BlockBefore

Louisville, Kentucky

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1939 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Louisville Central census division. It lies in ZIP code area 40202. The Survey maps it on the New Albany quadrangle. It stands 466 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Louisville within Jefferson County

On record in Louisville

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 396 shown

Every listing in Jefferson County

Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 135 shown

Every surveyed structure in Jefferson County

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 19 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

8 of 39 photographs shown, 1940 to 2020

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Colonial Cottage Court for tourists outside of Louisville, Kentucky
Colonial Cottage Court for tourists outside of Louisville, Kentucky
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1940. Library of Congress
Louisville waterfront along the Ohio River. Kentucky
Louisville waterfront along the Ohio River. Kentucky
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1940. Library of Congress
Louisville, Kentucky. Virginia Lively used to be a beauty operator. Today she works at a gas station
Louisville, Kentucky. Virginia Lively used to be a beauty operator. Today she works at a gas station
Hollem, Howard R., photographer, 1943. Library of Congress
This single facade in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, was once part of a fine home owned by a German immigrant, Christian Heigold, who lived at a time of rampant vilification of immigrants
This single facade in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, was once part of a fine home owned by a German immigrant, Christian Heigold, who lived at a time of rampant vilification of immigrants
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Aluminum. Reynolds Metal Company, Louisville, Kentucky. Fabrication of air-craft parts with high speed tools. Aluminum is a vitally important material in the production of the huge quantities of planes required under the national defense program
Aluminum. Reynolds Metal Company, Louisville, Kentucky. Fabrication of air-craft parts with high speed tools. Aluminum is a vitally important material in the production of the huge quantities of planes required under the national defense program
Highton, photographer, 1941. Library of Congress
Conversion. Flooring to gunstocks. Rifle "furniture" for the Army. A ripsaw in a converted hardwood flooring plant cuts gunstock blocks of clear walnut from selected pieces which have been bandsawed from a large slab, or flitch. Louisville, Kentucky
Conversion. Flooring to gunstocks. Rifle "furniture" for the Army. A ripsaw in a converted hardwood flooring plant cuts gunstock blocks of clear walnut from selected pieces which have been bandsawed from a large slab, or flitch. Louisville, Kentucky
Palmer, Alfred T., photographer, 1942. Library of Congress
Monument to, and burial mausoleum of, Zachary Taylor, the twelfth U.S., at a national cemetey that bears his name in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, on the south shore of the Ohio River
Monument to, and burial mausoleum of, Zachary Taylor, the twelfth U.S., at a national cemetey that bears his name in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, on the south shore of the Ohio River
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Conversion. Flooring to gunstocks. Flooring the Axis. Following the last lot of hardwood plank flooring to go through a large Midwest plant before conversion to the manufacture of gunstocks or rifle furniture. Louisville, Kentucky
Conversion. Flooring to gunstocks. Flooring the Axis. Following the last lot of hardwood plank flooring to go through a large Midwest plant before conversion to the manufacture of gunstocks or rifle furniture. Louisville, Kentucky
Palmer, Alfred T., photographer, 1942. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Louisville: 5 past producers, 3 producers, 1 plant, 1 unknown. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Salt, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Cargill Salt/ Clarksville, Ind.SaltPlant
Globe Union/ Louisville, Ky.LeadUnknown
Pilot Co. PitMagnesitePast Producer
Atkins Plant & QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Louisville Crushed Stone MineStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Louisville Sand&Gravel IncStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Alert DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
First Street YardSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Martha E. Green DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Nugent PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

