The Kentucky Soldiers’ Home
Located at Harrod's Creek, this was the only institution in Kentucky founded for Union Civil War veterans. It was proposed by the J. T. Boyle Post No. 109 of the Grand Army of the Republic. Chartered in 1890, it opened . . . — — Map (db m104117) HM
"Bloody Monday"
Election day, Aug. 6, 1855, known as Bloody Monday due to riots led by "Know-Nothing" mobs. This political party was anti-Catholic and nativist. Attacks on German immigrants east of downtown and Irish in the west caused at least . . . — — Map (db m25914) HM
Much of the early aviation history in Louisville is the result of the Aero Club of Louisville. Founding fathers included pilots returning from WWI & businessmen who saw the potential of aviation beyond military applications. A. H. Bowman, Sidney . . . — — Map (db m142853) HM
Journalist and nationally known civil rights activist, Anne Braden was a key leader in the struggle for racial justice from the 1950s until her death. Although she and her husband, Carl, were once considered the most hated couple in Louisville, she . . . — — Map (db m114970) HM
Belle of Louisville
The Belle of Louisville, built in Pittsburgh in 1914, is the oldest continuously operating steamboat in the U.S. Warfboat LSS#10 is the only remaining inland Coast Guard Station in the U.S. Both were designated National . . . — — Map (db m104255) HM
Belle of Louisville
The Belle of Louisville was built (by the James Rees & Sons Company) in Pittsburgh in 1914 and commissioned the Idlewild. She first operated as a ferry at Memphis carrying passengers, freight, farm produce and . . . — — Map (db m104307) HM
The Associated Advertising Clubs of America met at Galt House, on this site, for their fifth annual convention, 1909. Led by Samuel C. Dobbs, the convention took united action to challenge false advertising. This stand began concept of the Better . . . — — Map (db m100781) HM
Sit-In Demonstration Site
Blue Boar Cafeteria
644 South Fourth Street
410 West Muhammad Ali Blvd.
(formerly Walnut Street)
One of two Blue Boar Cafeterias was located at this site. Blue Boar was part of a regional chain that primarily . . . — — Map (db m104473) HM
Captain John F. Gilooly
Louisville’s most famous life saver at the Falls of the Ohio, Captain John F. (Jack) Gilooly (1855 - 1926), assisted in or effected the saving of 6,312 persons, property valued at $5,500,00, and recovery of 400 bodies of . . . — — Map (db m104256) HM
Cathedral of the Assumption
Parish first gathered in 1805; founded by Father Stephen Badin, the first Roman Catholic priest ordained in U.S. Congregation moved to this site, 1830. In mid-1830s Catherine Spalding founded orphanage and academy here. . . . — — Map (db m104485) HM
Catherine Spalding
Co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Ky., she wrote that the orphanage was “the only place on earth to which my heart clings.” Catherine loved and nurtured hundreds of children and it was said that . . . — — Map (db m104471) HM
Chateauesque Architecture
Alongside the impressive examples of Romanesque, Victorian Gothic, Italianate, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts and Eclectic styles found in Old Louisville is Chateauesque, a rare French-inspired design exemplified by steep-pitched . . . — — Map (db m104872) HM
Side 1 Born in Dublin he arrived in America c. 1768. Present at 1776 Delaware crossing and battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown & Monmouth; wintered 1777-78 at Valley Forge: captured at Charleston 1780 with Lt. Col. Jon. . . . — — Map (db m127917) HM
Churchill Downs
Home of the Kentucky Derby, the oldest continuously held sporting event in America, for 3-year-old thoroughbreds. Aristides, owned by H.P. McGrath & ridden by black jockey Oliver Lewis, Warren the 1st Derby in 1875. Meriwether Lewis . . . — — Map (db m104873) HM
City and County Named
Louisville, at the Falls of the Ohio, was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark. Site first served as a military outpost; the city which developed was named for Louis XVI. Kentucky Co., Virginia, was divided in 1780 into . . . — — Map (db m104581) HM
