Louisville, Kentucky, USA
1895 - Louisville

Louisville, the county seat of Jefferson co., and principal city of Kentucky, was founded in the year 1778, and incorporated as a city in 1828. It is beautifully situated at the falls of the Ohio River, 400 miles from its mouth, and 130 miles below Cincinnati. Lat. 38° 3' N.; lon. 85° 30'W. The town is built on a plateau about 70 feet above the river at an ordinary stage of water, and about 25 feet above the highest flood-mark. It has 8 miles of river front suitable for wharf purposes, and the even surface extending southward from the river affords the most ample space for the growth of the city in that direction. Two fine bridges, nearly a mile in length, connect the city with New Albany and Jeffersonville, on the right bank of the river, in the state of Indiana. The streets are laid out by the meridian, cross one another at right angles, and are over 500 in number, 60 to 120 feet wide, covering a tract of 35 square miles. They are well sewered, and form about 1900 squares. Here are about 40,000 houses. Electric street-cars are run on the principal streets, connecting the suburbs with the central and business portion of the city. The most conspicuous of the public buildings is the new custom-house, which cost $2,500,000. Other prominent buildings are the city hall and court-house, the First and Second Presbyterian churches, the Catholic cathedral, St. Paul's Episcopal church, the Broadway Tabernacle, the Broadway Baptist church, &c. The city has great educational advantages, having 39 public school buildings, erected at a cost of nearly $2,000,000; the Kentucky College for ladies, 5 medical colleges, 4 other colleges, and many private schools. The free school system is sustained. Louisville has 150 churches, 3 synagogues, a United States marine hospital, several other hospitals, 12 orphan asylums, 14 market-houses, 28 banks, the clearings of which show $390,754,598 for one year. Of the 53 newspapers published here, 8 are political dailies. It is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop. The facilities for transportation are extensive and of great importance to the city, and, being a port of entry, goods are received direct from foreign countries. Besides the Ohio River, which is usually open for navigation during the entire year, there are 6 important lines of railroad terminating at this point. Among these are the Louisville & Great Southern, the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis, and the Louisville Branch of the Ohio & Mississippi. The city has an extensive trade with the South and the South west. The commerce exceeds in value $150,000,000 per annum, of which the trade in tobacco amounts to 153,000 hogsheads, of an aggregate value of $15,000,000 in one year. Here are 18 large warehouses, 15 rehandling establishments, 16 manufactories of chewing and smoking tobacco, and 85 cigar-factories. Besides, tobacco, pork, and flour are extensively exported. The foreign importations for one year amounted to $488,897, with a duty of $335,622, while the total internal revenue collections were $10,932,593. Though Louisville may be said to be a commercial city, its manufactures are extensive. Among the principal establishments are its iron-foundries, tanneries, and plough and furniture-factories. The manufacture of water- and gas-pipes is more extensive than in any other city W. of Pennsylvania. Chicago, St. Louis, and other Western and Southern towns are supplied by the Louisville foundries. Large quantities of excellent ploughs are made here, and the sole-leather manufactured in Louisville has a wide reputation. Its manufacturing establishments, some 2013 in number, give employment to 29,000 hands, and have an invested capital of $45,000,000, with an aggregate yearly product of $85,000,000. Among these establishments may e found some of the largest in the country and in the world, a wagon-factory (a corporation with $1,000,000 paid up capital) being located here, as well as a hickory-handle factory, 22 tanneries, plough-factories, furniture factories, a spoke-factory, and other wood-working establishments. Louisville is the greatest whiskey mart in the world. The published receipts of the collector for this revenue district amount, for the tax on whiskey, to from $20,000 to $35,000 per day. Pop. in 1860, 68,083; in 1870, 100,753; in 1880, 123,758; in 1890, 161,129.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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