Louisville, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Louisville is a city in Pottawatomie County
, Kansas
, United States
. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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.
and was of Pottawatomie and French descent. Vieux and his wife, Sha-Note, moved first to Cedar Bluffs, Iowa in 1832 until moving to Indianola, Kansas (northwest of Topeka
along Soldier Creek) in 1846. Sha-Note died in 1857 and Vieux moved to the Vermillion River near present day Louisville. Vieux began his trail crossing business and worked as a caller for the U.S. Government working the pay station in St. Mary's
and he also served on the tribal council and made trips to Washington, D.C.
on behalf of the Pottawatomies. Vieux also signed the treaty that split the Pottawatomies into two separate tribes-the Prairie Band
and Citizen Potawatomi Nation
. Vieux died in 1872 and left behind a 200-page will leaving half the town of Louisville, all of Belvue
and other personal property to his wife and children.
cemetery from 1849, which is estimated to contain at least fifty graves, although only two stones — both native sandstones — remain. The Louis Vieux Elm Tree is across the river and is estimated to be over 300 years old. The tree has been afflicted with Dutch Elm disease
, a lightning strike and vandalism and is now protected and sheltered. Near the tree are the graves of seven unknown soldiers.
and Westmoreland
on K-99
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 209 people, 77 households, and 56 families residing in the city. The population density
was 427.3 people per square mile (164.7/km²). There were 84 housing units at an average density of 171.7 per square mile (66.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.56% White, 0.48% from other races
, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.
There were 77 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples
living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,568, and the median income for a family was $37,045. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,472 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,741. About 8.9% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Pottawatomie County, Kansas
Pottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 21,604. The county seat is Westmoreland. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi tribe of Native Americans...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Founded in 1857 by Robert Wilson, Louisville was originally known as Rock Post. The area was once part of the PotawatomiPotawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
Hunting grounds and a large majority of the settlers were either associated with the Pottawatomie Indian Reservation or commerce on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. 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
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Pottawatomie County but lost to St. George
St. George, Kansas
St. George is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 639. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St. George is located at...
in 1861 and Westmoreland
Westmoreland, Kansas
Westmoreland is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 778. Westmoreland is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in 1882.
On November 8, 1875, Louisville was struck by an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. In 1882, with the county seat in Westmoreland and the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
built through Wamego
Wamego, Kansas
Wamego is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. The population was 4,246 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wamego is located at...
, the town's population swiftly declined.
Louis Vieux
Louis Vieux was a prominent citizen of Louisville who operated a trail crossing across the Vermillion River. He was born in 1809 in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and was of Pottawatomie and French descent. Vieux and his wife, Sha-Note, moved first to Cedar Bluffs, Iowa in 1832 until moving to Indianola, Kansas (northwest of Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
along Soldier Creek) in 1846. Sha-Note died in 1857 and Vieux moved to the Vermillion River near present day Louisville. Vieux began his trail crossing business and worked as a caller for the U.S. Government working the pay station in St. Mary's
St. Marys, Kansas
St. Marys is a city in Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties in the U.S. state of Kansas, approximately 20 miles west of Topeka on U.S. Route 24. The population was 2,198 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and he also served on the tribal council and made trips to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on behalf of the Pottawatomies. Vieux also signed the treaty that split the Pottawatomies into two separate tribes-the Prairie Band
Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Neshnabé , headquartered near Mayetta, Kansas.-History:...
and Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Citizen Potawatomi Nation are a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people located in Oklahoma. The Potawatomi are traditionally an Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribe.-History:...
. Vieux died in 1872 and left behind a 200-page will leaving half the town of Louisville, all of Belvue
Belvue, Kansas
Belvue is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. The population was 228 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Belvue is located at ....
and other personal property to his wife and children.
Oregon Trail crossing
About three miles east of Louisville was the Vermillion Crossing of the Oregon Trail operated by Louis Vieux. Vieux is buried in the Vieux Family Cemetery on top of a hill. Nearby, on the banks of the river, is a choleraCholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
cemetery from 1849, which is estimated to contain at least fifty graves, although only two stones — both native sandstones — remain. The Louis Vieux Elm Tree is across the river and is estimated to be over 300 years old. The tree has been afflicted with Dutch Elm disease
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
, a lightning strike and vandalism and is now protected and sheltered. Near the tree are the graves of seven unknown soldiers.
Geography
Louisville is located at 39°15′3"N 96°18′51"W (39.250863, -96.314041), between WamegoWamego, Kansas
Wamego is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. The population was 4,246 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wamego is located at...
and Westmoreland
Westmoreland, Kansas
Westmoreland is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 778. Westmoreland is part of the Manhattan, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
on K-99
K-99 (Kansas highway)
K-99 is a Kansas state highway that runs north–south through the eastern part of the state.K-99 has its northern terminus near Summerfield at the Nebraska state line and its southern end south of Chautauqua where it crosses the Oklahoma border and becomes State Highway 99...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 209 people, 77 households, and 56 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 427.3 people per square mile (164.7/km²). There were 84 housing units at an average density of 171.7 per square mile (66.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.56% White, 0.48% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.
There were 77 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,568, and the median income for a family was $37,045. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,472 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $15,741. About 8.9% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.