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Louisville

17 Facts About Louisville You Never Knew Were True

By Jessica Scott | Published February 03, 2018

You may have lived in Louisville your whole life, but that doesn’t mean you know everything about this awesome city! Here are 17 fun facts about Louisville you may never have heard before. Be careful though: they just might blow your mind.

1. Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark. It is named after King Louis XVI of France.

2. Louisville is one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountain range.

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3. Louisville is home to the oldest Mississippi-style steamboat in existence. The Belle of Louisville turned 100 years old in 2014!

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4. Louisville’s Churchill Downs was founded by the grandson of famous explorer William Clark. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. founded the racetrack in 1874, and originally called it the Louisville Jockey Club.

5. The song "Happy Birthday" was written by two Louisville sisters, Patty and Mildred J. Hill.

6. Louisville’s Jefferson Memorial Park is the largest municipal urban forest in the United States. It sits on over 6,000 acres of land!

7. The first successful hand transplant in history was performed at the Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center in 1999.

8. On February 13, 1981, there was a sewer explosion in Louisville caused by the fumes from a soybean processing plant. The explosion destroyed over two miles of the city’s streets, but no people were killed in the accident.

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9. Louisville’s famous Seelbach Hotel served as the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel "The Great Gatsby." Several other elements of the city are included in this bestseller as well.

10. Author Charles Dickens visited Louisville, and he said that the Galt House hotel was just as pleasant and luxurious as a hotel in Paris.

11. Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather (also named Abraham Lincoln) was said to have lived in Louisville for much of his life.

12. 90 percent of the world’s disco balls are produced in Louisville.

13. Louisville’s Southeast Christian Church is the fifth largest church in the United States, with over 30,000 members.

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14. The Kentucky State Fair, held every August at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center, is the largest air-conditioned state fair in the country.

15. The first library that allowed African Americans as patrons was built in Louisville in 1908.

16. The world’s only fully underground zipline runs through Louisville’s Mega Cavern.

17. Actor Tom Cruise once lived in Louisville and attended St. Xavier High School.

Were you surprised by any of these fun facts? Is there anything that should be added to the list? Share your tidbits of trivia in the comments below!

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