(obverse) Early in 1792, Revolutionary War veteran, Richard Taylor, bought 175 acres bounded by Rudy Lane. Land was given to Isaac Shelby for his father's Colonial Wars service. Here Taylor built a brick house, which he sold to George Rudy in late . . . — — Map (db m133910) HM
Conrad-Caldwell House
Theophilus Conrad, tannery owner, built this home 1893-95. Designed by Clarke & Loomis architects in Richardsonian Romanesque style. After Conrad’s death in 1905, the house was sold to William Caldwell, maker of wooden and . . . — — Map (db m104875) HM
Crescent Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse
Louisville Water Company opened the Crescent Hill Reservoir in December 1879. Crews removed tons of dirt and rock to create a 110-million gallon basin that allowed sediment to settle from the Ohio River water. . . . — — Map (db m104423) HM
Louisville architect Dennis Xavier Murphy inherited a thriving architectural firm from Henry Whitestone and solidified it as a preeminent de firm in the growing city. The firm was well-known for its design of the Galt House Hotel; the grandstand . . . — — Map (db m104372) HM
Scholar and educator, Dr. Parrish joined the faculty of Simmons University in 1921 and moved to Louisville Municipal College, the black branch of the University of Louisville, in 1931. In 1951, when the University of Louisville desegregated and . . . — — Map (db m114910) HM
Scholar and educator, Dr. Love became the first black librarian at the University of Kentucky in 1955 and, a decade later, became the first director of Project Upward Bound and an assistant dean at the University of Louisville. A faculty member in . . . — — Map (db m114913) HM
Author and historian, Dr. Hudson served as Chair of the Department of Pan-African Studies and in 2005 became permanent Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Hudson was a scholar in global African ancestry, inter-cultural education, . . . — — Map (db m114934) HM
Scholar, educator and activist, Dr. McMillan graduated from the University of Louisville in 1950. After a successful career as a public school educator in Michigan, Dr. McMillan returned to the University in 1976 as an assistant provost, professor . . . — — Map (db m115018) HM
Scholar and educator, Dr. Clement served as the first dean of Louisville Municipal College, the segregated branch of the University of Louisville, from 1931 to 1937. Under his leadership, Municipal attracted an extremely strong faculty and soon . . . — — Map (db m115014) HM
Enid Yandell (1869-1934)
Challenged the role of women in the art world as a renowned sculptor. Born 1869 in Louisville and graduated Cinn. Art Acad. in 1899. Gained prominence sculpting caryatids for Woman's Building at 1893 World's Columbian . . . — — Map (db m101765) HM
Arrived in Ky. as early as 1781. Williams was picked in 1797 to serve on Louisville’s first elected Board of Trustees and was appointed Harbor Master for Port of Louisville same year. He was also major contractor in this area and built Jefferson Co. . . . — — Map (db m104367) HM
A native of Wales, Williams came to Kentucky around 1780. In 1783, he built his distillery on the banks of the Ohio River, distilling whiskey from corn on the east side of what is now 5th Street.it is said to have been the first commercial . . . — — Map (db m104373) HM
Filtration Plant
In the late 1800s, Louisville Water Company pioneered research in the filtration of drinking water. The Crescent Hill Filtration Plant opened in July 1909 as a result of the work of Chief Engineer Charles Hermany & George Warren . . . — — Map (db m104418) HM
First Louisville Slugger Bat
Site of J.F. Hillerich carpentry shop, 1875-1901. In 1894, J.F.’s son, J.A. “Bud” Hillerich, attended a Louisville Eclipse major league baseball game. After star player Pete Browning broke his bat, Hillerich . . . — — Map (db m103523) HM
Founded in 1830, First Unitarian Church has been active in civil-rights movements as well as community-wide initiatives. Several fires have damaged the church. Including one in 1985 which left only the stone walls. Each time it has been rebuilt by . . . — — Map (db m104729) HM
( left plaque )
Fort Nelson was the third pioneer settlement in Louisville and dates from 1782. The first was Corn Island (1778) and the second was Fort-On-Shore (1779) sited near 12th and Rowan Streets. Fort Nelson was named after the . . . — — Map (db m104416) HM
