Driving northbound on Interstate 65, the rolling hills

and mountains of Tennessee and southern Kentucky are the

most impressive sights along this expansive corridor

spanning Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. After

about two hours of entering into Kentucky, the highway that

had consistently been four lanes (with few exceptions) from

Nashville suddenly widens. Exits to the two loops that

surround this city that is approaching, Interstates 265 and

264 are marked exits. Exits for two other major

interstates, Interstates 64 and 71 also intersect in this

city. Without knowing what is approaching, it’s obviously

an important town. Then there is the exit sign to Churchill

Downs, The Kentucky Derby Museum, the University of the

city, the tall downtown buildings covered in signs

indicating that this city is home to the famous Muhammad

Ali, Diane Sawyer, and Peewee Reese. Then, the most

impressive sight, and characteristic of the city approaches,

the massive John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, spanning the

Ohio River, taking drivers from Kentucky to Indiana.

Today, this is how many people see the city of

Louisville. The city is situated in such a part of the

country with proximity to distinct physical, and political

features that they have formed the city’s identity.

Louisville is a city of great, Southern traditions,

juxtaposed by its relatively northern position, and distinct

commercial looks. If the statement “geography controls your

destiny” has ever been true, Louisville is an exemplar of

the truth of that statement. Louisville’s existence,

development as a city, and its identity are products of the

city’s geography.

Founding

The city of Louisville has its location to credit for

its foundation and existence. Located on the southern edge

of the Ohio River, which serves as a boundary between

Indiana and Kentucky, Louisville is a town on the water

route that connects Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and

eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. Significant about this

portion of the Ohio River at Louisville is the presence of

the Falls of the Ohio. This physical feature of the river

made it impossible to pass through in a boat. It was the

only point on this route from Pittsburg to New Orleans along

the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers where portage was

required. For this reason, settlements around this area

developed, as those passing through would require various

services. Two settlements on the north side of the river

(present-day Indiana), and two settlements on the south side

of the river (present day Kentucky) grew as a result of this

portage site. For several reasons, it was Louisville that

grew exponentially from the business. Specifically, the

location of Louisville, compared to Portland, the other

settlement on the south side of the river, was best to

develop into a city because of its proximity to the Bear

Grass Creek, which sheltered boats and barges from the

Falls, and from the tumultuous currents of the river.

Furthermore, scholars have determined that Louisville is an

especially fertile; the flooding of the river contributed to

the rich soil of the area.1

1 Wade, Richard C. "The Beginnings." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 14. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.

In 1778, George Rogers Clark is credited with

establishing Louisville. Louisville was founded as a fort

of protection against the British Troops of the

Revolutionary War. In 1782, he established Fort Nelson.

Through negotiations with the Virginia Assembly, Clark was

able to obtain 1000 acres to dedicate to developing the city

of Louisville. Because of the importance of the river to the

city, the homes and businesses were built in a long, skinny

plot along the river, only six blocks wide, 12 blocks long.

“A little later, in 1783, there was an attempt to keep

thirty feet along the river as a ‘common street,’ but soon

this too passed into private hands. By 1800 the town had

disposed of nearly all of its land… This surrender of public

ground has haunted Louisvillians ever since…”2 This

efficient development of the town produced by a strong

motivation to make profit is an enduring characteristic of

Louisville. While this feature of commerce will be discussed

in more detail in other sections of this paper, the

opportunity to identify how the geography of impacted city 2 Wade, Richard C. "The Beginnings." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 15-16. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.

development and eventually the business culture of the town

should not be overlooked.

Another interesting consideration about Louisville’s

foundation is the notion that is was established before the

state of Kentucky was. The location of Louisville and

eventually Kentucky contributes to the distance from the

colonial culture of the East Coast, but its proximity, being

just on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains

contributes to its early development and ties to early

American history. This was the reality for many cities

that developed around the same time and area as Louisville.

