Louisville is a city in and 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 ...

of Jefferson County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States, and also a former

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

of Georgia. It is located southwest of Augusta on the Ogeechee River, and its population was 2,493 at the 2010 census, down from 2,712 at the 2000 census. By 2020, its population was 2,381. Its name is pronounced "Lewis-ville", though it and the differently pronounced city in Kentucky were both named for

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- ...

History

Louisville was incorporated on January 26, 1786, as the prospective state capital, though it did not become so for a decade.

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

had served as the colonial capital, but was considered too far from the center of population in the growing state, and Augusta became the state capital in the 1780s. Louisville was named for

, who had aided the Continentals 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 ...

and was still the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

when the decision to incorporate the city was made. Development of the city took years, and its state government buildings were completed in 1795. An old Revolutionary War soldiers' cemetery is located on the western side of town. The city of Louisville served as the

of Georgia from 1796 to 1806. It was a center of trade, legislators, and political influence. The Jefferson County courthouse, built in 1904, stands on the site of Georgia's first permanent capitol building. Louisville's historic open-sided market house, Old Market, (Old Slave Market) still stands in the center of downtown. The original market had sections for sales of farm produce, household goods, and enslaved African Americans. The caption of a 1934 photograph in the Library of Congress proves the sale of enslaved Black people happened at this market, with details. The Old Market is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Roads and other transportation routes intersected at the market square, the hub of the region when the town was the state capital. The state capital was moved to Milledgeville and later to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. As a small city and county seat, Louisville now has few major businesses and industries. A marker dedicated to the Yazoo land scandal of the 18th century is located in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse. Queensborough National Bank and Trust Company was founded in 1902 and is currently headquartered in Louisville, on U.S. Highway 1.

Geography

Louisville is located slightly south of the center of Jefferson County. U.S. Route 1 passes through the east side of the city, leading northeast to Augusta and south to Swainsboro. U.S. Route 221 passes through the north side of downtown as Peachtree Street and leads southwest to Bartow. US-221 leaves Louisville to the north, running with US-1 to

Wrens Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...

before continuing north toward

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Louisville has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.93%, are water. The western city boundary follows Rocky Comfort Creek, which flows into the Ogeechee River at the city limits' southwest corner. The Ogeechee flows to the Atlantic Ocean south of

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,381 people, 897 households, and 606 families residing in the city.

Education

Jefferson County School District

The Jefferson County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school, and an academy school. The district has 199 full-time teachers and over 3,526 students.School Stats
, Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Louisville Academy
*Carver Elementary School *Wrens Elementary School *Jefferson County Middle School * Jefferson County High School

Private education

* Thomas Jefferson Academy

Notable people

* William Wright Abbot III (1922–2009), historian * John M. Berrien (1781–1856), US Senator and US Attorney General * Reuben Walker Carswell (1837–1889), lawyer, politician, and Confederate officer * Howell Cobb (1815–1868), former Governor of Georgia, Speaker of the House, US Secretary of the Treasury, and President of the Confederate States Provisional Congress * Willis F. Denny (1874–1905), architect * Clarence Ditlow (1944–2016), consumer advocate for automobile safety * Roger Lawson Gamble (1787–1847), US Representative *

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...

(1753–1801), US Senator * Kydran Jenkins (2002-) linebacker Purdue Boilermakers *

Herschel V. Johnson Herschel Vespasian Johnson (September 18, 1812August 16, 1880) was an American politician. He was the List of governors of Georgia, 41st Governor of Georgia from 1853 to 1857 and the vice presidential nominee of the Stephen A. Douglas, Douglas w ...

(1812–1880), former Governor of Georgia and candidate for vice president in the 1860 United States presidential election. * Spike Jones (1947-), NFL punter (Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles) * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), 2nd President of the Republic of Texas * Tony F. Mack (1966-), Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey * James Luther Mays (1921–2015), Old Testament scholar * John Milton (1807–1865) former Governor of Florida * Ambrose R. Wright (1826–1872), lawyer, politician, and Confederate general * William Ambrose Wright (1844–1929), Georgia State Comptroller General

References

Planned communities in the United States Populated places established in 1786 Former state capitols in the United States