Louisville, one of the oldest towns in southeast Alabama, was settled in 1817 by Daniel Lewis, who established a trading post and named the community after the first capital of Georgia, his hometown. By 1820 the vicinity included four stores, a Methodist congregation with brush arbor, and several families. Daniel McKenzie operated a tan yard and sawmill at nearby springs. The first courthouse for Pike County in 1821, and later for Barbour County in 1833, was here. Prior to 1860, Captain Patrick Bludworth organized and drilled the local military unit, the Louisville Blues, which later became a CSA company. When the railroad came to town in 1888, the business district moved to be near the depot.