A History Lover's Guide to Louisville

by Bryan S. Bush

Overview

Gateway to the South. Home of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. Louisville has a rich history, beginning with the city's discovery by General George Rogers Clark. The city played an important role in the Civil War, and during the Gilded Age, it became the Bourbon Capital of the World. During World War I, the city hosted 47,500 troops at Camp Zachary Taylor. During World War II, the U.S. Naval Ordnance Plant contributed to the war effort, making rounds for big guns during the late war. Author Bryan S. Bush takes the reader on a journey to discover the history of Louisville through the historic sites and locations from far past to the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439672297
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	04/05/2021
Series:	History & Guide
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Bryan Bush was born in 1966 in Louisville, Kentucky, and has been a native of that city ever since. He graduated with honors from Murray State University with a degree in history and psychology and received his master's degree from the University of Louisville in 2005. Bryan has always had a passion for history, especially the Civil War. He has been a member of many different Civil War historical preservation societies and roundtables. He has consulted for movie companies and other authors; coordinated with other museums on displays of various museum articles and artifacts; has written for magazines, such as Kentucky Civil War Magazine, North/South Trader, The Kentucky Civil War Bugle, Kentucky Explorer and Back Home in Kentucky; and worked for many different historical sites. In 1999, Bryan published his first work: The Civil War Battles of the Western Theater. Since then, Mr. Bush has had published more than fourteen books on the Civil War and Louisville history, including several titles for The History Press, including Louisville During the Civil War: A History and Guide and Louisville's Southern Exposition, Favorite Sons of Civil War Kentucky and The Men Who Built the City of Progress: Louisville During the Gilded Age. Bryan Bush has been a Civil War reenactor for fifteen years, portraying an artillerist. For five years, Bryan was on the board of directors and curator for the Old Bardstown Civil War Museum and Village: The Battles of the Western Theater Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky; was a board member for the Louisville Historical League; and was the official Civil War tour guide for Cave Hill Cemetery. In December 2019, Bryan Bush became the park manager for the Perryville State Historic Site.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Corn Island and George Rogers Clark 15

2 Louisville Becomes a City 20

3 The Age of Steamboats Comes to Louisville: 1830-1840 40

4 Louisville Becomes a Prosperous City and the Rise of Railroads: 1850-1860 51

5 Louisville during the Civil War: 1861-1865 64

6 Louisville during the Gilded Age: 1870-1900 87

7 World War I, Prohibition, the Grand Theaters and the 1937 Flood: 1900-1937 125

8 World War II: 1940-1948 146

9 Louisville Goes through Tough Times: The Struggle of Equality and the Decline of Downtown Louisville: 1950-1970 150

10 The Bourbon City: The Revitalization of Downtown and the Return of Bourbon in Louisville: 1980-2020 157

Notes 173

Bibliography 181

Index 185

About the Author 189