Louisville, Ga (aug 12, 1796 – mar 1, 1804)

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Louisville, Georgia, was the 3rd state capital of Georgia starting in 1796. The government chose Louisville because it was near the Ogeechee River and easier to reach for settlers in the frontier. It was named after King Louis XVI of France to thank him for helping in the American Revolution. A state house was built, and the town was planned to be the permanent capital. For over 10 years, government leaders made big decisions there about laws, land, and running the state.

Some major events happened while Louisville was the capital. One of the biggest was for the Yazoo Land Fraud. In 1799, the government met in Louisville and burned the records in public to show that this scandal was over. Louisville had a slave market where enslaved people were bought and sold. The city was involved in slavery and debates about land and expansion. Treaties were made there that took land from Native American tribes, especially the Creek Nation.

Governors like James Jackson and John Milledge worked in Louisville, along with other officials, merchants, and workers. In the end, Louisville didn’t last as the capital. As more people moved west, the city became less convenient. It also didn’t grow much economically, and its swampy location brought mosquitoes with diseases like malaria which were a big issue at the time. Even though Louisville’s time as the capital was short, it still played a major part in Georgia history.


Sources:
Price, Virginia Polhill. “Louisville: Georgia’s First Capital.” The Georgia Review 6, no. 1 (1952): 31–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41397939.

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