Colorado Real Estate & Relocation Guide

Louisville, Colorado

Population: 12,361

Located in Boulder County

Welcome to Louisville, Colorado, a City that blends the hometown atmosphere with a progressive, modern outlook, while Main Street retains the nostalgic charm of yesteryear, and high tech businesses flourish throughout the city. The rich heritage of values and traditions found in our City forms the basis for a thriving modern community.

Louisville is an area that was known as the Northern Coal Field, an extensive coal field in Boulder and Weld County. Wages in the early days of coal mining were relatively high in the Louisville mines, and the mines were relatively safe. However, because the mining was seasonal and strikes too often interrupted production, the economy was generally depressed. Family gardens and odd jobs were the way of life during summertime unemployment.

From 1890 to 1928 the Acme Mine operated directly beneath the original town of Louisville. Worked on two levels, the Acme produced nearly two million tons of coal and was one of 171 coal mines in Boulder County. There were 30 mines that opened in and around Louisville. During the peak years of 1907 to 1909 there were 12 mines in operation. The use of coal declined following World War II and the last mines near Louisville closed in 1952.

Many Europeans migrated to Louisville to work in the mines. Some came because jobs were plentiful and they learned the skills to become miners, some continued the mining skills they had used in Europe, and some probably were recruited as strike breakers during the several union disagreements with coal companies. They worked together in the mines, but they lived with their own relatives and fellow countrymen as neighbors. The neighborhood of Italians and French have gone just as the signs of the coal mines. Flowers grow in yards with never a hint of the passageways underground.

The community has become a middle-class haven where the workers leave for all manner of jobs in every direction. In recent years manufacturing plants have opened in Louisville providing employment opportunities and attracting new residents.

The unique history of Louisville and the rich cultural contributions give the community a character not to be found in the new suburbs.