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Annex F: Louisville <br />F.1 Community Profile <br />The City of Louisville is a home rule municipality with 8 square miles within the municipal boundaries. <br />The City lies in southeastern Boulder County roughly six miles east of the City of Boulder and 25 miles <br />northwest of Denver. The Louisville area is characterized by generally flat lands and low hills with some <br />gently rolling terrain trending toward Coal Creek and Rock Creek. <br />The City of Louisville's history is based on coal mines and the coal mining industry. Louisville is an area <br />that was known as the Northern Coal Field, an extensive coal field in Boulder and Weld counties. In <br />August 1877 the first coal mine was opened and Louis Nawatny, a land owner in the area, platted his <br />farmland into the town and named it after himself. Coal miners from around the world moved to the <br />new town to work in the new, safer mine. Because mining was seasonal, and strikes too often <br />interrupted production, the economy was generally depressed. Family gardens and odd jobs were the <br />way of life during summertime unemployment. <br />From 1890 to 1928, the Acme Mine operated directly beneath the original town of Louisville. Worked on <br />two levels, the Acme produced nearly two million tons of coal and was one of 171 coal mines in Boulder <br />County. There were 30 mines that opened in and around Louisville. During the peak years of 1907 to <br />1909, there were 12 mines in operation. The use of coal declined following World War II, and the last <br />mines in and around Louisville closed in 1952. <br />The community has become a generally middle -class community where the workers leave for all manner <br />of jobs in every direction. In recent years, a variety of advanced industries including bioscience, <br />advanced engineering, software, and natural products have opened facilities and offices in Louisville <br />providing employment opportunities and attracting new residents. <br />F.1.1 Population <br />The estimated 2014 population of the City of Louisville was 20,112. Select Census 2000 demographic <br />and social characteristics for Louisville are shown in Table F.1. <br />315 <br />