Imagine a nice and smooth boat ride along the Ohio River. It is going well and there are little to no obstacles on your way to the Mississippi River. Out of the blue, the river suddenly becomes shallow along a rocky outcrop but then all of the sudden the river drops 9 feet just like that. It surely would have been an interesting situation at worst and a deadly one at worst, to say the least for the early settlers, but these falls and the general region was set to be the site of a major United States city. An area where Lewis and Clark would first meet to go on their adventure to explore the country, a city that gave us a great boxer who would float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, a city that gives us a reason to wear funny hats and plays a major role in horse racing, a city that is home to Jennifer Lawrence and was at one time home to inventor Thomas Edison, and a city that has experienced major natural disasters but has been able to overcome to become the city it is. That city is Louisville, Kentucky
Location:
Louisville is located at 38.2527 degrees north latitude and 85.7585 degrees west latitude and is located along the Ohio River in north-central Kentucky. Lousiville is in Jefferson County where it is the county seat and the largest city in Kentucky with a population of around 600,000 people in the city limits but a metro area of nearly 1.3 million. Louisville is part of the Kentucky Golden Triangle which is a triangular shaped region bounded by Louisville, Lexington, and the northern KY suburbs of Cincinnati where much of the economic growth in the state occurs. Louisville is served by Interstates 64, 65, and 71 which provide relatively quick access to Chicago, Cincinnati, Huntsville, Indianapolis, and Nashville. The city of Louisville is attractive to businesses especially the automotive sector because it is an easy day drive from Louisville to many locations in the Eastern USA (see Figure 1). Louisville has a Humid Subtropical Climate with hot and humid summers, variable winters, and pleasant fall and spring seasons. Depending on which set of climate data (whether you use the 1981-2010 set or the entire records) Louisville averages anywhere from 12 to 17 inches of snow per winter.
History:
(some of this information was provided by https://www.gotolouisville.com/things-to-do/history/ and from http://www.urbanohio.com from a forum poster named Jeffery)
Lousiville was founded by George Rogers Clark in 1778 and named for King Louis XVI who was the king of France during the Amercian Revolution. Remember that France did provide assistance during this time so that is the reason why the settlers decided to honor him. Its position along the Ohio River caused the city to blossom once the steamboat was invented. Initially, there was a barrier called the “Falls of the Ohio” (see figure 5) which was formed long before any human ever set foot on Planet Earth. Over 359 million years ago the present day site of Louisville and surrounding areas was a shallow and tropical sea that was a site of abundant ancient life. At this time reef-building organisms thrived in the area and one of these reefs is still preserved today in the rock record which is the bedrock for the Falls of the Ohio area. This reef limestone serves as a local topographic high spot across the area (see figure 4). There is a state park in Clarksville, Indiana across the river where you can observe fossils such as coral, sponges, crinoids, etc. from an era long past.
This barrier during times of low-water caused ships to become stranded on the rocky outcrop. During times of higher water, a ship could choose to shoot through one of the three chutes along the Ohio River. The Indian or Indiana closer to the Indiana side of things, the Middle Chute, or the Kentucky chute near the Kentucky shore. Portage trading (see Figure 6) was also common where you had a boat on one side of the falls deliver goods from Louisville which were then transported on land to Portland (now part of the west end of Louisville) to another boat on the other side of the falls. This prevented ships from having to navigate the falls. Eventually, canals, locks, and dams helped control the Falls of the Ohio to its present state and the advent of the invention of the steamboat made trade from Pittsburgh through the Louisville area all the way to New Orleans much easier, which caused Louisville to boom as a river town.
By 1830, Louisville was the largest city in Kentucky as the city was starting to bustle as a key river city. During the Civil War, the city of Louisville was a Union stronghold in the border state of Kentucky. There was fear of a Confederate attack on Louisville and some even evacuated the city, but this attack never came (this comes from the show Aerial Kentucky on the Smithsonian Channel). The city of Louisville was spared the damage from the Civil War and was set to further blossom as a city due to increased river trade and the creation of the Louisville-Nashville Railroad also known as the L-N railroad. Things were going well until one fateful March day in 1890.