Louisville had conducted business and regulated itself for a

significant portion of time before having to submit to the

laws of the state of Kentucky. This became especially

apparent when the growing city needed resources for

development and was generally unable to get them from the

government due to poor tax practices. Louisville was

required to rely on private loans and funding for much of

its early development.3 The location and time in which it

3

was founded, the strong culture of commerce and profit-

driven development shaped the proceeding years of

Louisville’s development.

Development

With Louisville relying on the transportation of goods

from Pittsburg to New Orleans for its existence, those doing

the transporting were desperate for a way around the Falls.

This desire was potentially threatening to Louisville as if

boats making the journey down the Ohio no longer needed to

stop in Louisville, then the town would, theoretically,

seize to exist. Numerous scholars indicate that it was the

steamboat that transformed Louisville into a city from a

town.4 The invention of the steamboat created even more of a

demand for a less obstructed route past Louisville.

Eventually, Louisville recognized the need to act on this

Wade, Richard C. "The Emergence of Urban Problems." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 72-75. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.4 Share, Allen J. "Urban Imperialism and Rivalry." In Cities in the Commonwealth: Two Centuries of Urban Life in Kentucky, 26-27. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1982.; and Yater, George H. "The SteamboatThat Made Louisville a City.” In Two Hundred Years at the Falls of the Ohio: A Historyof Louisville and Jefferson County, 37-40. Louisville, KY: Heritage, 1979.

demand, and in 1830 (after significant fundraising), the

Louisville Portland Canal was opened. The opening of this

canal benefited the city as boat traffic increased

exponentially. The number of transient workers who came to

Louisville to build the canal, many of whom were freed

slaves, made a significant impct on the town should not be

discounted.5 Unfortunately for the close city of Lexington,

being left out of the realm of water transport meant a

decline in regional importance. It was at this time that

Louisville grew larger than Lexington and the bitter rivalry

between the city up the river, Cincinnati and Louisville was

strengthened. Cincinnati was quick to follow with a canal of

its own, so as to stay competitive with Louisville.6 The

proximity of these important cities on the river persists

through time and remains an important aspect in the cities’

identities. To summarize how the geography impacted the

commerce and its people, Louisville scholar, Carl E. Kramer

5 Wade, Richard C. "The Changing Social Structure." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 218-219; 222-223. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.

6 Kleber, John E. The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. 531.

shares, “…the Ohio River and the Falls of the Ohio in

[shaped] Louisville’s economic growth and its aspirations

for dominance of Western commerce, especially as expressed

in the development of the steamboat industry and in the

bitter rivalry among Louisville, Cincinnati, and

Jeffersonville over the location for a falls canal.7

The following historical documents depict the city of

Louisville before and after the canal. As Louisville is a

city whose destiny is decided by its geography, the visual

understanding of how the city grew in comparison to

geographic features is interesting and imperative.

“Map of the Falls of the

Ohio,” showing Louisville,

and Portland,” from Flint,

1824.” “This archival map

shows the portage road

between Louisville and Portland, and the proposed route of

the first Louisville and Portland Canal, which was completed

7 Kramer, Carl E. "Louisville An Intellectual Journey with Richard C. Wade." Indiana Magazine of History 105 (2009): 237.

in 1830. Courtesy Library of Congress, The Filson Historical

Society, Kentucky.”8

8 "Portland Wharf Park." Kentucky: Heritage Council. May 7, 2013. Accessed April 23, 2015.

“Birds-Eye-View of Louisville from the River Front and

Southern Exposition, 1883”(Panoramic Maps, Digital

Collection, Library of Congress).

“This digital inset shows the lower portion from a large

lithograph depicting the Louisville area in 1883. Portland

(far right) is shown at the downriver entrance to the

Louisville and Portland Canal. The expansion of the canal in

the 1870s allowed large steamboats to by-pass Portland

Wharf, marking the decline of this once thriving port.”9

The use of the canal grew and the barges and ships

coming through grew so much so that they constantly needed

to be widened. By 1927, the United States government, which

had been subsidizing the expansions for the past 100 years

finally took complete control and ownership over the canal.

