Irish Hill

Originally known as Billy Goat Hill, Irish Hill acquired its name because it’s on a ridge above the Ohio River flood plain, and was settled by Irish Catholics in the mid-1800s, although many German Catholics settled there as well.

During the 1937 flood of the water reached the bottom of the hill and a “pontoon bridge” was located at Baxter Ave. at Lexington Road to help people escape downtown for higher ground. 20,000 people passed through the neighborhood and relocated in the Highlands and Crescent Hill.

From the 1850s until it was demolished in 1968, the City Workhouse, which housed criminals convicted of minor crimes, was located at Lexington and Payne Streets, at what is now Breslin Park, which is across from what is now Distillery Commons, which was originally the Old Kentucky Distillery, which was the largest distillery in the world in its day.

The historic St. Aloysius Catholic Church and School (c. 1890-1996), was the cornerstone for many generations of families of Irish Hill, until the Archdiocese closed the school and church, against the objections of the parishioners and neighbors.

Early neighborhood businesses were the Beargrass Slaughter House, Doll Lumber, Roppel’s Grocery, Stottmann’s Cafe, Otte’s Grocery, Leibert Farm and Seitz’s Drugstore.

In addition to the shotgun houses, there are a few larger historic houses in the area, including the Valentine Schneikert house, and the Nicholas Finzer house, built around 1869. Other historic sites are the St. Aloysius church, and the old Rogers Street fire house (c. 1893 – 1977), all on the National Register of Historic Places.

The neighborhood is bounded by Baxter Ave. to the west, Lexington Rd. to the north, the middle fork of Beargrass Creek, and I-64 to the east. Cave Hill Cemetery is directly south.

www.irishhillneighbors.org