Shively

History

After Louisville was founded at the Falls of the Ohio in 1778, farms spread out into the nearby countryside. Early landowners included Col. William Pope, Maj. Abner Field, and the Shivelys, Christian William and Jacob. Christian opened a mill and tavern on his tract near Mill Creek and the road connecting Louisville to the Salt River. (The road would later be incorporated as the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike.) The buildings became the focus of a settlement known as the "Shively precinct". In 1816, Christian donated the land for a church that is today known as Parkview Methodist. A stagecoach stop was opened in 1831. The Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad arrived in the 1870s. Shortly before the Civil War, the area became popular among German immigrants, mostly from Bavaria. In 1897, they erected St. Helen's Catholic Church. The community was commonly known as "St. Helen's" for the next few years, but the post office (established 1902) could not adopt it because there was another community with the name in Lee County. The Wades selected a house in Shively that they wanted to buy, and the Bradens bought it on their behalf and deeded it over to them. Soon afterwards, the Wades' home was repeatedly attacked—including cross burning on an adjacent lot, rocks through their windows, rifle shots into the house, and ultimately a dynamite bomb that exploded under their daughter's bedroom while they were in the home (no one was injured). The news made national headlines. Anne Braden wrote a 1958 memoir, The Wall Between. No one was ever convicted of the crime. But the Bradens were charged with sedition for their actions. Carl Braden was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison; he spent seven months in jail before state-level sedition convictions were overturned…

Geography

Shively is centered on the junction of US 60 and the Dixie Highway (US 31W) near . Its modern boundaries are roughly Millers and Bernheim Lane to the north (Louisville's Algonquin neighborhood); Louisville's Seventh Street to the east; I-264 and St. Dennis to the west; and Rockford Lane and Pleasure Ridge Park to the south. Shively is southwest of downtown Louisville. According to the United States Census Bureau, Shively has a total area of , of which , or 1.73%, are water.

Race & ethnicity