In that year, it was renamed the McAlpine Lock and Dam.10

The dam is still hugely important to Louisville today and

9 "Portland Wharf Park." Kentucky: Heritage Council. May 7, 2013. Accessed April 23, 2015.

10 Kleber, John E. The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. 531.

its industries. While it turned out that the city’s

livelihood was not damaged by the creation of the canal, the

thrifty merchants of Louisville had prepared to maintain

their commerce, even in the absence of the transportation

industry. Businessmen diversified in manufacturing and,

naturally, and building. As the population of Louisville

was growing rapidly, so was the demand for housing and

office space. In addition to the invention of the steam

engine, the railways began to make a massive impact on

industry in the first half of the 19th century11. Louisville

was sure to be at the forefront of establishing a local

railroad.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was completed by

1859, just in time for the Union Army to transport goods in

the Civil War. This Railway was so vital, in fact, that the

Confederate Army burned a good portion of it and confiscated

several cars. According to one source, the “thrifty Yankee”

management sent employees down to Dixie after the War to

11

Yater, George H. "Glorious Years, Bloody Years.” In Two Hundred Years at the Falls of the Ohio: A History of Louisville and Jefferson County, 61-65. Louisville, KY:Heritage, 1979.

retrieve the “borrowed” equipment.12 Of course, the

railroad was not built to meet the needs of the Yankees. It

was Cincinnati that was threatening to build a railroad

connecting itself to the South via Chattanooga. Louisville

recognized this threat to its business and the need to

develop a prolific system of railways. The city struggled

to raise funds for it (stemming from the city’s early issues

of raising money) and once again, relied on private support.

Especially after the war, those who sat in seats of power in

the government were also shrewd businessmen. The politics

of the city were a reflection of the business acumen of its

residents. It was these same businessmen who would become

the leaders of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.13

Once again, the culture of commercial competition that was

bread by the geography of Louisville provided for its being

well-suited to be the headquarters of many important

12

Prince, Richard E. "Iron Horses of the Nineteenth Century." In Louisville & Nashville Steam Locomotives,, 5-7. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City, UT: Wheelwright Lithograhing Company, 1968.

13 Kleber, John E. The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001 528-529.

companies, like L&N Railroad. With the industry created by

the railroad and the growth of the city, Louisville had jobs

to support all types of labor, including the working class

of southern African Americans. The characteristics the city

of Louisville, as well as the character and skills of its

citizens, took on after the War is completely influenced by

the city’s location and geography.

Identity

Louisville presents itself in a variety of ways. An

overarching explanation for its characteristics that

comprise its identity is competition. As discussed in

previous sections, Louisville’s greatest competition came

from the city of Cincinnati. Competition manifested itself,

also, in the capitalistic culture of the city. The profit-

driven motives and actions of the city planners and of those

governing did come at a cost. Most scholars who had

researched Louisville, and anyone else who has traveled to

Louisville note the lack of aesthetics in the city.

As mentioned in previous sections, Louisville

experienced a deep rivalry with Cincinnati. Cincinnati is

geographically near Louisville, as well as being upstream

from it. The waterway and railroad competitions discussed

explain the rivalry the cities experienced in their goal to

outperform and outgrow the other. Today, the trend

continues and the geography of each city has determined how

current interstates were situated. With the importance of

the car industry in the 20th century, proximity to cities

who produced and shipped cars became important. The placing

of interstate 65 through Louisville and interstate 75

through Cincinnati demonstrate the endless need of the

cities to not be left behind.14 This type of competitiveness

is derived from the personalities of the people who make up

Louisville. To summarize how the geography impacted the

commerce and its people, Louisville scholar, Carl E. Kramer

shares, “…the Ohio River and the Falls of the Ohio in

[shaped] Louisville’s economic growth and its aspirations

for dominance of Western commerce, especially as expressed

in the development of the steamboat industry and in the

14 Hudson, John C. Across This Land a Regional Geography of the United States and Canada. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. 126.

bitter rivalry among Louisville, Cincinnati, and

Jeffersonville over the location for a falls canal.

