Louisville, Kentucky

===19th century===

{{See also|Louisville, Kentucky in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Louisville 1846.jpg|alt=Artist's rendering of Main Street in Louisville as it appeared in 1846|thumb|right|View of 2nd Street and Main Street, Louisville, in 1846]]

The city's early growth was influenced by the fact that river boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching the falls. By 1828, the population had grown to 7,000 and Louisville became an incorporated city.<ref>Yater, pp. 46–48.</ref>

Early Louisville was a major shipping port and [[Slavery in the United States|enslaved African Americans]] worked in a variety of associated trades. The city was often a point of escape for [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|fugitive slaves]] to the north, as Indiana was a free state.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

During this point in the 1850s, the city was growing and vibrant, but that also came with negativity. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting, and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the [[Western Theater of the American Civil War|Western Theater]]. Ethnic tensions rose, and on August 6, 1855, known as "[[Bloody Monday]]", Protestant mobs attacked German and Irish Catholic neighborhoods on election day, resulting in 22 deaths and widespread property damage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bloody Monday Memorial |url=https://www.louisvilleirish.com/bloody-monday-memorial/ |access-date=September 9, 2022 |website=Ancient Order of Hibernians |language=en-US |archive-date=September 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909105328/https://www.louisvilleirish.com/bloody-monday-memorial/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Then by 1861, the civil war had broken out. [[Louisville, Kentucky, in the American Civil War|During the Civil War]], Louisville was a major stronghold of [[Union Army|Union forces]], which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. By the end of the war, the city of Louisville itself had not been attacked, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of [[Battle of Perryville|Perryville]] and [[Battle of Corydon|Corydon]], took place nearby. After Reconstruction, returning [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] veterans largely took political control of the city, leading to the jibe that Louisville joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] after the war was over.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Churchill Downs 1901.jpg|thumb|right|[[Churchill Downs]] in 1901]]

The first [[Kentucky Derby]] was held on May 17, 1875, at the Louisville Jockey Club track (later renamed [[Churchill Downs]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchilldowns.com/visit/about/churchill-downs/history/|title=History of Churchill Downs {{!}} {{!}} Churchill Downs Racetrack {{!}} Home of the Kentucky Derby|website=churchilldowns.com|language=en|access-date=March 23, 2019|archive-date=March 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324005237/https://www.churchilldowns.com/visit/about/churchill-downs/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Derby was originally shepherded by [[Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.]], the grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and grandnephew of the city's founder George Rogers Clark. Horse racing had a strong tradition in Kentucky, whose [[Bluegrass region|Inner Bluegrass Region]] had been a center of breeding high-quality livestock throughout the 19th century. Ten thousand spectators watched the first Derby, which [[Aristides (horse)|Aristides]] won.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kentucky Derby Timeline: 1874–1899 |url=http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/history/timeline/1874-1899 |access-date=July 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410204842/http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/history/timeline/1874-1899 |archive-date=April 10, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On March 27, 1890, the city was devastated and its downtown nearly destroyed when what scientists now estimate was an [[Fujita scale|F4]] [[tornado]] tore through as part of the [[March 1890 middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak|middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak]]. It is estimated that between 74 and 120 people were killed and 200 were injured. The damage cost the city $2.5 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weather.gov/lmk/tornado_climatology_march271890|title=Tornadoes of March 27, 1890|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|website=weather.gov|language=EN-US|access-date=March 24, 2019|archive-date=March 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324005235/https://www.weather.gov/lmk/tornado_climatology_march271890|url-status=live}}</ref> (equivalent to $69 million in 2019).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1890?amount=2500000|title=$2,500,000 in 1890 → 2019 {{!}} Inflation Calculator|website=in2013dollars.com|language=en|access-date=March 24, 2019|archive-date=March 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324005237/http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1890%3Famount%3D2500000|url-status=live}}</ref> Established in 1896, [[Neighborhood House (Louisville, Kentucky)|Neighborhood House Louisville]] was the first [[settlement movement]] house in the state.<ref name="NHKY">{{cite web |title=Welcome to Neighborhood House |url=https://www.nhky.org/ |website=www.nhky.org |access-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525225007/https://www.nhky.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>