Louisville Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Louisville Area Cameras

City · Cass County · Population 1,319 (2020 census) · ZIP 68037 · Founded 1857

About Louisville

Louisville is a city of 1,319 in northern Cass County on the south bank of the Platte River, where NE 50 crosses toward Springfield and Omaha. The lakes and campground of Louisville State Recreation Area are at the north edge of town, Platte River State Park is about 2.5 miles west, and the Ash Grove cement plant has operated on NE 50 since the late 1920s.

History

Gardner Powers, a trader, settled here in 1857, built a dugout and then a log cabin near Third and Mill streets, and filed a plat for a town that August; the Territorial Legislature chartered it the same year, but it stayed a paper town for more than a decade. Capt. J. T. A. Hoover, a Union veteran, came in 1863, found white clay and started a pottery, served in the territorial legislature and re-established the post office in 1867. The origin of the name is uncertain; Louisville, Kentucky, is one guess.

The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad reached Louisville in the spring of 1870, and the Missouri Pacific came from the north in December 1881 with its own bridge over the Platte. A hotel, a steam mill, an elevator and the Louisville Stone Ware Co. followed in 1874–78, and the town had about 450 people by 1882. Ash Grove's cement plant opened in the late 1920s and kept the town working through the Depression. The 2020 census count of 1,319 is the highest yet.

Highways and trails through Louisville

Route	One way	Other way
NE 50Through town to the Platte River bridge	North across the Platte to Springfield, NE 370 and I-80 (exit 440, about 12 mi)	South past Manley Rd. and NE 1 to US 34 near Avoca (about 12 mi)
NE 66Runs with NE 50 briefly; a short gap at Mill Creek	West to South Bend and I-80 exit 426 (about 9 mi)	East past Cedar Creek to US 34/75 at Plattsmouth (about 13 mi)

Nearby towns

Cedar Creek	about 4.6 mi northeast	NE 66 and S-13H
South Bend	about 4.7 mi west	NE 66
Manley	about 5 mi south	NE 50
Springfield	about 6 mi north-northeast	NE 50
Murdock	about 8 mi southwest	County roads
Weeping Water	about 9 mi south	NE 50
Gretna	about 11 mi north-northwest	NE 50 and NE 31
Ashland	about 12 mi west-northwest	NE 66 and I-80
Papillion	about 13 mi north-northeast	NE 50
Plattsmouth	about 14 mi east	NE 66

Things to see

Louisville State Recreation Area, 15810 Hwy 50: 192 acres with five sandpit lakes, a swimming beach, a trout pond, rentals and more than 200 campsites (park permit required) · Platte River State Park, 14421 346th St., about 2.5 mi west, with cabins, the seasonal Walter Scott Jr. Lodge, an 85-foot tower, a waterfall and trails · Cornhusker Country Music Theater, 211 Main St., Saturday shows and free Sunday jams · Louisville Public Library, 217 Main St. · the Paul Fitzgerald House, 513 E. 2nd St. (National Register) · the Lofte Community Theatre near Manley, about 5 mi south · the Lied Platte River Bridge trail near South Bend

Schools and health care

Schools: Louisville Public Schools: Louisville Elementary, Louisville Middle and Louisville High, all at 202 W. 3rd St.; the district also serves Cedar Creek

Health care: No hospital in Louisville; the nearest are in Papillion and Bellevue

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Cass County and village websites; school district, library and museum websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.