Louisville's Butchertown Preserves a Rich Legacy

Sometimes it takes a newcomer to show you things in life you may have forgotten to appreciate. For Butchertown, a residential/industrial area just east of downtown Louisville, the newcomer is Edna Kubala, author of Louisville's Butchertown, a 127-page tribute to the neighborhood's fascinating past and architectural legacy.

The book is Kubala's effort to promote and preserve the community and its heritage. As the name implies, Butchertown grew into a thriving center of commerce for butchers, and later, meatpacking plants, and provided homes for both German and Irish immigrants.

Kubala, originally from Stamping Ground in Scott County, got married and moved into her husband's Butchertown house about two years ago. After doing research into her new home — which she learned dated back to at least the 1890s — her interest in Butchertown's past was piqued.

In recent years, people have been returning to Butchertown, restoring areas that may have become "somewhat blighted." But the story of the community's history was in danger of being lost, said Kubala, who approached Arcadia Publishing of  Mount Pleasant, S.C., which specializes in books of local history. It agreed to take on Kubala's idea for a book on Butchertown.

"I started just looking at the history of the neighborhood and talking to people," looking for people who remembered its rich past or had photos from years gone by, Kubala said.

The neighborhood had gone into decades of decline following the Great Flood of 1937, and many families had moved away, "That was one of the hardest things — finding people who had actually lived there, Kubala said. Still, memories and loyalties remained strong. "I guess the most surprising thing was how much people love Butchertown," Kubala said.

Drawing on a wide range of people and community institutions, she was able to put together Louisville's Butchertown.

The $21.99 book is available at Louisville bookstores, at the Thomas Edison House museum in Butchertown, and online through retailers like Amazon.com.

One of Kubala's main goals, she said, was to show that Butchertown remains "a great place to live." Although the community has suffered from negative aspects of its meat-handing heritage, residents and business can come together to improve the neighborhood, she said.

"It's possible to have both sides working toward it," she said. "You can work things out."

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