Explore Jefferson County, Kentucky
Jefferson County was established in 1780, along the banks of the Ohio River. It is the largest county in the state.
In 2003, the Jefferson County government merged with that of Louisville, its largest city and county seat, forming the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, known as Louisville Metro.
Jefferson County is the birthplace of boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball great Pee Wee Reese, and the 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor. It is, also, home to Churchill Downs, the Belle of Louisville, and the Louisville Slugger.
We hope you enjoy exploring the people, places, and stories of Jefferson County.
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Stories 48
Optimist International: Birth and Growth of Optimist International
Marker #2578 in Louisville commemorates the birth and growth of Optimists International, one of the world's largest service club organizations with over 80,000 adult and youth members in almost 3,000…
Highland Park Neighborhood
Historical marker #2584 in South Louisville commemorates the Highland Park Neighborhood. As the railroad industry expanded throughout the United States in the late 1800s, many areas changed. This…
Kentucky Fugitives to Canada
Historical Marker #2072 in Louisville notes the escape of two slaves, Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, who made their way to Canada. In 1831, newlywed slaves Thornton and Lucie Blackburn learned that…
Slavery Laws in Old Kentucky
Historical Marker #1989 in Jefferson County notes the legal history of slavery in Kentucky. Slavery was a part of Kentucky long before statehood was granted in 1792. The state's earliest settlers…
Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing
Historical Marker #2141 commemorates Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing in Jefferson County. Standing on a rise overlooking the Ohio River, the Farnsley-Moremen House is the centerpiece of…
Historic Locust Grove
Historical Marker #2086 commemorates Locust Grove, a National Historic Landmark and unique example of early Kentucky architecture, craftsmanship and history. The circa 1792 Georgian mansion,…
The Brennan House
Historical Marker #2373 commemorates the Brennan House in Louisville. Located at 631 South 5th Street, the Brennan House is the only historic home remaining on a street once lined with similarly…
Louisville Legion
Historical Marker #1589 in Louisville notes the military service of the Louisville Legion. Kentuckians responded enthusiastically to the call for volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War. …
Zachary Taylor Home
Historical Marker #1849 in Louisville notes the location of the boyhood home of general and president Zachary Taylor. Taylor was born in Orange County, Virginia, in 1784 to Richard and Sarah Dabney…
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery
Historical Marker #1412 in Louisville notes the location of the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. In June 1991, the national media focused attention on the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, as news…
Slave Trading in Louisville
The site at 2nd and Main documented by historical marker #1990 was among the most notorious in the city even during the height of its lucrative traffic in human beings before the Civil War. During the…
Calvary Baptist Church, Louisville
Historical Marker #1845 in Louisville notes the historical significance of Calvary Baptist Church to the city's African American community. Purchased for $1 and deeded to Henry Smith, a free man of…
Forest Home Cemetery
Historical Marker #2094 in Jefferson County notes the location of Forest Home Cemetery, one of the oldest African American cemeteries in Kentucky. Forrest Home Cemetery would not exist were it not for…
Lewis and Clark in Kentucky – York
Historical Marker #2119 in Louisville notes the historical significance of York, William Clark’s slave, who was an active participant in the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific…
Naval Ordnance Plant/ Station
Historical Marker #2389 in Jefferson County commemorates the Naval Ordnance Plant and Naval Ordnance Station, called the "Gunsmiths to the Navy," which produced ordnance for the U.S. Navy during and…
Shelby Park Neighborhood
Historical Marker #2396 commemorates the Shelby Park Neighborhood, one of the areas in Louisville that was originally populated by German immigrants. This area of the city received one of the…
St. Frances of Rome Church
Historical Marker #2385 in Louisville commemorates St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church, named for Francesca Romana who inspired women to pray, care for the sick, and feed the hungry. Frances was…
Campaign to End Racial Segregation in Louisville
Historical Marker # 2355 in Louisville notes the important role that non-violent demonstrations played in bringing an end to legal racial segregation in that city. In 1896, the United States…
Charles H. Parrish, Jr. (1899-1989)
Historical Marker #2008 notes contributions made to the University of Louisville by Charles H. Parrish, Jr., the institution's first African American professor. Parrish's father was born into…
Charles W. Anderson, Jr.
