several new communities contributed to the defeat of Louisville's attempt to merge with Jefferson County in 1956. Louisville continued fighting to annex land to grow. For a variety of reasons, Louisville began to decline as an important city in the 1960s and 1970s. Highways built in the late 1950s facilitated movement by the expanding middle class to newer housing being developed in the suburbs. With the loss in population, the downtown area began to decline economically. Many formerly popular buildings became vacant. Even the previously strong Brown Hotel closed its doors in 1971 (although it later reopened). Fontaine Ferry Park, Louisville's most popular amusement park during the early 20th century, closed in 1969 as people's tastes for entertainment changed. The once-strong farmer's market, Haymarket (Louisville), Haymarket, ceased operations in 1962 after 71 years of operation. The final death-knell for the Haymarket, already in decline due to changing economic trends, was the construction of an Interstate 65 ramp through the main part of the open-air market. Not only did interstates facilitate suburban living, they sliced through older city neighborhoods and often divided them irreversibly. Another major ( F4) tornado hit on April 3, 1974, as part of the 1974 Super Outbreak of tornadoes that struck 13 states. It covered and destroyed several hundred homes in the Louisville area but was only responsible for 2 deaths. It also caused extensive damage in Cherokee Park#Tornado damage in 1974, Cherokee Park. Despite these signs of decline, a number of activities were taking place that presaged the Louisville Renaissance of the 1980s. Southeast Christian Church, today one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., was founded in 1962 with only 53 members. In 1964, Actors Theatre of Louisville was founded. It was later designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It has created a strong regional theater. In 1973, the racehorse Secretariat (horse), Secretariat made the fastest time ever run in the Derby (at its present distance) at 1 minute 59 seconds. Excitement over him raised interest in the Derby. There were signs of revival in the 1970s. Throughout the decade, new buildings came under construction downtown, and many historic buildings were renovated. Louisville's public transportation, Transit Authority of River City, began operating a Bus, bus line in 1974. And in 1981 the
Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Indiana Department ...
was granted status as a Federal conservation area. On the downside, in the early morning hours of February 13, 1981, Louisville sewer explosions, sewer explosions ripped through the southern part of Old Louisville and near the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
. The cause was traced back to chemical releases into the sewer system from a nearby Ralston-Purina soybean processing facility. Louisville continued to struggle during the 1980s in its attempt to redevelop and expand. It fought with other Jefferson County communities in two more failed attempts to merge with county government in 1982 and 1983. Barry Bingham, Jr. sold the family business Standard Gravure in 1986, which sent the company into a major restructuring in the following years. ''The Courier-Journal'' was one of the papers printed by Standard Gravure. On September 14, 1989, Standard Gravure shooting, Joseph Wesbecker, on medical leave due to mental illness and work-related stress, entered the Courier-Journal building and shot and killed eight employees, injuring another twelve before killing himself.