One important assertion made about those who settled

beyond the Appalachians is that they were naturally, for

whatever reason, more inclined to pursue risks. Those who

settled in Cincinnati and Louisville were naturally

entrepreneurial. Aside from the necessity to compete given

the trying circumstances of the Ohio River Valley, those

inhabiting the Valley were inherently more competitive and

industrious.15 The constant drive of commerce and capital-

seeking served the city well. The businessmen were the

leaders of the community, which aided its development.

However, as also mentioned in previous sections, this left

Louisville without much cultural development

The city that lacked high society through the 19th

century also lacked aesthetic appeal. As Share puts it,

“traveler Moses Austin complained that ‘Louis Ville by

15

Gruenwald, Kim M. "Across the Mountains." In River of Enterprise: The CommercialOrigins of Regional Identity in the Ohio Valley, 1790-1850, 1-6. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002.

nature is beautiful but the handiwork of Man has instead of

improving destroyed the works of Nature and made it a

detestable place.’”16 Wade quotes Henry McMurtie in a

passage that describes the unpleasing looks of the city and

provides an explanation, “Merchants, though not necessarily

averse to the better things, tended to consider them less

important than other matters. In Louisville they had ‘one

single object in view, that was acquiring money.’”17 Wade

also shares the example of naturalist Audubon who came to

Louisville to create and sell art. Audubon experienced

issue, as he “did not take easily to mercantile life, and

his leisurely habits allowed his competitor at Louisville to

cut into his trade.”18 The interests, or in some cases,

disinterests of the people of Louisville was tied to their

economy, which was created and shaped by its location. The 16 Share, Allen J. "The First Urban Crisis." In Cities in the Commonwealth: Two Centuries of Urban Life in Kentucky, 47. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1982. 17

Wade, Richard C. "The Urban Society." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 104. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959. 18

Wade, Richard C. "The Seeds of Culture." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 148. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.

impact of the Falls was seen on a level of whether or not

this town could employ an artist.

An interesting case study of how geography impacts the

identity of Louisville is the study of racial relations and

the Civil Rights Movement in the “Gateway to the South.”

Louisville had long been a common place for escaped slaves

to get north. Although the Ohio River was most treacherous

at Louisville, the connection to other free cities through

Louisville made it a popular place from which to gain

freedom. While Kentucky was only comprised of about 24%

slaves, as opposed to the 50% in the Deep South, the tobacco

industry created a high demand for slaves.19 Historically,

Kentucky has had a significant African American population.

An interesting shift occurred after the Civil War. While

Louisville supported the Union before and during the War,

after the War, Louisville began to make a definite

connection to the South. Some would attribute this

connection with the desire to conduct business with bitter

19 Hudson, J. Blaine. "The Borderland." In Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in the Kentucky Borderland, 11-17. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2002.

southerners, but for whatever the reason was, Louisville

instituted Jim Crow laws and implemented forced segregation.

While at first residential segregation was mandatory, it

became a societal norm as African Americans were

discriminated against by employers, only able to find low-

paying jobs, forcing them to live in poor neighborhoods.

During the Civil Rights Era, Louisville was in an especially

unique position as being a border city meant myriad

influences. The segregation that had been imposed on the

city was because of its southern ties, and the city brought

about a strong supporter of the Civil Rights in the workers’

unions, and in the cosmopolitan liberal members of the city.

