1880s 5th Street
The 1884 Atlas of Louisville only lists the names of select land owners, most likely the most affluent or prominent. By cross referencing those names with the 1880 United States Federal Census, you can look at those listed around them and assume they are neighbors.
As you can see, F.S.J. Ronald is listed as owning the Brennan House. However, Ronald would have passed away by 1884. Trustees owned the property after the business and family went bankrupt. Isaac Caldwell, directly to the south of Ronald is one of three names for the block. By finding him in the 1880 census, we can look at those around him. However, very little has changed from the 1870 census, except the home to the north was split into a multi-family dwelling. There is a mix of affluent and working class, which was very typical of downtown areas.
1884 is one of the first years that city directories were organized not only by name and business but also by street address. Caron’s Directory of the City of Louisville for 1884 shows the Brennan House as a vacant property. The names of the neighbors can be referenced to those listed in the 1880 census. Interestingly, the less affluent area on the northwest side of the block has several black people residing there.
