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What Louisville’s immigrant population looked like in 1900

Though every city in the U.S. has a distinctly American flavor, so many metropolitan areas display distinct signs of the immigrant populations that melded together to make the cities we know and love today. From Miami’s Little Havana to New York City’s Chinatown and Los Angeles’ Little Italy, cultural enclaves continue to thrive in modern metropolitan areas and help build colorful and diverse communities.

Many cultural and ethnic enclaves have become destinations for locals and tourists alike, but these visitors bring with them a mixed bag of consequences. On one hand, increased foot traffic allows small businesses and restaurants more opportunities for business, ushering in much-appreciated cash flow. On the other hand, rising demand for goods and services can cause prices to rise, hiking up the cost of living and potentially pushing poorer individuals and families out of the community.

The gentrification of ethnic enclaves is not new. The term “gentrification” was coined by Ruth Glass in the 1960s to describe the displacement of working class folks in London, but the first examples of gentrification can be traced back to the 18th century when wealthy landowners, or the “gentry,” began buying out small farmers who were struggling to accumulate the capital necessary to operate in England.

Today, ethnic enclaves continue to thrive despite the looming threats of gentrification and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. As one step towards understanding the history of these enclaves, ​​Stacker compiled a list of the largest sources of immigrants in Louisville in 1900 by transcribing a previously untranscribed dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau. Table 35 of the Twelfth Census details the immigrant population of every city in the U.S. with at least 25,000 inhabitants as of the turn of the last century.

Read on to find out more about the historical immigrant community in your home city or explore the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.

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#1. Germany

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 12,383
– Percent of foreign born residents: 57.79%
National
– Number of residents: 2,669,164
– Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
– #1 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#2. Ireland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 4,198
– Percent of foreign born residents: 19.59%
National
– Number of residents: 1,619,409
– Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
– #2 most common country of origin

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#3. England

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 830
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.87%
National
– Number of residents: 843,491
– Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
– #4 most common country of origin

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#4. Switzerland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 717
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.35%
National
– Number of residents: 115,959
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
– #15 most common country of origin

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#5. Russia

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 649
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.03%
National
– Number of residents: 424,372
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
– #7 most common country of origin

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#6. Poland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 585
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.73%
National
– Number of residents: 383,595
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
– #8 most common country of origin

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#7. Canada

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 410
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.91%
National
– Number of residents: 1,183,225
– Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
– #3 most common country of origin

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#8. Italy

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 380
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.77%
National
– Number of residents: 484,703
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.63%
– #6 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#9. France

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 370
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.73%
National
– Number of residents: 104,534
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
– #18 most common country of origin

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#10. Scotland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 225
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.05%
National
– Number of residents: 234,699
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
– #11 most common country of origin

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#11. Austria

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 163
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.76%
National
– Number of residents: 276,702
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
– #10 most common country of origin

Minnesota Historical Society // Getty Images

#12. Sweden

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 94
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.44%
National
– Number of residents: 574,625
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
– #5 most common country of origin

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#13. Asia (except China, Japan, and India)

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 65
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.30%
National
– Number of residents: 11,928
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– #27 most common country of origin

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#14. Hungary

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 50
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.23%
National
– Number of residents: 145,815
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
– #14 most common country of origin

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#15. Central America

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 45
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.21%
National
– Number of residents: 3,911
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
– #36 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#16. Holland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 43
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.20%
National
– Number of residents: 105,098
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
– #17 most common country of origin

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#17. Denmark

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 34
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
National
– Number of residents: 154,616
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
– #13 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#18. Belgium

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 31
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
National
– Number of residents: 29,848
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
– #24 most common country of origin

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#19. Wales

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 26
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.12%
National
– Number of residents: 93,744
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.90%
– #20 most common country of origin

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#20. Born at sea

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 21
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
National
– Number of residents: 8,310
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
– #32 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#21. Australia

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 20
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.09%
National
– Number of residents: 7,041
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
– #34 most common country of origin

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#22. Greece

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 19
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.09%
National
– Number of residents: 8,655
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
– #31 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#23. Europe (not otherwise specified)

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 18
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
National
– Number of residents: 2,272
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #41 most common country of origin

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#24. Bohemia

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 16
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
National
– Number of residents: 156,999
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.50%
– #12 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#25. Africa

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 12
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.06%
National
– Number of residents: 2,577
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #40 most common country of origin

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#26. Norway

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 10
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
National
– Number of residents: 338,426
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
– #9 most common country of origin

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#27. Turkey

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 9
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
– Number of residents: 9,949
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
– #30 most common country of origin

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#28. Spain

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 8
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
– Number of residents: 7,284
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
– #33 most common country of origin

David RUBINGER // Getty Images

#29. Roumania

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 8
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
– Number of residents: 15,043
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
– #25 most common country of origin

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#30. Mexico

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 8
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
National
– Number of residents: 103,445
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
– #19 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#31. West Indies (except Cuba and Puerto Rico)

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 6
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
National
– Number of residents: 14,468
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
– #26 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#32. Other countries

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 4
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 2,587
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #39 most common country of origin

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#33. India

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 4
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 2,069
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #42 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#34. China

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 4
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 106,659
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
– #16 most common country of origin

Smith Collection/Gado // Getty Images

#35. Luxemburg

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 3
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 3,049
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
– #37 most common country of origin

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#36. South America

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 2
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 4,814
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
– #35 most common country of origin

Historical // Getty Images

#37. Japan

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 2
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 81,590
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.78%
– #21 most common country of origin

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#38. Finland

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 2
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 63,440
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.61%
– #22 most common country of origin

David RUBINGER // Getty Images

#39. Portugal

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 1
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 37,144
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
– #23 most common country of origin

Hulton Deutsch // Getty Images

#40. Cuba

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 1
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 11,159
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– #28 most common country of origin

Historical // Getty Images

#41. Atlantic Islands

Louisville, Kentucky
– Number of residents: 1
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 10,955
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
– #29 most common country of origin