Newburg, Louisville

The area now called Newburg was settled in the 1820s by four German families, and was a small village called Newburgh a decade later.[1] The 'h' was dropped and the modern spelling emerged as the name of the post office by the end of the 19th century.

Newburg has historically had a black population, once centered on the nearby Petersburg area, at the junction of Shepherdsville and Newburg Roads. By 1851, Eliza and Henry Tevis, a free black couple who owned slaves, operated a 40-acre (160,000 m²) farm in the area. After the Civil War, freed blacks bought land in the area and started farms.

Into the 1900s, Petersburg and Newburg were still surrounded by farmland. Newburg at some point had become the chosen name for the area, most likely because it was the name of the post office. Suburban sprawl reached the area by the 1960s, and it became popular with middle-class blacks leaving the city for suburbs. The area remains predominantly black.

From 1982 to 1987, Newburg was an incorporated city; however, it was an unpopular move and was eventually dissolved.

With the help of the Library Foundation and community support a new $1.9 million, 8300-square-foot education and technology driven library was completed and opened in Newburg in August 2009.

Newburg is located at 38°10′09″N 85°41′07″W.[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.9 km² (5.7 mi²), all land.

There was no 2010 census data for Newburgh because it had become part of Louisville.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 20,636 people, 7,981 households, and 5,506 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,388.1/km² (3,597.7/mi²). There were 8,449 housing units at an average density of 568.3/km² (1,473.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 38.15% White, 58.08% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.71% of the population.

There were 7,981 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were married couples living together, 27.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $29,788, and the median income for a family was $33,996. Males had a median income of $28,682 versus $22,216 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,897. About 16.1% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over. 8.5% have a bachelor's degree or higher, 26.1% don't have a high school degree.

Newburg has a lending library, a branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.[4]

• Newburg Library—Website
• Petersburg Park –- Master Plan Map
• Mayor Jerry Abramson Leads "Sneak Peek" of New $1.9 Million Newburg Library—Louisville.gov August 14, 2009
• Louisville's Newest Spray-ground Opens in Petersburg Park –- Louisville.gov August 25, 2010
• New DREAM Playground Dedicated At Petersburg Park, adjacent to the Spray-ground—Louisville.gov July 12, 2012
• Newburg: Freed Slaves Found Land to Call Their Own in a Swampy Section that Took the Name Petersburg — Article by M. David Goodwin of The Courier-Journal