Louisville

Just a little over 600 miles down the Ohio river from Pittsburgh, PA, and a little below the Ohio at its widest point, is the site of the Falls of the Ohio. ‘Falls’ is perhaps a grandiose term for the series of rapids here, but the effect on navigation was the same: the river dropped 26 feet over two and a half miles. This was the only truly hazardous navigational obstruction along the entire 981 miles of the river, between Pittsburgh and the Ohio’s confluence with the Mississippi River. Because of this obstruction, early river craft were obliged to stop, and carry freight past the falls, then resume navigation of the Ohio once past the rapids on a waiting boat. On the Kentucky shore, the places of portage were Louisville just above the falls and Portland or Shippingport just below the falls (a maneuver called portage). During times of high water, the rapids could be navigated with the help of expert river pilots who used one of three ‘chutes’ (the Indiana, Middle, and Kentucky chutes) to bypass the worst of the rapids. There were, on the Indiana side of the river, other settlements that owed their existence to the falls: New Albany, Clarksville, and Jeffersonville. Louisville, however, prospered the most from business generated by the rapids in the river. By 1830, the Louisville and Portland Canal provided a route around the falls, obviating the need for most of the portage facilities. By the time of the Civil War, as boats grew larger, little more than half of river traffic could make use of the canal. Shippingport fell into permanent decline, Portland’s growth was stunted, but Louisville continued to prosper and expand.

River traffic and trade was not Louisville’s only source of business; she was also home to the important Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which reached Southern trade not only at Nashville, but Memphis as well (reached just after the Civil War), and (eventually) Atlanta, New Orleans, and St. Louis. During the Civil War, the L&N found itself spanning Union and Confederate lines, and so also found itself beleaguered by both sides of the conflict. The single-track line was pried up by rebel and Union troops alike, to keep the other side from using the road to its advantage. Trestles were burned, bridges blown up, depots destroyed, and rolling stock stolen or splintered. Freight, of course, was considered contraband goods, and passengers were fair game for guerrilla robberies. Despite such depredations, the L&N prospered during the war, fed on fat Union government contracts and paid in stable Union greenbacks. After the war, the L&N added more miles and trackage, reached more centers of trade, grew more prosperous, and brought more growth to Louisville, not only through trade, but through the railroad industry itself as well (L&N facilities in Louisville provided employment to many men). So solid was its performance, both to its shippers and stockholders, and through thick and thin, it was known as “Old Reliable.” Today, after several buyouts and mergers, the L&N is part of the CSX system.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln once famously said, “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city (then and now), was the Union’s foothold in the border state. Tens of thousands of Union troops passed through Louisville on their way to the fighting further south. At the end of the war, Union troops were mustered out of the army at Louisville. The continued presence of so many soldiers created business booms for Louisville merchants, as well as for those engaged in the less savory enterprises of gambling and prostitution. Kentucky was considered a border state and Louisville, at the north central tip of the state, was a border city. Louisville was never seriously threatened by rebel troops, though at one time a ring of eleven small forts circled the city, just in case.

Citizens of Louisville, like those in the rest of Kentucky and the other border states, struggled with their loyalties during the war, whether to remain with the Union or to support the Confederacy. In the end, what was good for business often determined one’s loyalties, and the Union war effort was good business for Louisville. Ever mindful of this strategy, it wasn’t until after the war — when Louisville aggressively courted the business of the South, with the help of the L&N — that Louisville began to identify herself as a Southern city. With this business strategy firmly in place, latent rebel sentiments came to the fore and Louisville found itself a bastion of ex-Confederate politicians, who now filled the ranks of the city’s councils and administrative offices, as was the case throughout Kentucky. Louisville also found itself the new home of many ex-slaves, moving northward to escape their old plantations in search of other employment opportunities. More stringent laws regarding the interactions of whites and blacks began to appear at this time.

Louisville today still considers itself a river city, though the rapids are completely submerged by an extensive system of locks and dams and the wharves are dominated by pleasure craft rather than river trade. The city encompasses all of Jefferson County and the 75+ smaller “home-rule” cities located therein. Louisville is now best known as the home of the Kentucky Derby (held the first Saturday in May and toasted with mint juleps), Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and various Kentucky bourbon concerns. Major Fortune 500 companies also call Louisville home, including Humana, Kindred Healthcare, and Yum! Brands (which includes Kentucky Fried Chicken). UPS has its worldwide hub here. Louisville has more than one million people, of all ethnicities and religions and political and cultural outlooks, who patronize everything from its opera, orchestra, and art museums to its microbreweries, sports venues, and cultural festivals. Louisville is also home to three universities: Bellarmine University (ranked within the top 200 universities in America (U.S. News & World Report, 2020)) and Spalding University — both Catholic institutions — and the University of Louisville.