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Louisville, AlabamaPhoto: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Louisville

Louisville’s post office opened in 1826, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.

1826first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Louisville began

When was Louisville founded?

1826

The Louisville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 211 in 18802020 census: 395200 years
Founding year: the first Louisville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Louisville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Louisville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 890 in 1960; 395 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of Louisville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Louisville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Louisville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Louisville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 890

Peaked at 890 in 1960; 395 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Louisville’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Louisville, 1826 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826Post officeThe Louisville post office opens
  3. 1829Born hereJeremiah Norman Williams is born here
  4. 1891Born hereCurtis Hixon is born here
  5. 1897Born hereGeorge M. Grant is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1952Born hereEthel Morgan Smith is born here
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 890
  9. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Louisville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Louisville.

Read it all →

Louisville was established in 1817 in former Creek territory. The town holds a unique place in Alabama's administrative history as one of few municipalities to serve as county seat for multiple counties.

It first became the county seat of Pike County in 1821, demonstrating its early importance in the region. When Barbour County was created from portions of Pike and Henry counties, Louisville was chosen as its first county seat, serving from 1832 until 1834, when the seat was relocated to Clayton. This dual role as county seat for two different counties reflects Louisville's significant role in southeast Alabama's early development.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Louisville on the map, 1968 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Louisville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Louisville on the 1968 USGS mapLouisville on the 1981 USGS map1968Louisville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Louisville.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Louisville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George M. GrantAmerican politician · b. 1897
E
Ethel Morgan SmithAmerican author, associate professor · b. 1952
Jeremiah Norman WilliamsConfederate Army officer and politician · b. 1829
C
Curtis HixonAmerican mayor · b. 1891
S
Shorty PriceAmerican lawyer · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Louisville’s post office has been open since 1826.

Gone or out of use
Louisville High Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Louisville’s history

What year was Louisville founded?

The Louisville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.