“Most significant, Louisville’s border character and the

civil rights struggle it shaped can point toward a new

understanding of conceiving of the movement. A border can

be understood not just as a dividing line but as a space

where people, ideas, and experiences overlap and where

differences blur.”20

20 Meyer, Tracy Elaine. "Introduction: Gateway to the South." In Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South Louisville, Kentucky, 1945-1980, 13. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2009.

The impact of practicing medicine and healthcare in

Louisville is also directly related to the geography of the

city. Louisville was known as the “Graveyard of the Ohio”

because of the multitude of diseases impacting the

population in the 19th and 20th centuries. Being a port town,

the number of travelers creates a space full of foreign

pathogens. Also significant about the location and its

connection to disease is the river and the flood pattern. As

the river would flood and recede, some pools would be left

behind and be stagnate for an entire season, breeding pools

of disease. Fortunately for the city, the constant infection

attracted medical professionals and Louisville became a

majorly important medical city.21

By looking at population trends and the major employers

in Louisville, many of the characteristics that have

contributed to the creations of Louisville are still visible

today. In 2003, Louisville merged with Jefferson County,

creating the large increase in population from the 2010

21 Wade, Richard C. "The Beginnings." In The Urban Frontier; the Rise of Western Cities, 1790-1830., 17. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959.

census (for information in chart).22 The majority of the

major employers of Louisville are in the healthcare industry

(for information in chart)23. This importance of the

medical community in Louisville is a result of the city’s

location in the River Valley and reputation of the

“Graveyard of the West.” UPS finds a successful home here as

Louisville is centrally located and provides many land and

air options for the shipping of packages. The industry that

Louisville will continue to rely on for commerce still

depends upon the geography of the city.

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 20500

100000200000300000400000500000600000700000

Population of Louisville

22 "Louisville, Kentucky." Wikipedia. April 21, 2015. Accessed April 23,2015. 23

"Twenty‐Five Largest Employers   in the Louisville MSA, excluding Government Agencies." LOUISVILLE METRO LOCAL ECONOMIC INFORMATION FISCALYEAR 2014‐2015. December 1, 2013. Accessed April 23, 2015.

Company Number of Employees

UPS 20,047

Humana Inc. 11,235

Norton Healthcare Inc. 9,666

KentuckyOne Health Inc. 8,893

Ford Motor Co. 8,347

GE Appliance and Lighting 6,000

The Kroger Company 5,5152

Baptist Healthcare Systems Inc. 4,854

Catholic Archdioceses of

Louisville

2,345

LG & E and KU Energy LLC. 2,31

Today, Louisville can be described and explained as a

culmination of the characteristics it developed as a result

of its geography. Race-goers travel from around the world to

participate in what has become one of the most important

Southern traditions, the Kentucky Derby each year, yet, the

universities of Kentucky lack the football traditions of the

Deep South. The city of Louisville predates the origins of

this very country, but it lacks the visual appeal of most

colonial-era cities. The commerce of buying and selling

slaves was a significant source of industry in early

Louisville, and while Louisville maintains its Southern

identity, its city structure and lack of agricultural space

could pass it as an industrialized city of the North.

Louisville is an anomaly when trying to categorize or

characterize it. The best present-day representation of the

city is the view of the historic twin spires of Churchill

Downs with the landscape in the background comprised of the

massive, modern, eye soar of a stadium for the University of

Louisville football team24. Both institutions have been

indispensible in the shaping of the city. The twin spires

represent the traditions, the connection to horses and

24 Cook, Norman. "Photo Gallery of Churchill Downs, Home of the KentuckyDerby." Stadium Journey. 2015. Accessed April 24, 2015.

agriculture, and Southern customs. The football stadium

representing the advancements of the University, the impact

of commerce and industry in the city, and the evidence of

the remaining culture current Louisvillians share with its

founders—a lack of appreciation for aesthetics. All of the

aforementioned characteristics of the Ohio River Valley town

of Louisville Kentucky can only be attributed to one thing—

its geography.