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History · Louisville

Louisville’s post office opened in 1867, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1860.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Louisville began

When was Louisville founded?

1867

The Louisville post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rock Creek (1856), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 135 in 18602020 census: 131159 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.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1990. Watch Louisville change.Boom and bustPeaked at 432 in 1880; 131 people lived here in 2020.
★ 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
On the map

Louisville on the map, 1889 to 1990

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 1889 USGS mapLouisville on the 1894 USGS mapLouisville on the 1985 USGS mapLouisville on the 1990 USGS map1889Wamego sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Louisville, census by census

0100200300400190019502000Peak: 432

Peaked at 432 in 1880; 131 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Louisville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Louisville.

Read it all →

The community was founded in 1857 by Robert Wilson as Rock Post. The area was once part of the Potawatomi Hunting grounds and a large majority of the settlers were either associated with the Pottawatomie Indian Reservation or commerce on the Oregon Trail. Louisville was named for Robert Wilson's son, Louis, and for Louis Vieux, a successful businessman in the area. The town was a contender for county seat of Pottawatomie County but lost to St. George in 1861 and Westmoreland in 1882.

On November 8, 1875, Louisville was struck by an earthquake. In 1882, with the county seat in Westmoreland and the Union Pacific Railroad built through Wamego, the town's population swiftly declined.

ChaptersLouis VieuxOregon Trail crossing

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Louisville, 1856 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Rock Creek post office opens
  3. 1867Post officeThe Rock Creek post office closes
  4. 1867Post officeThe Louisville post office opens
  5. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 432
  6. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Louisville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-Louisville2005KSMap-doton-Louisville
Famous people

Famous people close to Louisville

Nobody well known was born in Louisville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Walter Percy Chrysler Sr.(1875-1940) American automotive industry execut… · b. 1875
D
Dick KnostmanBasketball player · b. 1931
Delmas Carl HillUnited States federal judge · b. 1906
F
Frank WiziardeAmerican actor · b. 1916
W
Wiley TaylorMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1888
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Louisville’s post office has been open since 1867. Another post office, Rock Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rock Creek
1856–1867
Louisville
1867–today
18501940today

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 1867, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, 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.