Louisville, Colorado

2008-01-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

The City of Louisville is a Home Rule Municipality of about 19,000 residents, located in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. Louisville began as a rough mining community in 1877, suffered through a period of extraordinary labor violence early in the 20th century, and then, when the mines closed in the 1950s, made a transition to suburban residential community. In recent years Louisville has been recognized in three publications as one of the best places to live and raise a family in the United States

In July of 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Louisville fifth on their list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. Criteria included financial, housing, education, quality of life, leisure and culture, and weather data.

In May of 2006, Bert Sperling & Peter Sander, authors of the book Best Places to Raise Your Family: The Top 100 Affordable Communities in the U.S., ranked Louisville first on their list of best places in the U.S. to raise a family.

In August of 2007, CNN/Money and Money magazine again ranked Louisville third on their list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.

The City of Louisville offers its residents a Recreation/Senior Center, 26 city parks, extensive open space buffer zones, 20 miles of trails and bicycle paths, and a new $9 million public library with study rooms, teen areas, and a fireside reading room. The Louisville Public Library has long had one of the highest circulation rates in the State of Colorado.

The town of Louisville dates back to the start of the Welch Mine in 1877, the first coal mine in an area of Boulder and Weld counties known as the Northern Coalfield. The town was named for Louis Nawatny, a local landowner who platted his land and named it for himself. Incorporation came several years later, in 1882.

The Northern Coalfield proved to be highly productive, and eventually some 30 different mines operated within the current boundaries of Louisville, though not all at the same time. During the years of peak production (1907-09) twelve mines were in operation in Louisville, including the Acme Mine whose two million tons of coal came from directly beneath the center of town. The presence of many independent mining companies in Louisville saved the town from becoming a "company town", wholly owned and dominated by a single mining company.

Coal from the Northern Coalfield was weak and brittle, so mining only took place in winter months. During the summers the miners played in numerous local baseball leagues, and engaged themselves in digging basement bunkers and tunnels to connect the town's 22 saloons. These tunnels served not merely as a convenience during the snowy winter months, but also as an escape route whenever state or federal troops arrived to quell labor unrest and strikes by the United Mine Workers of America.

From the time of Colorado's first strike in 1883 there were frequent labor strikes in Louisville, and the town was frequently placed under martial law. Mercenaries were hired by mining companies to spray machine gun fire across the line of thirteen saloons on Front Street, while the town's residents hid in their basements and tunnels. After the Ludlow massacre and brutal violence in Louisville in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a law prohibiting the use of immigrants by mining companies to break strikes.

Eventually the coal remaining in the Northen Coalfield became increasingly uneconomical to mine, and the last coal mines operating in Louisville closed in the 1950s.

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,937 people, 7,216 households, and 4,950 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,223.6 people per square mile (858.2/km²). There were 7,389 housing units at an average density of 867.6/sq mi (334.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.17% White, 0.93% African American, 0.54% Native American, 3.55% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.83% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.02% of the population.

There were 7,216 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,945, and the median income for a family was $81,512. Males had a median income of $57,159 versus $36,659 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,828. 3.0% of the population and 2.1% of families were below the poverty line. 2.2% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Louisville is located at 39°58′34″N, 105°8′39″W (39.976035, −105.144067).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.2 km²). 8.5 square miles (22.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.47%) is water.

City website: http://www.ci.louisville.co.us/