General George Rogers Clark
by
Felix W. de Weldon
A Gift to the People of Louisville
by the Hillman-Hopkins Family
( inscribed in the stones on the terrace )
In the spring of 1778, Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark led a small flotilla . . . — — Map (db m104250) HM
George Denison Prentice (1802-1870) was a controversial figure in Louisville history. Born in Connecticut, educated at Brown, University Prentice taught school, and studied both law and medicine before embarking on a career in journalism. Henry . . . — — Map (db m104728) HM
Side 1 After fall of Ruddle's and Martin's stations, Clark led expeditions against Indians in 1780 and 1782. In later years Clark was plagued by poor health and war debts incurred for his country. He died at Locust Grove, his sister's home. . . . — — Map (db m100711) HM WM
George Rogers Clark
1752 — 1818
Soldier, Patriot
Founder Of Louisville
Founder Of Kentucky
Conqueror Of Our First
Great West From The
Alleghany Mountains
To The Mississippi River
A Son Of Virginia
A Gallant Gentleman
And . . . — — Map (db m104489) HM
George Rogers Clark At Locust Grove
George Rogers Clark moved to Locust Grove in 1809 following amputation of his right leg. He lived here with his sister Lucy and her husband William Croghan until Clark's death in 1818. Clark recognized by . . . — — Map (db m101463) HM
Mary M. Miller of Louisville, a pioneer among women, was issued license as master of a steamboat on inland waters, Feb. 16, 1884, in New Orleans. License authorized her to navigate waters of Ouachita, Mississippi, Red, and other western rivers. She . . . — — Map (db m68597) HM
Born in Louisville, this actress appeared on Broadway in 1920s and then starred in forty-one comedy, dramatic, and musical films of the 1930s and 40s. nominated five times for an Academy Award. Her noted films included “Show Boat” . . . — — Map (db m104253) HM
One of three original counties formed when Kentucky Co.,Virginia, was divided by Va. Act in 1780. Other 2 counties were Lincoln and Fayette. Jefferson included 19 present-day counties; parts of 11 others. By 1811 reduced to present noundaries. . . . — — Map (db m104488) HM
KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL
JUNE 25, 1950 - North Korean Communist troops crossed the 38th Parallel, invading South Korea. Within days, the South Korean capital of Seoul fell into Communist hands.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1950 - Allied troops make very . . . — — Map (db m35357) WM
Thornton and Lucie (also called Ruthy) Blackburn were slaves in Louisville, 1830-31. Thornton was hired out to Wurts and Reinhard's store at 4th and Main. When Lucie was sold to Virgil McKnight, the two escaped by steamboat. They were claimed two . . . — — Map (db m70442) HM
Kentucky
Medal Of Honor
Memorial
( east side )
The Medal of Honor
America’s highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor is presented to armed forces personnel who risked – and often gave – their lives in service . . . — — Map (db m104487) WM
Founded on May 9, 1842, the Kentucky School for the Blind became the sixth school for the blind in the United States. The Kentucky Legislature approved the founding of the school by charter on February 5, 1842.
Two of the most important . . . — — Map (db m104467) HM
(1st Side)
This enslaved African American who lived most of his life in Louisville, went on Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific, 1803-6. York was the first African American to cross the U.S. coast to coast and made important . . . — — Map (db m70385) HM
Life Saving Station 10
Life-saving stations, established by the Life-Saving Service, precursor to today's Coast Guard, were set up by the Federal Government along the western rivers in 1881 to provide aid to endangered river travelers. Louisville . . . — — Map (db m104309) HM
( first panel )
Abraham Lincoln, his hand and pen He will be good but God knows when. Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1826-26
Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky. The Commonwealth of Kentucky dedicates this . . . — — Map (db m139475) HM
1809 Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky.
