Prospect is a home rule-class city in Jefferson and

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The Jefferson County portion is a part of the

Louisville Metro The government of Louisville, Kentucky, headquartered at Louisville City Hall in Downtown Louisville, is organized under Chapter 67C of the Kentucky Revised Statutes as a List of cities in Kentucky#Classes, First-Class city in the state of Kentu ...

government. The population was 4,592 as of the 2020 census, down from 4,698 at the time of the 2010 census. It is one of the wealthiest communities in Kentucky.

History

The area was first known as "Sand Hill" when it was settled by farmers in the late 18th century. The present community grew up around the "Prospect" railroad station erected by the Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railway . The name referred either to the view from the top of the hill or the expected completion of the line (which owing to 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 ...

never did reach Westport and collapsed into bankruptcy in 1879). When the post office was established in 1886, the local postmaster named it "Wilhoyte" in his own honor, but the community corrected this within the month.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 244
University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed August 1, 2013. Although a few luxury residences existed in the area from the late 19th century and the Louisville Railway Company offered hourly electrified-rail trolleys along the former LHC&W line after 1904, it was largely agricultural until the mid-1960s when large-scale high-end subdivisions were built in the area, most notably the Estates of Hunting Creek, which included a golf course. The newest large-scale high-end development, covering almost 600-acres, is Norton Commons. Prospect incorporated as a city in 1974. An EF2 tornado struck the town on April 2, 2024, causing major damage.

Geography

Prospect is located in northeastern Jefferson County. A small portion of the city extends north into Oldham County. The city is bordered by 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 ...

to the northwest, by

U.S. Route 42 U.S. Route 42 (US 42) is an east–west United States highway that runs southwest–northeast for from Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland, Ohio. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, Readi ...

to the southwest, and by Harrods Creek, a tributary of the Ohio, to the south. US-42 is the primary transportation artery running through the area, leading southwest to

downtown Louisville Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, ...

and northeast to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. 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 ...

, Prospect has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.85%, are water. The postal address of "Prospect" ( ZIP Code 40059) covers an area far beyond the city limits, extending east as far as the Norton Commons development in the Worthington community.

Demographics

As of the 2000

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 ...

, there were 4,657 people, 1,732 households, and 1,423 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,847 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.91%

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 ...

, 3.39%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.26% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 1.14% 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 were 0.64% of the population. There were 1,732 households, out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.3% 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, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 35.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $111,170, and the median income for a family was $124,131. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $42,159 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 $51,469. 1.5% of the population and 0.8% of families 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 ...

Notable people

Bob Atcher James Robert Owen "Bob" Atcher (May 11, 1914 – October 31, 1993) was an American country musician. Biography Atcher was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States, and learned violin and guitar from his father, who was a champion fiddle p ...

(1914–1993) –

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist * Ray Burse (born 1984) – soccer player * Sarah Gorham (born 1954) – poet, essayist, and publisher * David W. Osborne (born 1964) – Kentucky state politician * Justin Powell (born 2001) –

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

player *

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, ...

(born 1960) –

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, screenwriter, and poet

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Jefferson County, Kentucky Cities in Oldham County, Kentucky Kentucky populated places on the Ohio River Cities in Kentucky 1974 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1974 Louisville metropolitan area