Historical Marker #1964 in Louisville notes the political career of Charles W. Anderson, Jr., the first African American elected to a Southern state legislature in the twentieth century. During the…
Civil Rights Struggle, 1954/Wades: Open Housing Pioneers
Historical Marker #2254 in Louisville notes the location of the Wade home, which was bombed in the summer of 1954 after an African American family attempted to live in an all-white neighborhood. By…
Dr. James Bond (1863-1929)
Historical Marker #1663 in Louisville notes the achievements of African American educator and leader James Bond. Bond was born into slavery in 1863 on the Anderson County farm of Preston Bond. …
Muhammad Ali’s Home Site
Historical Marker #2339 in Louisville notes the location of the house where the famous boxer and humanitarian Muhammad Ali grew up. Muhammad Ali, originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., was…
Home of I. Willis Cole
Historical Marker #1998 in Louisville notes the pioneering civil rights efforts of I. Willis Cole, noted publisher of "The Louisville Leader," an African American newspaper. The great abolitionist…
Home of Anne and Carl Braden
Historical Marker #2254 in Louisville notes the location of the home of Anne and Carl Braden, who were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Anne and Carl Braden are probably best known for their…
Knights of Pythias Temple
Historical Marker #1662 notes the Louisville location of the Knights of Pythias Temple. Although many fraternal organizations predated the Civil War, most African Americans were not allowed to…
Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton
Historical Marker #2321 in Louisville notes the historical significance of African American jockey Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1892 at age fifteen. Alonzo Clayton was…
Bashford Manor
Historical Marker #2040 in Louisville notes the location of Bashford Manor, a residence of J. B. Wilder, and, later, noted horse racing stable of George J. Long. Named for an ancestral home in…
Churchill Downs
Historical Markers #1885 and #2255 in Louisville note the location of Churchill Downs, the racetrack of the "Run for the Roses," the famous Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs began when track founder…
Douglas Park Racetrack
Historical Marker #2336 in Louisville notes the location of Douglas Park Racetrack, which operated from 1895 to 1958. Horse racing flourished as a sport in late nineteenth-century America. Nowhere…
Louisville Cemetery/William Walker
Historical Marker #1992 in Louisville notes the location of the Louisville Cemetery, which was founded by prominent African American citizens in 1886. The Louisville Cemetery, near Germantown,…
Trainer and Jockey
Historical Marker #1475 in Jeffersontown notes the history of recognized jockey and horse trainer Roscoe Goose, who won the 1913 Kentucky Derby riding Donerail. Kentucky is known for producing the…
Woodlawn Race Course
Historical Marker #1820 in Louisville notes the location of Woodlawn Race Course, sometimes referred to as the "Saratoga of the West." It was a track of major importance during the 1860s. Organized…
First Unitarian Church
Historical marker #2173 in Louisville acknowledges the contributions of the First Unitarian Church toward the civil rights and women's suffrage movements. The First Unitarian Church hosted Susan B.…
Rosa Phillips Stonestreet, 1859-1936
Historical Marker #2196 in Louisville recognizes the achievements of pioneer educator Rosa Anna (Phillips) Stonestreet. Stonestreet was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, on February 18, 1859. …
Rebecca Rosenthal Judah
Historical marker #2221 in Louisville recognizes the contributions of Rebecca Rosenthal Judah, who was a leader of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), and vice president and treasurer of the…
Zion Baptist Church
Historical Marker #1657 notes the location and significance of the Zion Baptist Church in Louisville. A small number of African Americans left the York Street Baptist Church to begin their own…
Murray Atkins Walls (1899-1993)
Historical Marker #2134 in Louisville notes Murray Atkins Walls’ achievements as an educator and civil rights activist. Walls was born on December 22, 1899, in Indianapolis. She was the daughter…
Union General Robert Anderson
Historical Marker #534 in Louisville notes the birthplace of Robert Anderson, the commander of Ft. Sumter and the "first Union hero of [the] Civil War." Born in 1805 at "Soldiers Retreat" in…
Governor Thomas E. Bramlette
Historical Marker #2234 in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery commemorates Kentucky Governor Thomas E. Bramlette, a Union veteran of the Civil War. Elected in 1863 after an active Civil War career as…
Farmington Historic Plantation
Historical Marker #2231 in Louisville denotes Farmington Historic Plantation, a fourteen-room Federal-style home built by John and Lucy Speed in 1816. The house was designed from plans drawn by…
Louisville's Steamboat Era
Historical Marker #1681 interprets Louisville's steamboat era, highlighting the role that river navigation played in the city's history. Many notable visitors arrived at the Louisville wharf at 4th…
Evan Williams, 1755-1810
Historical Marker #2445 commemorates Evan Williams (1755 – 1810), an early Kentucky whiskey distiller in Jefferson County. A native of Wales, Williams came to Kentucky around 1780. He settled in…
Louisville Water Company
Historical Marker #2317 in Jefferson County commemorates the Louisville Water Company Filtration Plant, Reservoir, and Gatehouse. The Louisville Water Company was chartered by the Kentucky…
The Bank of Louisville
Historical Marker #88 in Jefferson County celebrates the Old Bank of Louisville building. Constructed in 1837, this National Historic Landmark is an excellent example of the Greek Revival-style of…
Aero Club of Louisville
Historical Marker #2252 in Jefferson County commemorates the Aero Club of Louisville, the oldest continuously operating Aero Club in the United States. On October 26, 1922, eighteen men met in the…
Bowman Field- East
Historical Marker #1901in Louisville commemorates the importance of Bowman Field and aviation in Kentucky. The need for an airport began developing in 1910, when Glenn Curtiss flew a pusher-type…