1816 Lincoln family moved from Kentucky.
1841 Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in . . . — — Map (db m104172) HM
Louis XVI
1754 – 1793
King of France
1774 – 1793
This city was named Louisville in 1780 because of his support of the American Colonies in the Revolutionary War.
The statue, sculptured by Valois in 1827, was given to Louisville . . . — — Map (db m104582) HM
“This Memorial
Is Dedicated To The
Firefighters Who
Have Fallen In
The Line Of Duty”
( fire fighters )
Jack Hunt Oct 12, 1874 · Joseph Connell Nov 13, 1886 · Nicholas Lawrence Jan 31, 1888 · Dennis Hamilton Feb 17, . . . — — Map (db m104724) HM
Dedicated To The
Memory Of Those
Law Enforcement
Officers Who Have
Given Their Lives In
The Line Of Duty
John O’Connell LPD July 8, 1869 · Edward Burne LPD July 4, 1895 · Theodore Bossung LPD November 15, 1907 · William Murphy, LPD . . . — — Map (db m104726) HM
Louisville Water Works
Corner Stone
of
Engine House
Laid September 6, 1858
Water Supplied to the City
October 16, 1860
A. Harris, President
D.S. Benedict · J.S. Lithgow · B.J. Adams · William Inman
Directors
T.R. Scowden, Chief . . . — — Map (db m104118) HM
Louisville Wharf During the Civil War Years
Evolving from the primitive landing of Louisville’s earliest days, the wharf had become a cobblestoned center of city life by the mid-1820s. By the 1850's, as many as 20 steamboats a day arrived and . . . — — Map (db m104311) HM
Mayor Andrew Broaddus
Has Been Designated A
National
Historic Landmark
This Site Posseeses National Significance
In Commemorating The History of the
United States of America
1989
National Park Service
United States Department of . . . — — Map (db m104308) HM
Beginning in 1831, Mother Catherine Spalding was the vital leader in forming what we now refer to today as "Compassionate Louisville” initiating groundbreaking programs in education, health care, and social service.
Downtown Louisville is . . . — — Map (db m104486) HM
Murray Atkins Walls
Civil Rights Pioneer
Born in 1899, Walls fought to end segregation in public housing, city libraries, and local Girl Scouts. Walls led the movement that intergrated Girl Scout programs and camps by 1956. She was the first . . . — — Map (db m104727) HM
Archaeological excavation conducted during the construction of the levee in the 1970's revealed that this region was host to Native American peoples as long ago as 12,000 years. We pay tribute to the early inhabitants of this region of the country . . . — — Map (db m137016) HM
Started by Presbyterian families who came from Pennsylvania to Kentucky in the 1780s. The first church was a log structure built in the 1790s. The present church was built in 1840. It is one of few churches that survived from 19th century and is one . . . — — Map (db m35348) HM
Two largest skirmishes of Civil War in Jefferson County occurred here Sept. 27 and 30, 1862. CSA forces, already in control of the State Capital, were threatening Louisville. In first clash the Confederates were driven back to Floyds Fork. Three . . . — — Map (db m26316) HM
French immigrants established a community here in 1806. In 1814 it was surveyed and platted. By 1837 it was incorporated as a suburb of Louisville. It was an early port and boatbuilding center - 41 steamers had been built by 1855. Portland was site . . . — — Map (db m68536) HM
Rotary Club
of Louisville
First Rotary Club in Ky. and 45th in the world. First met on July 26, 1912 and then weekly at the Henry Watterson Hotel from 1912-1924. The Rotary’s servicetheme led to creation of Ky. Soc. for Crippled Children. At . . . — — Map (db m104472) HM
