Louisville

Illustration: The Louisville skyline and the Ohio River at dusk.

 America's most famous horse race puts Louisville, Kentucky, in the national spotlight every May. Racing fans come from all over the country to watch the Kentucky Derby and to enjoy the parties, parade, and other events that make Derby Week so festive.

Louisville was founded by Revolutionary War commander George Rogers Clark in 1778. It was named in honor of the French king Louis XVI, who helped the U.S. win it's independence from England. The settlement's location, at a point where the Ohio river forms a series of rapids, was important from the start. People and goods traveling on the river had to stop at Louisville to walk around the falls. By 1830, when a canal was opened to handle the river traffic, Louisville was already a booming port. During the Civil War, the city became a supply depot for Union troops.

Today, Louisville is a transportation hub and a manufacturing center, turning out products that range from automobiles to whiskey. THe airport is the main hub for the United Parcel Service's operations. Louisville's suburbs strtch across the Ohio River into Indiana. The city is home to symphony, opera, ballet, and theater companies, as well as a professional basketball team. The University of Louisville is the oldest city-run university in the country.

DID YOU KNOW....One Louisville company became famous for it's baseball bats, called "Louisville Sluggers."

---

---

This site and its contents, text and graphics unless otherwise posted are copyright (c) 2002
G. Stevens/Design Unlimited - All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be distributed, reproduced or transmitted or posted
in any manner without the express written permission of the authors.

A Special Thanks To Groiler Books.

BACK