Most of Barbourmeade was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Barbourmeade’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barbourmeade is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barbourmeade’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Barbourmeade’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1962.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Barbourmeade’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Present-day Barbourmeade is part of the loosely defined historic community known as Springdale, after the farm that stood on the south side of Brownsboro Road beginning in 1830. Though it is not a formally recognized neighborhood or district within Louisville, nor does it have official boundaries, older businesses in the community still retain the Springdale name.
Barbour Lane, which runs through the middle of the community, was originally the entry drive to the Barbour house, which sat on the Barbour family's 500-acre tract of land between Brownsboro Road and River Road. The original Barbour house was destroyed in the 1974 tornado, which terminated near Barbour Lane.
In 1962, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1970 counted 884 people here.
How does Barbourmeade rank for history?
Barbourmeade is among the newest of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Barbourmeade?
0.6% of Barbourmeade’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1965.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