60 of 156 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Louisville in 156 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 71 thunderstorm wind, 40 flash flood, 23 hail, 13 flood. The reports record 2 deaths. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2000Thunderstorm WindLouisville1 killed, $15,000An elderly woman was killed when a tree was blown on to a mobile home at the Pioneer Mobile Home Park.
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville1 killed, $10,000A Yellow Cab taxi driver tried to drive through standing water underneath a railroad overpass at 13th Street and Oak Street. When the vehicle he was driving stalled, the driver made several calls to 911, but provided an incorrect location for rescuers. He drowned due to the quickly rising flood waters in that low spot.
May 1996HailLouisville$20,000,000no account filed
January 2008Tornado (EF1)Louisville$3,000,000A fast moving EF-1 tornado briefly touched down four times in the Louisville Metro area as a squall line crossed the city. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 1.5 miles over the course of it's 16 mile long track. The first touchdown was in and industrial area just off Millers Lane west of the Dixie Highway. The tornado stayed on the ground for one mile before lifting, heavily damaging a church on Dixie Highway, as well as uprooting and snapping several trees and damaging numerous homes. The tornado then dipped to earth again on the west side of the University of Louisville campus, breaking out many windows in a large residence hall and nearby building, and damaging several vehicles parked nearby. The next touchdown happened in Saint Matthews near the intersection of Shelbyville Road and Interstate 264, where extensive damage was suffered by many businesses and private properties. The fourth and final touchdown was in Anchorage where many trees were damaged, blown over, and uprooted, roofs were damaged, and a large outbuilding at a training school was destroyed. Widespread downburst wind damage occurred mainly to the south of the tornado's path as the squall line moved across the city.
June 2011Tornado (EF2)Louisville$400,000This tornado touched down just southwest of an area of horse barns on the south side of Churchill Downs. Five barns, which also contained apartments for many workers, had major sections of their roofs removed, with minor damage to several others. In the buildings most heavily damaged, parts of supporting walls made from cinder blocks collapsed. Christ Church, located on the Churchill Downs property, also had roof and siding damage. After snapping trees and downing power lines for several blocks to the east of Churchill, the tornado crossed a large stadium parking lot, strengthening to low-end EF-2 intensity near the intersection of Floyd Street and Central Avenue. At this location, just 300 yards southeast of the University of Louisville's football stadium, a large industrial building was heavily damaged, with a collapsed 2-story cinder block wall and a 150-foot section of roof removed from the warehouse. A 30' x 80' section of roof over an adjacent office building was also torn off. The tornado downed several more trees and did minor roof damage to a Super 8 Motel and other office buildings before lifting north of the intersection of Crittenden Drive and Central Avenue near an entrance ramp onto Interstate 65. ||Despite the most heavily damaged Churchill Downs buildings being occupied by numerous racing horses and at least three workers at the time of the tornado, no injuries were sustained by either the animals or their handlers. One man was in an upstairs room when the roof above him was ripped off, while two others were in in a ground-floor apartment where cinder blocks fell from an exterior wall.
February 2018Flash FloodLouisville$200,000Public reported flash flooding in the Louisville metro. Several roads experienced erosion, sinkholes, and broken pavement.
October 2002Tornado (F1)Louisville$150,000A riverboat captain spotted a waterspout on the Ohio River near Louisville. It moved inland over eastern Jefferson County, touching down intermittently. It knocked down trees and blew the roofs off several homes in the Springhurst area in northeast Jefferson County. The back side of the clubhouse at the Indian Springs Country Club was blown out. Thunderstorm winds downed trees over parts of eastern Jefferson County near the path of the tornado.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindLouisville$100,000Power was out in many parts of Louisville due to trees taking power lines down.
October 2013Flash FloodLouisville$100,000Numerous reports of flash flooding developed across metropolitan Louisville. Several people were rescued from their vehicles in Okolona, Douglass Hills, Edgewood, and Jeffersontown. Flowing water reached the tire tops of several automobiless along Ormsby Lane.
April 2005Tornado (F0)Louisville$100,000The tornado first touched down near the intersection of Campbell and Market Streets, where the roof on a business was destroyed, and a telephone pole was snapped. An empty trailer was flipped over near this location. The Stockyard Farm Supply Company on South Johnson Street sustained roof damage.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindLouisville$75,000A very localized microburst occurred in downtown Louisville. Thunderstorm winds were estimated to be between 70 and 75 mph, which caused part of the roofing of the Louisville Gardens to be peeled off and thrown to the east. Parts of this roofing material landed on an unoccupied vehicle.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindLouisville$75,000A section of steel roof was peeled off a hangar at the Louisville International Airport.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindLouisville$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were downed across the western portions of downtown Louisville. One tree fell on a car. Two other trees damaged houses.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindLouisville$50,000At 34th and Rudd Streets, there was some shingle and chimney damage to houses. There was also extensive damage to trees and power lines.
May 2014Flash FloodLouisville$40,000Just east of downtown Louisville, the intersection of Broadway and Campbell streets was completely flooded, briefly closing the intersection. Nearby, a low lying intersection near the University of Louisville filled with several feet of water, inundating several vehicles.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindLouisville$40,000Widespread damage developed over the Louisville metropolitan area as a result of a severe squall line. Dozens of trees were downed across the urban area, especially in Prospect and along River Road east of downtown. Winds up to 70 mph were estimated by a trained spotter in the Middletown subdivision.