Civil Rights Movement

During the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, Louisville was affected, as it had maintained a segregated society. Civil rights groups undertook a variety of actions to challenge that. In addition, black neighborhoods had declined during the economic downturn of the city. Urban renewal efforts undertaken for ostensible improvements had adversely affected the center of their neighborhood.Dr. Bruce M. Tyler, KENTUCKY DESEGREGATION: AN ABSTRACT OF EVENTS, and "Background on the Louisville Riot
Dr. Tyler's website, University of Louisville.
After national civil rights legislation had passed in 1964 and 1965, African Americans continued to push for social changes. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) long maintained an office in the Parkland neighborhood, which had an African-American majority population. In Louisville, as in other cities, there was a political struggle between the NAACP and more militant activists associated with Black Power. The latter's attempt to organize was one of the catalysts for the riot. In addition, feelings were raw because Martin Luther King Jr. had been Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated less than two months before. On May 27, 1968, a group of 400 mostly African-Americans gathered for a protest in Parkland. They opposed possible reinstatement of a white officer involved in an incident where physical conflict had occurred in the arrest of two African-American men. The group was organized by the Black Unity League of Kentucky, known as BULK. BULK had announced that activist Stokely Carmichael was to come to Louisville to speak, but he had no such plans. When the crowd gathered, speakers spread rumors that Carmichael's plane had been purposely delayed; protesters got angry, and a disturbance began. The crowd's tossing bottles and looting forced police to retreat. By midnight, rioters had looted several stores in Downtown Louisville. Cars were overturned and some burned. Mayor Kenneth A. Schmied ordered the 2,178 Kentucky Army National Guard, National Guardsmen to help disperse the crowd. The mayor also issued a citywide curfew. 472 arrests were made during the riots, two African-American teenage boys were killed, and over $200,000 in property damage was done. The National Guard remained in place until June 4, 1968. Following these events, the city's demographics changed dramatically; the city became more racially segregated by neighborhoods, and more middle-class people, of both races, moved to newer housing in the suburbs. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' in 1954, Louisville's public schools were still essentially segregated, especially as regional residential segregation had become more pronounced due to other economic changes. In 1971 and 1972 the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union, Legal Aid Society of Louisville, Legal Aid Society, and NAACP filed suit in federal court to desegregate the Louisville and Jefferson County school systems. The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights also filed suit asking that desegregation be achieved through merger of the Louisville, Jefferson County and Anchorage school systems, to overcome residential segregation and the inability of the city to expand by annexation and take in a more diverse area. By February 28, 1975, the state Board of Education ordered the merger of the Louisville and Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky), Jefferson County schools systems effective April 1, 1975. On July 17, 1975, Judge James F. Gordon stipulated that a desegregation plan would be implemented at the beginning of the 1975–76 school year, to begin September 4, 1975. The school system used mandatory busing to distribute students to integrate the newly merged school systems. The students were bused according to the first initial of their last name and their grade level. The busing was to achieve certain percentages of racial diversity in schools regardless of where the students lived. In practical effects, the plan required black students to be bused up to 10 of their 12 years in school, and white students 2 of their 12 years. In 1978 the judge ended his supervision of the project, but the decree remained in effect in some places. The school system continued the busing system. In the mid-1980s, the school system restructured the plan to try to provide for more local schooling for students. Guidelines remained in effect for percentages of the student population based on ethnicity.


Revitalization efforts

Since the 1980s, Louisville has had a revival in popularity and prosperity. This can be seen in the many changes in this period, including a great deal of downtown infrastructure. The retail environment changed here and across the country. F. W. Woolworth Company, Woolworth went out of business in 1990. The building in Louisville, designed by architect Frederick W. Garber and completed in 1946, was demolished in 2004. The site was not redeveloped at the time, but paved for a parking lot. Many cultural showcases were founded or expanded in this period. The Kentucky Center, The Kentucky Center for the Arts was officially dedicated in 1983. In 1984 the center hosted one of the U.S. presidential election debates between candidates Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. Today the center hosts many touring plays and performances by the Kentucky Opera and the Louisville Ballet. An IMAX theater was added to the Kentucky Science Center in 1988. Phase I of the Louisville Waterfront Park was completed in 1999, and Phase II was completed in 2004. Though originally built as a standard movie theater in 1921, the Kentucky Theater was reopened in 2000 as a performing arts venue. In 1988, the Louisville Falls Fountain, the tallest computerized fountain in the world, began operation on the Ohio River at Louisville. Its high spray (later reduced to due to energy costs) and fleur-de-lis patterns graced Louisville's waterfront until the fountain was shut down in 1998. The headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest Presbyterian denomination and a pillar of the religious "main line," moved to Louisville in 1988. The move was the result of a concerted campaign, led by Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary president John Mulder, Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, and with a gift of waterfront buildings from Humana founder David Jones. In communications, ''The Courier-Journal'', Louisville's primary local newspaper, was purchased in 1987 by media giant Gannett. The ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'' (LEO), a popular alternative newspaper, was founded in 1990. ''Velocity (newspaper), Velocity'' was later released by the ''Courier-Journal'' to compete with the ''LEO'' in 2003. In 2003, the city of Louisville and Jefferson County merged into a single government named ''Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government''. This merger made Louisville the 16th or 27th List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the U.S., depending on how the population is calculated. The change enabled consolidation of some services and activities to provide better government for the region. New changes and growth continued in the city. The entertainment and retail district called Fourth Street Live! was opened in 2004, and the Muhammad Ali Center was opened in 2005. Between the 1990 United States census, 1990 census and 2000 United States census, 2000 census, Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area, Louisville's metro area population outgrew that of Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, Lexington by 149,415, and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, Cincinnati's by 23,278.


