Before the area was settled by Europeans it was home to Indian tribes hunting for animals drawn to Beargrass Creek. Arrowheads, pottery, and artifacts have been found in the area.

Later part of Farmington, the 1810 estate of John Speed. The Speeds sold sections of their estate in the mid-1800s to Jacob Wetstein who built a home in 1846, located at 2501 Denham Road. His granddaughter’s husband became financially “wiped out” in 1929 and shot himself in the upstairs front bedroom of the house.

Built in the mid-1800s, Cardinal Hill remains, along with its original spring house, at 2539 Trevilian Way. When the house was built and by whom is not certain.

Another early settler, Paul Discher, bought land adjacent to Wetstein’s on what is now Meadow Road. The house no longer stands but members of his family lived in the area until the middle 1900s. Discher Land Co. and Wetstein Land Co. were the co-developers of Seneca Gardens in 1922.

Most of the houses were built during the prosperous years of the 1920s with the final tract developed in 1937.

Several of the houses were built by a prominent local architect, Stratton Hammond. Examples of his work include 2313 Meadow Rd., 2504 Seneca Valley Rd., and 2543 Dell Rd.

Situated between Woodbourne Ave., Carolina Ave., Taylorsville Rd., Bowman Field and Seneca Park.

City of Seneca Gardens

Acollection of small, unconnected subdivisions & large estates along Lexington & Alta Vista Rds., N.E. of Cherokee Park.

The land remained untouched well into the 1850s because of its remote location between Frankfort Ave. & Bardstown Rd., two major routes into the city. In 1851, an alternative to Frankfort Ave. was built for travelers wanting to avoid the railroad crossings in Clifton. The road was named Shelbyville Branch, today it is known as Lexington Rd.

Many successful businessmen built their estates in the area from the 1920s to the 1950s, several were designed by noted Louisville residential architect Stratton Hammon.

Gardencourt originally was one of the more magnificent estates in the area, built in 1906, and designed by a Boston firm for the daughters of a successful financier. Gardencourt is a classic three-story Beaux Arts mansion, owned today by Louisville Seminary.

Another spectacular estate is Rostrevor, although the surrounding land has been subdivided, the residence has architectural details unique to Louisville.

Bounded by Lexington Rd. to the north, Briar Hill Rd. & Pee Wee Reese Rd. to the east, I-64 to the south and Cherokee Park to the west.

Garden Court