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville$30,000The media reported several vehicles under water at Dixie Highway and Algonquin Parkway.
July 2001Flash FloodLouisville$30,000Many viaducts in Louisville were flooded, trapping vehicles. The basement of the Louisville Library was flooded.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindLouisville$25,000Thunderstorm winds caused a partial roof collapse in western Louisville.
May 2012Flash FloodLouisville$20,000The University of Louisville Emergency Manager reported that several buildings on campus sustained minor damage from water entering the lowest floor levels of the buildings.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLouisville$15,000Tree fell on house along Hazelwood.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindLouisville$15,000no account filed
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville$10,000A driver and two children were stuck in a vehicle on 15th Street and Breckinridge Street.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindLouisville$10,000A tree was blown on to a house.
May 2004LightningLouisville$10,000A tree was struck by lightning an fell on a car, destroying it.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLouisville$10,000no account filed
May 1996LightningLouisville$10,000no account filed
September 2011Flash FloodLouisville$6,000Local news media reported two high water rescues. They occurred at the intersections of 7th and Hill Streets, and near the intersection of Dumensil Street and Interstate Highway 264.
August 2021LightningLouisville$5,000There was a commercial building on fire after a lightning strike. The cost of damage is unknown.
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville$5,000A person was trapped in a vehicle on Dixie Highway and Oak Street. A water rescue took place.
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville$5,000A person was trapped in a vehicle at 17th Street and Dumesnil Street.
May 2012Flash FloodLouisville$5,000The Louisville Fire Department conducted a water rescue at the Hill Street underpass at 7th Street.
May 2012Flash FloodLouisville$5,000The local Fire Department conducted a water rescue at the intersection of 9th and Magnolia.
September 2011Flash FloodLouisville$3,000Local news reported a water rescue at the intersection of 15th Street and Breckinridge.
May 1996LightningLouisville$2,000no account filed
September 2018Flash FloodLouisville$1,000There was a water rescue reported in West Louisville.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindLouisville$500Trees were reported down in the 1600 block of Loney Lane.
April 2026Flash FloodLouisville-Flash flooding was reported in the Portland area between Dr. WJ Hodge Street and Portland Avenue.
April 2025Flash FloodLouisville-There was a water rescue at an unknown location. Three children were in the car.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Power lines were downed by strong winds at the intersection of St Catherine Street and South First Street.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLouisville-A tree was downed by strong winds across Lampton Street.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLouisville-A tree was blown over onto two vehicles at the intersection of South Brook Street and East Burnett Avenue in Louisville.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Power lines were downed near the University of Louisville.
October 2025Flash FloodLouisville-There was a water rescue at West Magnolia Avenue and South 7th Street.
October 2025Flash FloodLouisville-There was a water rescue at South 9th Street and West Oak Street.
October 2025Flash FloodLouisville-There was an SUV stuck in water with one person the vehicle.
December 2025Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Multiple trees were blown down on the west side of Louisville.
July 2024Tornado (EF1)Louisville-A National Weather Service storm survey determined an EF1 tornado briefly touched down in West Louisville during the early afternoon hours on July 4th. The tornado initially caused a broad swath of damage, with the damage path becoming more narrow before lifting. ||The damage began to a Baptist Fellowship Center just north of |Woodland Avenue along Catalpa Street. The nearby church sustained shingle |damage, but also had some window damage on the more protected |north facing side of the building. South of Woodland Avenue, a |witness saw twisting motion, and there a black walnut tree branch |fell to the west onto a neighbor's house and a tree from that home |fell onto his truck. As the tornado tightened up, several tree|branches fell onto vehicles and structures. A few bigger trees|were uprooted as well, including one that pulled down some power|poles as it fell. In another place, the tornado pulled back part|of a roof on a two-story residence. Farther east, the vinyl|siding was stripped off a north-facing wall of another two-story|residence. ||As the tornado continued east and east southeast, crossing Wilson Avenue, it narrowed quite a bit, causing more isolated tree damage before it lifted just east of 23rd Street and north of Standard Avenue.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindLouisville-A large tree fell on a car that was parked on Saint James Court.
June 2023HailLouisville-A video recorded quarter sized hail falling in Louisville.
June 2023HailLouisville-Quarter sized hail was observed near the University of Louisville.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Several trees were brought down by strong winds near Central Park in Old Louisville, resulting in damage to a few vehicles.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Tree and power line damage caused damage to siding on a home on Breckinridge Street.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLouisville-A tree fell on a house near the intersection of 28th Street and Kentucky Street in Louisville.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindLouisville-There were multiple reports of trees and power lines down around downtown Louisville including 18th and Market Street.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindLouisville-Trees and power lines were down on the 600 block of East Kentucky Street.
July 2021Flash FloodLouisville-East Brandeis Avenue was closed at the train overpass due to flooding.
July 2021Flash FloodLouisville-Flooding caused South 4th Street and South 3rd Street to close at the train overpasses.
August 2021Flash FloodLouisville-Two cars were stranded in flood waters. Cost of damage is unknown.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindLouisville-There were 15 power lines down in Louisville. The first one came down around 7:52 PM.