Preservation and presentation of Louisville history

Since 1884, The Filson Historical Society (originally named the Filson Club), with its extensive collections, has led the way in preserving Louisville's history, and publishes articles in its quaristorical collections. As of 2016, Louisville did not have a museum dedicated to the city's history. Various museums and historic homes present exhibits that interpret this history. These include the Filson, Portland Museum (Louisville), Portland Museum, Historic Locust Grove, Falls of the Ohio State Park interpretive center (Clarksville, Indiana), Howard Steamboat Museum (Jeffersonville, Indiana), Carnegie Center for Art & History (
New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...
), and the Kentucky Historical Society, Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History ( Frankfort). In 2004 The Frazier History Museum, previously known as the Frazier Historical Arms Museum and the Frazier International History Museum opened a history museum located on Museum Row in the West Main District of downtown
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
.


See also

* History of Germans in Louisville * History of the Irish in Louisville * Timeline of Louisville, Kentucky * List of mayors of Louisville, Kentucky * History of Jefferson County, Kentucky * History of Kentucky * List of attractions and events in the Louisville metropolitan area#Historic properties, List of historic properties in Louisville (attractions) * National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Kentucky


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *
online
* Fischer, Greg. ''Germans in Louisville: A History'' (Arcadia Publishing, 2008). * * * * *


Race, slavery and desegregation

*
online
* Hudson, J. Blaine, "'Upon This Rock'—The Free African American Community of Antebellum Louisville, Kentucky," ''The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society'' 109 (Summer–Autumn 2011), 295–326. * Jackson, Brenda Feast. "The Policies and Purposes of Black Public Schooling in Louisville, Kentucky, 1890–1930" (PhD dissertation, Indiana University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1976. 7702004). * * * K’Meyer, Tracy E. "Remembering the Past and Contesting the Future of School Desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky, 1975–2012." ''The Oral History Review'' (2019) 39#2 pp. 230–25
online
* O'Brien, Mary Lawrence. "Slavery in Louisville During the Antebellum Period: 1820–1860. A Study of the Effects of Urbanization on the Institution of Slavery as It Existed in Louisville, Kentucky" (PhD dissertation, University of Louisville ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1979. 1314778). * Stafford, Hanford Dozier. "Slavery in a Border City: Louisville, 1790–1860 (Kentucky)" (PhD dissertation, University of Kentucky; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1982. 8309081). * Wright, George C. ''Life Behind a Veil: Blacks in Louisville, Kentucky, 1865–1930'' (1985
online


External links


Louisville Historic Landmarks & Preservation Districts Commission

Kentuckiana Heritage Consortium

Historical Resources On Racial Inequality In Louisville
from The Filson Historical Society
Louisville Historical League

Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History

Digital Collections
from
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
Libraries *
Louisville Maps
*
Louisville Images
*Louisville Free Public Library:
African American Archives

Genealogy & Local History

Kentucky History & Genealogy Collection

Louisville After the Bombings?
– includes many photos of buildings no longer in existence {{Louisville History of Louisville, Kentucky,