Louisville, Nebraska: Small-Town Living with Benefits of the City

Why is Louisville, Nebraska so great? Being located only minutes from the businesses of the major metropolitan Omaha area, it's close enough to commute. Louisville offers all the historic, small-town charm without being so far away from Omaha, you can't maintain a membership to the Joslyn Art Museum, the Henry Doorley Zoo or season tickets to the Omaha Royals.

But Louisville is an awsome little village in it's own right. It has a distinctly "artist's" flair as you walk down the historic Main Street. You can have lunch at Art Chick's where you'll always find a menu with panache (and a little sillieness thrown in!) or at Blakes Soda Fountain, featuring quite possibly the world's best fudge. If you need something cold on a hot summer day, stop at the Dari Creme for soft-serve ice cream unsurpassed by the national chains. Shop at Louisville Antiques, where there's always a little something for everyone. The Louisville Art Gallery offers artwork from local area artists and Coop-de-Ville and Feathers are vintage shops featuring gifts, jewelry and friendly conversation. The Good Times Bar offers Louisville's only night life and it's a great place to connect with your neighbors or make some new friends. For dinner, you can eat at The Main Street Cafe, Gambino's Pizzaria or Subway. In the morning, you can gather with the locals at the Taylor Quik Pik, a convenience store/gas station where community gossip is discussed over doughnuts and coffee.

Louisville is located 12 miles south of Millard, Nebraska on Highway 50. It is on the south side of the Platte River in Cass County.
Schools in Louisville. Louisville's population has hovered around 1,200 since the 2000 census. The largest employer in Louisville is Ash Grove Cement Company and is the sixth largest cement manufacturer in the United States. There are a large number of businesses that operate in and around Louisville, catering to every need, making living in Louisville convenient and economical.

Think small towns never have anything to do? Not here! Louisville State Recreation Area features a swimming beach, camping, hiking trails and sits on the scenic Platte River. It's a great place to relax on the weekend or just to get a good swim in before dinner on a weeknight. Four miles west is Platte River State Park, where you can swim in the park's pool, go hiking or biking through miles of trail systems, or camp overnight in a teepee.

Louisville is also connected to the MoPac Trail, a Rails-to-Trails project. This project builds biking trails on unused railroad right-of-way property. This stretch of the trail will be connected to Lake Zorinsky in Millard, NE to the north and to Elmwood, NE to the south, forming one continuous trail extending from Omaha to Lincoln.

Throughout the year, Louisville offers a variety of communtiy-building events and opportunities for neighbors to meet. Over Memorial Day weekend, Louisville traditionally celebrates Louisville Days, featuring a parade, downtown booths featuring arts, crafts, businesses, opportunities, promotions and freebies. A street dance with beer garden highlights the weekend.

Louisville features the Last Hot Sunday In July auto show downtown with dance demonstrations, mixed martial arts demonstrations and music all afternoon. And who needs crowded shopping malls on "Black Friday"? The weekend after Thanksgiving, Louisville celebrates Ringing In The Season with free horse-drawn carriage rides, a craft fair and bake sale. The Louisville High School Swing Band offers free performances and there are Open Houses and sales, discounts, samples and freebies all over town.

During Lent, Louisville Volunteer Fire and Rescue sponsors a Fish Fry that has gained so much notoriety that they had to offer two this year. Dinners are prepared and served by Louisville's firefighters and EMTs and has grown so large that diners are not only seated in the spacious meeting room, but trucks actually have to be moved out of the fire barn and picnic tables moved in to accommodate everyone.

And high school sports are very popular in Louisville. Louisville High School offers boys' football, wrestling, basketball, track and cross country. Boys' football and basketball brings out the whole community every Friday night.

Girls' sports include volleyball, basketball, track, cross country and this season will be the first season of competitive softball with Louisville working with Weeping Water to field a team. The team was formed as a tribute to both communities, using both schools' secondary colors for their uniforms...black and gold. Even the team name refers to both communities' involvement in the rock quarries. Look for the Cass County Central Crush to do great and wonderul things this fall!

Sound like a place you'd like to visit? Come on down! If you like what you see, check out homes for sale in Louisville. You'll be glad you did.