Front
Erected 1897 by Ky. Div. of League of American Wheelmen to honor cycling pioneer A.D. Ruff (1827-96) of Owingsville, Ky. The League's oldest member, he had bicycled to Yellowstone National Park in 1893. Marble fountain and stone . . . — — Map (db m26329) HM
Schnitzelburg
Once part of Germantown, area’s growth occurred after completion of 1891 Goss-Texas Ave. streetcar loop. Part of Alexander Spotswood 1000~acre land grant; region platted 1866 by D.H. Meriwether. Landmarks include Louisville . . . — — Map (db m124965) HM
Side 1 Second African Baptist Church, now Green Street Baptist Church, was formally organized here, Sept. 29, 1844. As was usual in the years of slavery, the founding members had the sponsorship of a protection committee, appointed by First . . . — — Map (db m103608) HM
Since 1842
The Kentucky School for the Blind, third such state supported school in US. Dr. Samuel G. Howe of Boston, pioneer educator of blind, invited to Kentucky to give public demonstration with his own pupils. Displayed before Ky. Legislature . . . — — Map (db m104425) HM
Slave Trading In Louisville
By the 1850s, Kentucky was annually exporting between 2500 and 4000 of its slaves down river to the large plantations further south. To prevent runaways, traders operating near the Ohio River kept slaves shackled . . . — — Map (db m104173) HM
Slavery Laws In Old Kentucky Ky.'s 1792 Constitution continued legalized enslavement of blacks in the new state; 1800 tax lists show 40,000 slaves. U.S. banned African slave trade in 1808 but selling of men, women and children in South . . . — — Map (db m103609) HM
August 1 – 1883 President Chester A. Arthur opened the Southern Exposition of “Art, Industry and Agriculture.”
The 40 acre grounds extended from Park Ave. to Hill St. and from 4th to 6th Streets.
The two story 600’ . . . — — Map (db m104876) HM
St. John’s Evanglical Church
German congregation founded, 1843. The first local church to join Evangelical Church Society of the West, 1856, pioneer of Evangelical Synod of North America. Hosted first general conference of Society 1859, at church . . . — — Map (db m104470) HM
The 32nd Indiana at the Battle of Rowletts Station
On December 17, 1861, the "1st German" 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel August Willich, fought Confederate cavalry, infantry and artillery units south of . . . — — Map (db m29483) HM
For a decade after it was completed in 1890, the Columbia Building anchored the northwest corner of Fourth and Main Streets and was the tallest building in the city, matching the height of the world's tallest skyscraper, the Chicago Home Insurance . . . — — Map (db m104370) HM
In A.D. 1669 Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle, commissioned by the French officials of Louis XIV at Quebec, seeking a water route to China and Japan, guided by an Indian and accompanied by a party in canoes, descended this river, called by the . . . — — Map (db m126434) HM
A world-famed inn operated here from 1835 until it burned in 1865. Host to notables, such as author Charles Dickens, it was scene of assassination of USA Gen. Wm. Nelson, Sept. 1862, by USA Gen. J.C. Davis. Sherman and Grant met here March, 1864 to . . . — — Map (db m39350) HM
The Heigold Facade
Christian Heigold, a German immigrant and stonecutter, came to Louisville sometime prior to 1850, and in 1857 he built his home at 264 Marion Street in an area known as the Point.
This was a period of unrest and attacks on . . . — — Map (db m104120) HM
The Stockade
On Corn Island, 1778.
