Louisville, Ohio facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Louisville, Ohio
City
St. Louis Church, built 1870
Nickname(s): "The Constitution Town"
Location of Louisville, Ohio
Location of Louisville in Stark County
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Stark
Area
• Total	5.70 sq mi (14.76 km²)
• Land	5.70 sq mi (14.76 km²)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Elevation	1,142 ft (348 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	9,521
• Density	1,670.4/sq mi (645.05/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	44641
Area code	330
FIPS code	39-45094
GNIS feature ID	1061447
Website	http://www.louisvilleohio.com/

Louisville (/ˈluːɪsvɪl/) is a city in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 9,521 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Geography
Demographics
- 2010 census
Education
- Public schools
- Private schools
Notable people
Images for kids
See also

History

On October 8, 1834, Louisville was formally settled by Henry Lautzenheiser, from Germany, and Henry Fainot, a French Huguenot. The city was named after Lautzenheiser's son, Lewis, and called Lewisville, Ohio. The name of the town was also considered appropriate because of the fact that it was initially surveyed by the similar-sounding name of Lewis Vail. When the post office was established in 1837, with Sam Petree as its first postmaster, it was discovered Ohio already had a Lewisville, so the spelling was changed to Louisville.

Within Louisville's early days, the town competed with the fellow Nimishillen Township community of Harrisburg for growth. Harrisburg initially flourished due to its accessibility as a stagecoach stop between Canton, Alliance, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Louisville also grew, due to its location upon the east branch of the Nimishillen Creek, which flows toward Canton. However, when the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was laid through Louisville in 1852, Louisville began to grow more quickly than Harrisburg, which struggled with the difficulty of hauling its main product, wheat, by barge. Today, Harrisburg is now an unincorporated community, marked only by a handful of businesses and a Roman Catholic parish.

On April 1, 1872, Louisville was officially incorporated as a village, with George Violand elected as Louisville's first mayor. By the late 19th Century, Louisville contained many quickly growing businesses, including: a plow manufacturing company, a wooden mill, a brewery, a basket factory, flour mills, tanneries, a brick yard, two hotels, a shoe factory, and a number of taverns/saloons (Louisville had twenty saloons at one point, giving the town a rather notorious reputation). Three of these businesses, Star Mill, Town Tavern, and the Mainstay Bed & Breakfast, remain open to this day. Furthermore, many of the buildings constructed within Louisville during this time period are listed upon the National Register of Historic Places. Such locations include Saint Louis Catholic Church, which was completed in 1870 and dedicated in 1878, and the city's historic downtown district, roughly bordered by Chapel Street, Lincoln Court, St. Louis Court, Nickelplate Street, East Gorgas Street, and Center Court. The city's current weekly newspaper, The Louisville Herald, was first published in 1887. For a brief time, the town also had a Roman Catholic college, established by the Reverend Louis Hoffer, located across the street from St. Louis Church. Called Saint Louis College, it opened in 1866 under the operation of the Diocese of Cleveland. The Congregation of St. Basil of Toronto assumed control of the college the following year, and Saint Louis College closed in 1873, due to lack of funds and transportation difficulties for the students. After briefly serving as an all-girls academy and a school for deaf mutes, The building became an orphanage under the guidance of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity. The Saint Louis Orphan Asylum closed in 1925, and became a hospice for the elderly, named St. Joseph's, in 1927. The old red brick building was razed in 1975, as St. Joseph's moved across the street from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. A McDonald's is now located upon the site.

The early 1880s saw the arrival of telephone toll lines to Louisville. Louisville's first public street lights, twelve oil burners, were lit downtown for Christmas 1884. In 1894, a public water system was established for Louisville, and a sewage system installation followed in 1910. The town's Main Street became Louisville's first fully paved road in 1914. In 1960, Louisville's residents voted for the village to become a city.

Louisville is also known as the "Constitution Town". This is due to the fact that a resident of Louisville, Olga T. Weber, petitioned for the establishment of Constitution Day for the United States in 1952. Her lobbying led to the Ohio General Assembly proclaiming September 17. as a statewide "Constitution Day", under a law signed by then-governor Frank J. Lausche. The following year, Weber urged the United States Senate to declare the week of September 17–23 as "Constitution Week". Her request was approved by both the Senate and the United States House of Representatives, and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. On April 15, 1957, Louisville's City Council officially declared itself "The Constitution Town". The city continues to hold a "Constitution Week" celebration annually during the week of September 17.

Geography

Louisville is located at 40°50′14″N 81°15′33″W / 40.83722°N 81.25917°W / 40.83722; -81.25917 (40.837258, -81.259178). The east branch of Nimishillen Creek flows through the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.49 square miles (14.22 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	1,650	—
1890	1,323	−19.8%
1900	1,374	3.9%
1910	1,678	22.1%
1920	2,008	19.7%
1930	3,130	55.9%
1940	3,379	8.0%
1950	3,801	12.5%
1960	5,116	34.6%
1970	6,298	23.1%
1980	7,996	27.0%
1990	8,087	1.1%
2000	8,904	10.1%
2010	9,186	3.2%
2020	9,521	3.6%
Sources:

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,186 people, 3,727 households, and 2,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,673.2 inhabitants per square mile (646.0/km²). There were 3,995 housing units at an average density of 727.7 per square mile (281.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.3% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 3,727 households, of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the city was 39.4 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 18% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.5% male and 53.5% female.

Education

Public schools

Louisville, as well as the majority of the surrounding Nimishillen Township, is served by the Louisville City School District, composed of Louisville High School, Louisville Middle School, Louisville Elementary School and North Nimishillen Elementary School.

Private schools

St. Thomas Aquinas High School/Middle School and the Holy Cross Academy at Saint Louis Campus are located within the city of Louisville. Saint Louis School opened its doors in 1924. It served Grades Kindergarten through Eighth until the 2013–2014 school year, and enrolled students for Grades PreK-5th from 2014 to 2019. Saint Louis School closed after the 2018–2019 school year due to declining enrollment. St. Thomas Aquinas High School opened in 1964. In 2014, it added a Middle School program to serve Grades 6–8.

Notable people

Augustus D. Juilliard, philanthropist. A Juilliard Arts Center established in his honor is located within Louisville.
Edward Julien Moinet, United States Federal Court judge
Joseph Gabriel Harner, US Navy, Medal of Honor at United States occupation of Veracruz in 1914.
Pat Rebillot, jazz pianist.
Olga T. Weber, an American activist who sought the recognition of Constitution Day and Constitution Week in Ohio and the United States. Also known for her idea to make March 1 Ohio Statehood Day.