Jeffersontown, Kentucky
A View of the Historic Town Center, Taylorsville Road and Watterson Trail
Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States. One of only 26 counties in America named after Thomas Jefferson.
On May 8, 1797, Abraham Bruner established Brunerstown, later named Jeffersontown, on 40 acres of land he acquired that began as a tack of thousands of acres owned by Peter Shepard, a veteran of George Rogers Clark's 1778 campaign in the Northwest Territory.
In the 1800's Jeffersontown served as the supply center for the surrounding agricultural community that produced potatoes, onions, and vegetables. Hotels and cottage manufacturing establishments sprang up. In 1851 a plank turnpike from Louisville to Jeffersontown was built encouraging migration and settlement. By the 1890's the Southern Railway had a depot near town. In 1903 the Beargrass Railway provided speedy interurban transportation to and from Louisville. The population in 1920 was 320.
In the 1950's, General Electric's Appliance Park opened to the southwest, bringing newcomers and new subdivisions were annexed. In the 1960's, Bluegrass Research and Industrial Park opened, and by 1997 more than 33,000 workers made Jeffersontown Kentucky's third largest employer. The city is now one of the states fastest growing cities and boasts excellent parks and recreational facilities. The annual Gaslight Festival celebrates the town's 200-year heritage.