A group of pioneers,
under the military protection
of General George Rogers Clark,
made the original settlement
of the town of Louisville
in May, 1778 on Corn Island,
then about one hundred fifty . . . — — Map (db m104417) HM
Columbia Building Cornerstone
Thelma French Schneider
Is an example for all young people of today that anything can be accomplished with hard work and determination. In 1928 her first job was at this site when it was known as the Columbia . . . — — Map (db m104371) HM
Edison (1847-1931) rented a room in this house. As a young man he conducted experiments, often all night, then walked to his job as a telegraph operator at 58 West Main Street. Experimenting at work, he spilled acid and was fired. He left Louisville . . . — — Map (db m104469) HM
( inscribed around the base )
This monument to Thomas Jefferson was presented to the people of Kentucky July 4 1900 by Isaac W and Bernard Bernheim to perpetuate the teachings and examples of the Founders of the Republic
( . . . — — Map (db m104579) HM
Thomas Merton - (1915-68)
Trappist monk, poet, social critic, and spiritual writer. Born in Prades, France. After education at Cambridge and Columbia Univ., he entered Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, Ky., 1941; ordained as priest, 1949. . . . — — Map (db m144470) HM
Right Side
Each August, Freedom Hall hosts the World Championship Horse show for American Saddlebreds, tracing its Kentucky Heritage from the birth of our nation. This breed and the industry surrounding it, now represents a major economic . . . — — Map (db m115152) HM
U. S. Coast Guard World War II Operations in Louisville From November, 1942 - November, 1944, 134 Coast Guard temporary reservists conducted continuous river patrols from this station. Led by Lt. J.C. Theobald And Lt. (J.G.) W.T. Duvall, this . . . — — Map (db m104310) HM WM
James Monroe June 1819
Andrew Jackson June 1819
Alexis de Tocqueville December 1831
Washington Irving September 1832
Abraham Lincoln September 1841
Charles Dickens April 1842
Walt Whitman February 1848
Ralph Waldo Emerson June 1850 . . . — — Map (db m83929) HM
Water Filtration Experiments
On this site, 1895-1897, George Warren Fuller, now known as "the father of sanitary engineering,” conducted the first scientific testing of water filtration. For a year, four companies tested filter devices to . . . — — Map (db m104119) HM
~Front~ Louisville Water Co. incorporated in 1854. Its first pumping station, in Classical Revival style, blends beauty and utility. The classic structures were designed and built by Theodore R. Scowden and his assistant, Charles Hermany. . . . — — Map (db m71979) HM
William Clark (1770-1838)
Born in Va.; bro. of Geo. Rogers Clark; came here in 1785, in Ky. Militia & US Army, where he met Meriwether Lewis. Together they led 1803-1806 mission to Pacific. Stayed in govt. service; moved to St. Louis in 1808. . . . — — Map (db m104252) HM
Former mayor of Louisville and lieutenant governor of Kentucky, Wyatt also served as a member of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees and made the first motion to desegregate the University in 1949 — — Map (db m114911) HM
Businessman and civil rights leader, Mr. Porter served twenty-four years on the board of trustees at the University of Louisville, four terms as chairman and helped guide the University into the state system of higher education. A firm believer that . . . — — Map (db m114950) HM
York
(ca. 1772 - before 1832)
Member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806) to the Pacific Ocean
York was the first African American to cross the United States from coast to coast. Born a slave belonging to the Clark family, York was . . . — — Map (db m104251) HM
Col. Richard Taylor of Va., veteran of French and Indian War and the Revolution, built original part of "Springfield" ca. 1790. Boyhood home of son "Old Rough and Ready" Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), veteran of 1812 and Black Hawk wars. Mex. War hero . . . — — Map (db m100859) HM
Gen. Zachary Taylor (1784 – 1850), distinguished lifelong soldier and twelfth President of the United States, buried here in family cemetery. Commissioned Lt. in 1808. Served in War of 1812; Black Hawk War, 1832; Seminole War, 1836 – 43. . . . — — Map (db m21405) HM
Wolf Pen Corridor
Settled in the late 1700s and part of Jefferson County's third major settlement. Rich farmland & water traffic attracted a community of tradesmen, farmers, millers, and African Americans. This corridor includes Wolf Pen & Mint . . . — — Map (db m104116) HM
Woodlawn Race Course
Opened in 1859 and drew national attention. Closed after Civil War. R.A. Alexander, noted breeder, was major figure in buying estate for National Racing Association. He contracted with Tiffany's to design Woodlawn Vase; used in . . . — — Map (db m104421) HM
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