Every storm recorded in Jefferson County

Newspapers printed here

39,529 digitised pages

15 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 5,986 issues, 39,529 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
Ohio Valley Worker : Official Paper of the Federated Trades Council of Louisville, Trades and Labor Council of New Albany, Central Labor Union of Jeffersonville1904 to ????
The Examiner1847 to 1849
The Bulletin18??
Kentucky Irish American1898 to 1968
The Ohio Falls Express1878 to 19??
American Baptist1879 to 19??
Weekly Courier-Journal1874 to 1917
The Courier-Journal1869 to Current
The Louisville Daily Courier1851 to 186?
The Louisville Daily Journal1833 to 1868
Louisville Weekly Journal1840 to 1868
Louisville Anzeiger184? to 1938
Louisville Weekly Courier1846 to 1868
The Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal1897 to 19??
Omnibus1867 to 19??

What the paper printed

217,192 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 41 issues spread across its run from 1836 to 1908, 217,192 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1904-09-10Ohio Valley Worker : Official Paper of the Federated Trades Council of Louisville, Trades and Labor Council of New Albany, Central Labor Union of Jeffersonville3,958 words
1847-06-19The Examiner6,695 words
1847-07-31The Examiner9,679 words
1847-09-11The Examiner7,756 words
1847-10-30The Examiner7,920 words
1847-12-11The Examiner635 words
1855-01-30The Louisville Daily Courier4,416 words
1855-01-31The Louisville Daily Courier5,281 words
1861-06-18The Louisville Daily Courier12,589 words
1861-08-14The Louisville Daily Courier3,596 words
1861-08-16The Louisville Daily Courier6,219 words
1866-11-01The Louisville Daily Courier14,057 words
1881-09-24The Bulletin4,318 words
1893-05-28The Courier-Journal4,553 words
1893-06-04The Courier-Journal8,979 words
1904-09-10The Courier-Journal6,754 words
1908-04-29The Courier-Journal8,454 words
1891-07-11The Ohio Falls Express3,091 words
1836-06-20The Louisville Daily Journal1,753 words
1836-07-29The Louisville Daily Journal3,685 words
1836-09-02The Louisville Daily Journal328 words
1836-10-08The Louisville Daily Journal160 words
1836-11-28The Louisville Daily Journal956 words
1859-04-20Louisville Weekly Courier4,124 words
1859-05-18Louisville Weekly Courier8,676 words
1859-06-01Louisville Weekly Courier11,766 words
1865-12-27Louisville Weekly Courier9,050 words
1872-06-05Weekly Courier-Journal1,390 words
1872-08-21Weekly Courier-Journal1,621 words
1872-11-06Weekly Courier-Journal2,602 words
1908-01-08Weekly Courier-Journal73 words
1897-05-29The Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal6,204 words
1897-08-07The Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal7,546 words
1897-10-20The Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal4,064 words
1898-09-17Kentucky Irish American6,261 words
1898-10-22Kentucky Irish American6,264 words
1898-12-03Kentucky Irish American6,214 words
1903-06-12American Baptist4,363 words
1903-08-14American Baptist2,553 words
1903-11-13American Baptist4,880 words
1904-12-23American Baptist3,709 words

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Cliftons2.3 miles21
German Town2.4 miles17
Portland2.9 miles19
Parkway Village3.0 miles17
Crescent Hill3.1 miles21
Parkland3.1 miles18
Shawneeland3.2 miles19
South Parkland3.3 miles18

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on LouisvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q43668The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 509453. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.