Harrods Creek is a neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 centered near Harrods Creek at the intersection of River Road and Wolf Pen Branch Road. It is roughly bordered by the Ohio River to the west and US 42 to the east. Its Zip Code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 40027. Formerly an unincorporated community, it was designated a neighborhood of Louisville when the city merged with Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...

 in 2003.

Early history

A town was planned by the Transylvania Company, and lots were sold, but a town was not developed. Nevertheless the area was known as "Seminary Land" for some time. Some development did occur in the area when the Louisville-Westport Pike (later renamed River Road) was built through it. Harrod's Tavern was an early stopping point for boats headed downstream, and the building lives on, heavily rebuilt, as the Captain's Quarters bar and restaurant.

The area is named for Harrods Creek, one of two local creeks. The namesake of the creek is either James Harrod

James Harrod

James Harrod was a pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Little is known about Harrod's early life, including the exact date of his birth. He was possibly underage when he served in the French and Indian War, and later participated in...

, founder of Fort Harrod (modern Harrodsburg), or Captain William Harrod, an early Louisvillian. The area became agricultural in the early 19th century, primarily selling flour and cornmeal to the nearby market of Louisville.

In 1877 the Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railroad was completed. It became an electric interurban

Interurban

An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

 line in 1904, and as with other areas in scenic eastern Kentucky

Jefferson County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...

, the quick transportation to Louisville made Harrods Creek a popular choice for country estates. Prominent Louisville families that build homes here included the Browns and the Hilliards.

George Garvin Brown, founder of the Brown-Forman company, financed the Nitta Yuma ("High Ground") development in the 1890s. Another early enclave was called Ashbourne. The area had a traditional African-American enclave, centered around the area called "The Neck", modern day Hoskins Beach Road.

20th century

The community was a mixture of working farms and a few country estates well into the 20th century. But Harrod's Creek was a logical location for many of the upper class subdivisions that were built later in the century, although there was some opposition from earlier residents.

In the 1990s the residents of Harrods Creek opposed a proposal to bisect the community by building the proposed East End Bridge

Ohio River Bridges Project

The Ohio River Bridges Project is a controversial Louisville metropolitan area transportation project involving the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange , the completion of two new Ohio River bridges and the reconstruction of ramps on Interstate 65 between I-264 and downtown.One bridge will be...

 through the area.

External links

• "Harrods Creek: Settlers Took a Turn at Mills; Verdant Hills and Lowlands Were Home to Diverse Groups" — Article by Grace Schneider of The Courier-Journal
  The Courier-Journal
  The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
  
  
• "Harrods Creek: Ambitious James Taylor Paved Way for Black Community with Subdivision" — Article by Grace Schneider of The Courier-Journal
  The Courier-Journal
  The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...