Louisville’s Dance With Natural Disasters ( a lot of this information comes from the National Weather Service of Louisville):
In 1890, Louisville’s population was 161,129 and it was the 20th largest city in the United States at the time. On the morning of March 27th, 1890 a powerful low-pressure system tracked from Kansas to Illinois dragged a powerful cold front which would move through the Ohio River Valley. Louisville and the entire Ohio River Valley were along and just south of a warm front that separated a very warm and unstable airmass from a much cooler and stable airmass. Louisville started the day off in the 40s with misty conditions but that would change when a warm front would move through the area and when a tornadic thunderstorm would strike the city of Louisville. This tornado touched down southwest of downtown and impacted the “California neighboorhood of town before moving across downtown and waterfront Louisville. The worst of the damage and fatalities were at Falls City Hall where Market Street intersects South 11th and 12th Street. Here a mass casualty situation occurred when the upper floors collapsed into the lower floors of the Falls City Hall building. 55 out of the 76 fatalities occurred at the Falls City Hall building itself. If this tornado occurred today buildings such as the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory and Science Center would have been impacted. Despite the destruction of downtown and waterfront Louisville the city was rebuilt. Another large tornado impacted Louisville during the Super Outbreak of 1974. Advanced warning time and life-saving coverage from local media saved lives as only 2 people lost their lives in the 1974 tornado. The low death toll in the 1974 tornado showed that advanced warning can help save lives in the event of a tornado and inspired increased resources toward severe weather forecasting. Both the 1890 and 1974 tornadoes were rated F-4 (the second highest rating in the Fujita scale) and contained winds just shy of 200MPH.
The most widespread natural disaster for the city of Louisville was not caused by wind but by water. It was the Great Ohio River Flood of 1937. The Ohio River crested 30 feet above flood stage after Louisville received 15 inches of rain in 12 days. Several areas in the Ohio River received over 20 inches of rain during the month of January 1937. As a result, the Ohio River advanced over much of the city of Louisville, flooding 70% of the city. The 1937 flood has not matched to this very day as far as crest height or intensity.
Horse Racing, Boxing, College Basketball, and Baseball Bats:
Louisville is nationally known for the Kentucky Derby and Horse Racing. Churchill Downs has been holding the Kentucky Derby since 1875 rain or shine. The Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May and visitors from across the world come to bet on their thoroughbred horse in hopes to either win money or just enjoy the atmosphere of horse racing with some very creative hats. Meriweather Lewis Clark (grandson of the William Clark from the Lewis/Clark expedition) went to France where he was inspired by horse racing that was occurring there. When he came back to Kentucky he created Churchill Downs to repeat what he saw in France right here in Louisville, Kentucky. Nearby the Kentucky Bluegrass and its nutrient-rich soil caused by the limestone beneath the grass provided the perfect breeding and training ground for thoroughbred horses. This created the ingredients needed for the creation and success of the Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Derby itself may only last 2 minutes but the celebration leading up to it lasts several weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby. One such event that the city of Louisville hosts during the month of April is “Thunder of Louisville” in which Waterfront Park and surrounding areas are transformed into a carnival-like atmosphere complete with food vendors and a firework show. I was there to witness Thunder of Louisville and I highly recommend it if you are into firework shows as it likely rivals if not exceeds the 4th of July celebrations of many cities. Prior to the firework show, there is also an air show as well.
Louisville is also the birthplace of Cassius Clay also known as Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was a gold medal winner who is considered to be one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. Muhammad Ali was also known for his excellent record of community service both at home and abroad. Right in Louisville is the Muhammad Ali Center which serves both as a museum to Muhammad Ali but also a community center for the youth of Louisville.
Boxing and horse racing are not the only sports that are played in the city of Louisville. The University of Louisville competes in the ACC and has well-known football and basketball programs. The latter features several national championships including one in 2013 but that was taken away from them by the NCAA due to an improper benefits/prostitution scandal that broke out. The University of Louisville along with the University of Kentucky helped make Kentucky a state that is crazy about college hoops.
Although Louisville lacks a major league baseball team it is instrumental to the sport of baseball. That is because Louisville is home to the Louisville Slugger a very important baseball bat. You can find the Louisville Slugger Museum in Lousiville’s Museum Row on the western side of downtown Louisville. You can’t miss it because it literally has a replica baseball bat by its front entrance (Figure 13).
The Following People Have Called Louisville Home for at Least Some Time in Their Life:
- President Zachary Taylor
- Two US Supreme Court Judges
- Inventor Thomas Edison lived in Louisville for a short period of time
- Actress Jennifer Lawrence
- Muhammad Ali
- F. Scott Fitzgerald was a regular at the bar in the Seelbach Hotel which has connections to the great novel The Great Gatsby.
Food, Spirits, and Roller Coasters:
Louisville has a good reputation for being a food city. Sullivan University’s Culinary Program has been featured on Food Network and is considered an elite culinary program. https://www.gotolouisville.com/ describes Louisville’s food as boundary-pushing twists on southern cuisine. Louisville is also known as the headquarters for Papa John’s Pizza and up until recently the University of Louisville football stadium was named after Papa John’s. This changed about a week ago when the founder of Papa John’s used racist language in a conference call so now the football stadium is just named Cardinal Stadium. Louisville is also known for having an urban bourbon trail complete with microbreweries, craft cocktails, and exhibits.
