# Louisville, Georgia

Louisville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Georgia, United States, and also a former state capital of Georgia. It is located southwest of Augusta on the Ogeechee River, and its population was 2,493 at the 2010 census, down from 2,712 at the 2000 census. By 2020, its population was 2,381. Its name is pronounced "Lewis-ville", though it and the differently pronounced city in Kentucky were both named for Louis XVI.

## History

Louisville was incorporated on January 26, 1786, as the prospective state capital, though it did not become so for a decade. Savannah had served as the colonial capital, but was considered too far from the center of population in the growing state, and Augusta became the state capital in the 1780s.
Louisville was named for Louis XVI, who had aided the Continentals during the American Revolutionary War and was still the King of France when the decision to incorporate the city was made. Development of the city took years, and its state government buildings were completed in 1795. An old Revolutionary War soldiers' cemetery is located on the western side of town.
The city of Louisville served as the state capital of Georgia from 1796 to 1806. It was a center of trade, legislators, and political influence. The Jefferson County courthouse, built in 1904, stands on the site of Georgia's first permanent capitol building.
Louisville's historic open-sided market house, Old Market, (Old Slave Market) still stands in the center of downtown. The original market had sections for sales of farm produce, household goods, and enslaved African Americans. The caption of a 1934 photograph in the Library of Congress proves the sale of enslaved Black people happened at this market, with details. The Old Market is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roads and other transportation routes intersected at the market square, the hub of the region when the town was the state capital. The state capital was moved to Milledgeville and later to Atlanta, in the Piedmont.
As a small city and county seat, Louisville now has few major businesses and industries. A marker dedicated to the Yazoo land scandal of the 18th century is located in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse. Queensborough National Bank and Trust Company was founded in 1902 and is currently headquartered in Louisville, on U.S. Highway 1.

## Geography

Louisville is located slightly south of the center of Jefferson County. U.S. Route 1 passes through the east side of the city, leading northeast 46 miles (74 km) to Augusta and south 30 miles (48 km) to Swainsboro. U.S. Route 221 passes through the north side of downtown as Peachtree Street and leads southwest 10 miles (16 km) to Bartow. US-221 leaves Louisville to the north, running with US-1 15 miles (24 km) to Wrens before continuing north toward Harlem.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Louisville has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.5 km$^2$), of which 3.6 square miles (9.3 km$^2$) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km$^2$), or 1.93%, are water. The western city boundary follows Rocky Comfort Creek, which flows into the Ogeechee River at the city limits' southwest corner. The Ogeechee flows to the Atlantic Ocean south of Savannah.

## Demographics

Louisville racial composition as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 633 | 26.59% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,615 | 67.83% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.04% |
| Asian | 25 | 1.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 53 | 2.23% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 54 | 2.27% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,381 people, 897 households, and 606 families residing in the city.

## Education
### Jefferson County School District

The Jefferson County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school, and an academy school. The district has 199 full-time teachers and over 3,526 students.
* Louisville Academy
* Carver Elementary School
* Wrens Elementary School
* Jefferson County Middle School
* Jefferson County High School

### Private education

* Thomas Jefferson Academy

## Notable people

* William Wright Abbot III (1922-2009), historian
* John M. Berrien (1781-1856), US Senator and US Attorney General
* Reuben Walker Carswell (1837-1889), lawyer, politician, and Confederate officer
* Howell Cobb (1815-1868), former Governor of Georgia, Speaker of the House, US Secretary of the Treasury, and President of the Confederate States Provisional Congress
* Willis F. Denny (1874-1905), architect
* Clarence Ditlow (1944-2016), consumer advocate for automobile safety
* Roger Lawson Gamble (1787-1847), US Representative
* James Gunn (1753-1801), US Senator
* Kydran Jenkins (2002-) linebacker Purdue Boilermakers
* Herschel V. Johnson (1812-1880), former Governor of Georgia and candidate for Vice President in the 1860 United States presidential election.
* Spike Jones (1947-), NFL punter (Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles)
* Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859), 2nd President of the Republic of Texas
* Tony F. Mack (1966-), Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey
* James Luther Mays (1921-2015), Old Testament scholar
* John Milton (1807-1865) former Governor of Florida
* Ambrose R. Wright (1826-1872), lawyer, politician, and Confederate general
* William Ambrose Wright (1844-1929), Georgia State Comptroller General