Louisville is a city in Pottawatomie County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 131.

History

The community was founded in 1857 by Robert Wilson as Rock Post. The area was once part of the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

Hunting grounds and a large majority of the settlers were either associated with the Pottawatomie Indian Reservation or commerce on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

.Fitzgerald, Daniel. ''Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas''. Lawrence: U of Kansas P, 1994, 29-33. Louisville was named for Robert Wilson's son, Louis, and for Louis Vieux, a successful businessman in the area. The town was a contender for

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 Pottawatomie County but lost to

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

in 1861 and Westmoreland in 1882. On November 8, 1875, Louisville was struck by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. In 1882, with the county seat in Westmoreland and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

built through Wamego, the town's population swiftly declined.

Louis Vieux

Louis Vieux Sr. was a prominent citizen of Louisville who operated a trail crossing across the Vermillion River. He was born in 1809 in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

to Angelique Roy, a

woman, and Jacques Vieux, a Canadian-French trader. Vieux and his wife, Sha-Note, moved first to Cedar Bluffs, Iowa in 1832 until moving to

Indianola, Kansas Indianola, also known as Indianola townsite, was a settlement in Shawnee County, Kansas north of Topeka. It was established in 1854 along the government and stage road between Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, and received more visitors than the ...

(northwest of

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

along Soldier Creek) in 1846. Sha-Note died in 1857 and Vieux moved to the Vermillion River near present-day Louisville. Vieux began his trail crossing business and worked as a caller for the U.S. Government working the pay station in St. Mary's and he also served on the tribal council and made trips to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on behalf of the Pottawatomies. Vieux also signed the treaty that split the Pottawatomies into two separate tribes-the Prairie Band and

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Citizen Potawatomi Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people located in Oklahoma. The Potawatomi are traditionally an Algonquian languages, Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribes, Eastern Woodlands tribe. They have 29,155 e ...

. Vieux died in 1872 and left behind a 200-page will leaving half the town of Louisville, all of Belvue and other personal property to his wife and children.

Oregon Trail crossing

About three miles east of Louisville was the Vermillion Crossing of the Oregon Trail operated by Louis Vieux. Vieux is buried in the Vieux Family Cemetery on top of a hill. Nearby, on the banks of the river, is a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

cemetery from 1849, which is estimated to contain at least fifty graves, although only two stones—both native sandstones—remain. The Louis Vieux Elm Tree is across the river and is estimated to be over 300 years old. The tree had been afflicted with Dutch elm disease, a lightning strike and vandalism and efforts were taken to protect and shelter the tree's stump. In August 2011, the stump was destroyed by fire. Near the tree are the graves of seven unknown soldiers.

Geography

Louisville is located between Wamego and Westmoreland on K-99. 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 ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

Louisville is part of the

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 131 people, 57 households, and 25 families in Louisville. The population density was 262.5 per square mile (101.4/km). There were 78 housing units at an average density of 156.3 per square mile (60.4/km). The racial makeup was 96.95% (127)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(96.95%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 0.0% (0)

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 ...

African-American 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. ...

, 0.0% (0) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.0% (0) Asian, 0.0% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 0.0% (0) from other races, and 3.05% (4) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 0.76% (1) of the population. Of the 57 households, 14.0% had children under the age of 18; 33.3% were married couples living together; 22.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 38.6% of households consisted of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.8 and the average family size was 2.2. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 10.7% of the population. 13.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 33.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 82.3 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $47,500 (with a margin of error of +/- $21,465) and the median family income was $55,909 (+/- $7,179). Males had a median income of $21,534 (+/- $3,471) versus $34,375 (+/- $13,252) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $21,932 (+/- $7,089). Approximately, 2.0% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

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 ...

of 2010, there were 188 people, 78 households, and 39 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 96 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.1% Native American, 4.3% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population. There were 78 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.0% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age in the city was 34.5 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 10.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.1% male and 48.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 209 people, 77 households, and 56 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 84 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.56%

, 0.48% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population. There were 77 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were

living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,568, and the median income for a family was $37,045. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,472 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,741. About 8.9% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the

, including 24.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Education

The community is served by Wamego USD 320 public school district.

References

External links

Louisville - Directory of Public Officials

Louisville city map
KDOT {{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Pottawatomie County, Kansas Manhattan, Kansas metropolitan area