It is said that there are spirits in Louisville that are not of the alcohol variety. One such neighborhood where paranormal activity is common is Old Louisville. Old Louisville is a beautiful Victorian neighboorhood that is historically preserved. It is the best known and largest known example that strictly involves Victorian aged homes in the United States. The Courier-Journal (Louisville’s newspaper) ran an article about 5 creepy stories in Old Louisville that include a witches tree, a lady pacing in front of an old church, and a spirit called Ice Boy because he appears on wintry frosty days.
^^ The link to that Courier-Journal Article ^^
There is one place in Louisville that is considered one of the most haunted places in the United States of America. So much that that paranormal shows such as Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters filmed there. That place in the imposing Waverly Hills Sanatorium. With Louisville being a warm and humid area it allowed for Tuberculosis to spread in the city of the Louisville. Before antibiotics were created to treat Tuberculosis patients were sent to Waverly Hills in the southwest part of Louisville, which opened in the 1910s. Prior to the development of the antibiotic to help cure TB the staff at Waverly Hills, TB claimed thousands of lives in the Louisville area. The sanatorium closed in 1961 and was converted to a nursing facility for older citizens with a bad reputation that was closed by the state in 1981. Now the plans are to turn it into a hotel for ghost hunters. With a lot of history and the amount of death, the building has seen it is an ideal hot spot for paranormal activity. Reports include a ghost of a nurse who committed suicide when she found out she was pregnant, swarms of shadow people, a shadow child, and a variety of ghosts of patients and staff. The show Ghost Hunters brought some fame to Waverly Hills when a basketball was seen bouncing up and down by itself supposedly by a ghost of a little boy on the 3rd floor of the building. Waverly Hills does run ghost tours for those who may be interested in that.
On the less scary side, one can enjoy roller coasters and a water park at Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay just south of downtown Louisville near the fairgrounds and airport. This theme park contains a variety of water slides and around 50 rides. Including the popular rollercoasters Storm Chaster and Lightning Run. Kentucky Kingdom just like the city of Louisville has had to pick up and rebuild after disaster. Six Flags left the city in 2010 and Kentucky Kingdom became abandoned. It wasn’t until Kentucky Kingdom’s original owner purchased the property and reopened it for the 2014 season. Some rides were beyond repair but several still were able to be repaired and reopened and a few such as the two popular roller coasters mentioned above were added.
^You-Tube POV (point of view) of Lightning Run. There is at least one instance of profanity in this video so keep that in mind if watching this with children. ^^
Modern Louisville:
Louisville after WWII and through the 70s and 80s did struggle a bit as a city as river traffic and industry started to slow. Louisville is currently beginning to experience some steady growth due to white-collar business as well as employment opportunity in manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and education. Louisville’s relatively low cost of living has also begun to attract the young adults to the city particularly on the East Side. In 2004, the creation of Fourth Street Live! helped put Louisville on the map as a place with vibrant nightlife and entertainment options. Fourth Street Live features live entertainment, pubs, retail, and food options that will satisfy the needs of tourists and residents alike.
Summary:
I have visited Louisville quite a bit through the 90s and early part of the 2000s and as recently as this past April. Louisville is very underrated as a city. It is easy for Indianapolis and Nashville to overshadow it and the city hasn’t necessarily been treated well by its state for various reasons that I won’t get into on there (the sports rivalry with UK vs UL is probably one reason though). With that said, Louisville has a rich variety of activites for everyone. There are hiking opportunities in its city parks and just south of the city. Louisville has a rich food scene and is starting to become a thriving place for entertainment and nightlife. There are museums that cover everything from science, sports, and world history. Louisville has a theme park, neighborhoods with character, and a pretty solid choice for shopping. If you are tired of the city life, Louisville is only within 1 to 2 hours of much of the rugged and forested land of Southern Indiana, Mammoth Cave, and the Kentucky Bluegrass region. Even the southern parts of Jefferson County start to become more rural in character. Unlike cities like Austin or Nashville where rent has skyrocketed relative to the cost of living, large parts of Louisville are still relatively affordable.
Overall I think Louisville is worth a visit. Even if you are not crazy about horse racing Derby Weekend or Thunder Over Louisville can be a fun experience. There are also plenty of concerts, events put on by the city, museums/history, and enough urban and natural scenery to enjoy in the city.
https://www.gotolouisville.com/
^^ This website contains a lot of travel and general information about the city of Louisville. ^^
Comment about your experiences in Louisville and anything that I may have missed. Stay tuned for more Highlighted Communities where we will move to the Volunteer State and highlight some communities down there for the next few posts. I will try to have one by Wednesday-Thursday and another next weekend.
Thanks for Reading
Upland-South Science 