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A+History
History · Ludlow

Ludlow dates to 1846, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #2 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 343 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1890.

1846founded
8on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ludlow’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ludlow began

When was Ludlow founded?

1846

Ludlow dates its founding to 1846 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 2,469 in 18902020 census: 4,385180 years

How historic is Ludlow?

A+

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ludlow’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ludlow is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 142 in Kentucky. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ludlow’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194060.5% of homes (±6.9) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register8 listings, 350 historic buildings, 799 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)#2 of 142

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 Ludlow’s 799 sits above most of its state (95% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 350 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). Two sources give 1846.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Ludlow’s past

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

A historic districtThe Central Ludlow Historic District takes in 343 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Ludlow’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,485 in 1930; 4,385 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19144 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1981. Watch Ludlow change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 350 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
350
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Elmwood Hall
Elmwood HallCentral Ludlow Historic DistrictHouse at 855-857 Oak StreetHouse at 859 Oak StreetLudlow Lagoon ClubhouseMaxwell HouseLudlow Theater, TheMagnus Metal Company Building
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Eclectic2
Victorian Vernacular1
Italianate1
French Second Empire1
Gothic Revival1
Queen Anne1
Elmwood HallBuilding
Central Ludlow Historic DistrictVictorian Vernacular
House at 855-857 Oak StreetMission Revival
House at 859 Oak StreetEgyptian Revival
Ludlow Lagoon ClubhouseShingle
Maxwell HouseEclectic
Ludlow Theater, TheBuilding
All 8 listings
Magnus Metal Company BuildingBuilding · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Ludlow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ludlow.

Read it all →

In 1790, the land that is now Ludlow was given to Gen. Thomas Sandford as a grant in recognition of his service during the Revolutionary War. Sandford traded the land to Thomas D. Carneal for land in what is now Ft. Mitchell. Carneal had Elmwood Hall built on the riverfront in 1818. It still stands (as of 2011) at 244 Forest Avenue and is a private residence. Carneal later sold the land to William Bullock, a British showman, entrepreneur, and traveller, who directed John Papworth to design a utopian community for the site named Hygeia (Greek for "health"). Never realizing this plan, Bullock sold the land to Israel L. Ludlow in 1830. Ludlow was platted as a town in 1846. The city of Ludlow, named for the landowner, was incorporated in 1864.

ChaptersEarly historyThe Ludlow LagoonPost World War I – present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Ludlow, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,485

Peaked at 6,485 in 1930; 4,385 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Ludlow, 1830 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830Born hereHenry Peach Robinson is born here
  3. 1846
    FoundingLudlow is established
  4. 1855Born hereDale Williams is born here
  5. 1864Post officeThe Ludlow post office opens
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kenton County - Ludlow - ED 59-64, ED …
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905In the archiveHorse Run Viaduct
  9. 1906Post officeThe Ludlow post office closes
  10. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1929Born hereBob Braun is born here
  12. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 6,485
  13. 1934In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Photographer, Feb. 8, 1934 DETAIL OF ST…
By decade

Ludlow, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s7 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kenton County - Ludlow - ED 59-64, ED 59-65, ED 59-66, ED 59-67, ED …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Ke…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Kenton County - Ludlow - ED 59-17 to 2418801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY)…Horse Run Viaduct1905Horse Run ViaductHistoric American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Photographer, Feb. 8, 1934 DETAIL OF STAIRS - Old Closson House, Clos…1934Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Pho…Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Photographer, Feb. 8, 1934 LODGE ROOM (GENERAL VIEW) - Old Closson Ho…1934Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Pho…Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Photographer, Feb. 8, 1934 NORTH ELEVATION (FRONT AND SIDE) - Old Clo…1934Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Pho…Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Photographer, Feb. 8, 1934 VIEW FROM SOUTH - Old Closson House, Closs…1934Historic American Buildings Survey Theodore Webb, Pho…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Houses at 855-857 Oak Street.Ludlow KY2015Houses at 855-857 Oak Street.Ludlow KYHouse at 859 Oak Street.Ludlow KY2015House at 859 Oak Street.Ludlow KY855-859 Oak Street2015855-859 Oak StreetCincinnati-truss-bridge12005Cincinnati-truss-bridge1KYMap-doton-Ludlow2004KYMap-doton-Ludlow
On the map

Ludlow on the map, 1914 to 1981

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

Ludlow on the 1914 USGS mapLudlow on the 1950 USGS mapLudlow on the 1961 USGS mapLudlow on the 1981 USGS map1914West Cincinnati sheet · 1:62,500

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kenton County - Ludlow - ED 59-64, ED 59-65, ED 59-66, ED 59-67, ED …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Kenton County - Ludlow - ED 59-64, ED 59-65, ED 59-66, ED 59-67, ED …, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ludlow’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ludlow

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

See all →
Henry Peach RobinsonBritish photographer · b. 1830
Bob BraunAmerican broadcaster · b. 1929
Dale WilliamsAmerican baseball player · b. 1855
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Ludlow had its own post office from 1864 to 1906.

Ludlow
1864–1906
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Ludlow Lagoon Amusement Parkpark

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

Help out

Finish Ludlow’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Covington47 historic placesA+Bromley3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ludlow’s history

What year was Ludlow founded?

In 1846, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ludlow’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1890 counted 2,469 people here.

How does Ludlow rank for history?

Ludlow is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 142 in Kentucky. 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.

What is on the National Register in Ludlow?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Elmwood Hall (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Central Ludlow Historic District, with 343 contributing buildings. 350 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Ludlow?

61% of Ludlow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1938.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.