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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Louisville (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Louisville. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Louisville is located in Jefferson County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jefferson County: Clark (IN), Floyd (IN), Harrison (IN), Bullitt, Hardin, Oldham, Shelby & Spencer.

Below are the counties that are near Louisville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Louisville:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Louisville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • Parkland
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • German Town
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • German Town is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Town
    • Parkway Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkway Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 661 people
    • Clifton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Audubon Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Audubon Park is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Audubon Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,487 people
    • Prestonia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shively
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingsley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Kingsley is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
    • Seminary Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Seminary Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
    • Mockingbird Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mockingbird Valley is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mockingbird Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Lynnview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Poplar Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Poplar Hills is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
    • Saint Dennis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Dennis is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Dennis
  • Bullitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • Hunters Hollow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Hunters Hollow is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Hollow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
    • Brooks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Fox Chase
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Fox Chase is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Chase
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Pioneer Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,978 people
    • Hebron Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hebron Estates is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
    • Hillview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hillview is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,192 people
    • Cupio
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Shepherdsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Mount Washington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bardstown Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Clermont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Pitt's Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Pitt's Point is located in Bullitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitt's Point
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • West Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Howard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Prichard Place
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Prichard Place is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prichard Place
    • Rose Terrace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rose Terrace is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Terrace
    • Dietz Acres
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Dietz Acres is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dietz Acres
    • Radcliff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Henry County
  • Meade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • Pilcher Landing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hughes Landing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Hughes Landing is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Landing
    • Muldraugh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lickskillet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lickskillet is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
    • Rock Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rock Haven is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Haven
    • Van Voorhis Manor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Van Voorhis Manor is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Voorhis Manor
    • Eastwood Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Eastwood Hills is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood Hills
    • Grahamton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Grahamton is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamton
    • Brandenburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Buck Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Garrett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Garrett is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
    • Oolite
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oolite is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oolite
    • Battletown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Battletown is located in Meade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battletown
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • Highgrove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Highgrove is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove
    • Lenore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Deatsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Deatsville is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deatsville
    • Samuels
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Samuels is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuels
    • Coxs Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfield is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Hunters
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hunters is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters
    • Bourbon Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bourbon Springs is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourbon Springs
  • Oldham County
  • Shelby County
  • Spencer County
  • Clark County (IN)
  • Crawford County (IN)
  • Floyd County (IN)
  • Harrison County (IN)
  • Scott County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • Lexington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Goshen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Washington County (IN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.
    • New Pekin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • New Pekin is located in Washington County (IN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pekin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,392 people
    • Bartle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Fredericksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Boston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Harristown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Louisville, see our County-by-County Page for Louisville.

Cemeteries Near Louisville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Louisville.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Louisville - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Louisville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Louisville had a population of 161,129 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2000, Louisville had a population of 256,231 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Louisville, with the one closest to Louisville listed first.

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Louisville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Louisville.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Louisville ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 369 newspapers that have been published in the area around Louisville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Louisville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Louisville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Louisville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> of Louisville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Louisville:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Louisville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Louisville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.