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The Museum will be closed all day on Saturday, September 19 for the Vintage Baseball Game. Join us that day at Miners Field to watch the Louisville Miners play!

Look Who's Forty!

The Louisville History Foundation is launching its $40 for 40 fundraising campaign in honor of the Museum's 40th Birthday. Your support empowers the Museum to continuing protecting the stories that make our community unique. 

Baseball in Louisville 

Starting in about 1890, games were held in the ballpark on Sunday afternoons, and the ballpark, now called Miners Field, was the first city park in town after the land was donated by residents in 1923. When the mining season ended, many miners spent their summer months playing for local teams. Local business, fraternal orders, and even coal companies sponsored baseball clubs. Women also played baseball and softball on the diamond, and children flocked to the field for pick-up games.  

One Louisville resident went from playing at Miner’s Field all the way to the Major League. Born in 1884, Bert Niehoff grew up in the house at 717 Main Street, Louisville’s oldest remaining home. Niehoff went from playing for local leagues to teams like the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and the New York Giants. Fans of the movie A League of Their Own may recognize Niehoff as one of the managers of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The South Bend Blue Sox, Niehoff’s team, included Dottie Schroeder!   

This month, sports lovers should mark their calendar for two baseball themed programs to celebrate Louisville’s baseball history: Vintage Baseball and Baseball and Brews.

First Friday: Time Capsules

Travel back in time at the Museum! Learn about how objects are preserved in the Museum’s collection and what stands the test of time. Begin your own personal time capsule at the event and receive guidance on how to continue it at home!  

Museum Birthday Party

Come celebrate the Museum’s 40th birthday! Learn about the history of your local Museum at this birthday bash. Try for vintage prizes in a round of bingo, meet historic actors, and enjoy a slice of cake. 

Vintage Baseball

Come root for the Louisville Miners at this free vintage baseball game! This showdown will feature historic uniforms, equipment, and game rules. Bring the whole family to enjoy America’s pastime with cracker jacks, historic reenactors, and live music from the Brassaholics. The first 300 guests will receive free t-shirts to show their team spirit, and Rocket Dogs will be selling hot dogs throughout the game.   

History Happy Hour: Baseball and Brews with Kurt Wells

Join Kurt Wells, the head of the Rocky Mountain Society for Baseball Research, as he explores the history of Colorado-born and/or raised baseball players that reached the major leagues, including in-depth coverage of Louisville’s own Bert Niehoff and other Boulder County players. Registration is required.

Membership

Join or Renew Today!

We love our members! Members can renew online, via mail, or in person. As a reminder, if paying by check, please make your membership check out to the Louisville Historical Museum and remember to make any monetary donations separately to the Louisville History Foundation. Thank you for your support!

Not a member yet? Join today with the perfect membership type for you. The Historical Museum offers individual, family, and business memberships, as well as gift memberships so that you can give someone who loves Louisville and history full access to all that the Museum has to offer.

Museum members receive the Louisville Historian in the mail four times each year. You can also make a donation directly to the Louisville History Foundation to support the work the Museum does and special projects.

Thank You, Business Members

740 Front

Alternating Current Press
ARC Thrift Stores

Ariel IT Services
Atomic Forge
Berkelhammer Tree Experts, Inc.
Bolder Insurance
Coal Creek Collision Center
Cory Nickerson - 8z Real Estate
Creative Framing & Art Gallery
DAJ Design, Inc.
Deep End Solutions

E & L Team at RE/MAX Elevate

Edward Jones

Ferguson's Family Plumbing and Drain

Fingerplay Studios

Gstalder Louisville Law Group

Hofgard & Associates, P.C.
Louisville Cyclery
Louisville Tire & Auto Care

Moxie Bread Co.
Origin CPA Group

Parco Dello Zingaro MHP
Paul's Coffee & Tea
Pine Street Plaza

Pink House Co.

Premier Members Credit Union
Seward Mechanical Systems
Society of Italian Americans
Stewart Architecture
Ters Family Dentistry
The Singing Cook

Historic Photo Feature

Louisville has a longstanding tradition of Labor Day Weekend festivities. The city is hosting its 90th Labor Day celebration this year.  Parades have been a staple of these events for many years.  

In 1994, Louisville welcomed autumn with a clown-themed fall festival. That year’s parade floats featured clowns dancing, singing, and entertaining crowds from Main to Griffith Street. This historic photograph shows Float 101 on Main Street near the Double Happy Restaurant, and this float was a reference to a clown car. These prop cars date back to the 1950s, and the interior of a small car would be removed while the rest of the car remained operational. A seemingly impossible number of clowns would exit the car with whimsical props to the delight of audiences. While the interior of this car is intact, the performers parody the circus act by pretending their car has broken down, and the clowns push the car through the parade course.  

The festivities were not limited to the parade. In the week leading up to the festival, children were encouraged to participate in the “Clowning Around in Louisville” coloring contest. Newspapers printed coloring sheets complete with a big top tent border, and children received a free clown nose for submitting their self-portraits of them “clowning around.” The festival also featured face painting booths, local cuisine, carnival rides, and games. Many of the carnival activities were priced at just 25 cents a piece!