The influence of those of French ancestry on

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the surrounding area, especially

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in 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 is bounded by I-265 t ...

, is immense. Louisville was even named for a French king,

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. Before Louisville a French outpost existed called La Belle.

18th century

Louisville was almost completely settled by French immigrants from the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. Early French immigrants came in three phases; the first group of about 15,000 settled mostly on the coastal states. The first French settlers of Louisville were second- and third-generation American-born

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s. The first generation arrived in North America in 1685 after the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

was repealed. These were represented by such people as

Thomas Bullitt Thomas Bullitt (1730 – February 1778) was a United States military officer from Prince William County, Virginia and pioneer on its western frontier. Early and family life Thomas was born to Benjamin and Sarah (Harrison) Bullitt in 1730 in Princ ...

, a surveyor who started

Bullitt's Lick Bullitt's Lick is a historic salt lick west of Shepherdsville in Bullitt County, Kentucky. It was the first commercial supplier of salt in Kentucky, and the first industry in Kentucky as well, supplying jobs for many residents but also using sl ...

, Kentucky's oldest industry. The second significant immigration was mainly of culture value during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

as most of the French that came overseas during this time returned after the war. The third migration during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

during 1793 provided a wide variety of people from nobles to clergy.Kleber, John E. ''Encyclopedia of Louisville'' (University Press of Kentucky) page 321-322 Most of the groups that traveled to Kentucky settled in Louisville 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. Federal status was awarded in 1981. The fa ...

. During this time, the French descendants and immigrants utilized

Shippingport Shippingport is a borough in western Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 159 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Shippingport is home to the Beaver Valley ...

and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

for commerce. A settler named Aaron Fontaine ran a ferry system called Fontaine Ferry that later became the namesake for Fontaine Ferry Park. In 1782, Jean A. Honoré and Bethelemi Tardiveau had a business at Shippingport in which they dealt in flour, furs and land, leading them to meet

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

. Their business became the first exploit of the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

trade.

19th century

Shippingport remained a large part of early French immigrants' lives until a flood in 1832. Portland then became the more prominent area for the French-based community after the flood. In the mid-19th century, the French commerce boomed. Frenchman James Berthoud established Kentucky's second insurance agency and chartered the first Bank of Kentucky. Berthoud's son Nicholas went on to be a charter member of the

Louisville and Portland Canal The Louisville and Portland Canal was a canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. The Falls form the only barrier to navigation between the origin of the Ohio at Pittsburgh and the port of New Orleans on the Gulf of Me ...

. Louisville experienced its largest impact from immigration in the period from 1830 to 1850. The majority of immigrants were of French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent. The two counties that saw the most impact in the Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area were Jefferson County, Kentucky and

Floyd County, Indiana Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Its county seat is New Albany. Floyd County has the second-smallest land area in the entire state. It was formed in the year 1819 from neighboring Clark, and Harrison counties. Flo ...

. The populations for the two counties doubled within this time period. Floyd County saw French immigrants locating in the county as early as 1817.

Post-1900

As a tribute to Louisville's connection to the French, Louisville's sister city in France,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, gave Louisville a statue of King Louis XVI of France, the namesake of Louisville, that it held in storage for years. The statue was officially presented in 1967, and still stands at the southeast street corner of

Louisville Metro Hall The Louisville Metro Hall is the center of Louisville, Kentucky's government. It currently houses the Mayor's Office and the Jefferson County Clerk's Office for marriage licensing, delinquent tax filings, and the deeds room. The building was place ...

. French influence remains in the community by such groups as the

Alliance Française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

of Louisville which hosts events and help teach French.Alliance Française of Louisville - Activities
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French In Louisville French

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

French-American history History of Louisville, Kentucky

18th century

19th century

Post-1900

See also

References