Low Dutch Station

Low Dutch Station historical marker

Low Dutch Station was established in 1780 on the middle fork of Beargrass Creek in Kentucky. This station was settled by Dutch pioneers from Pennsylvania and was also known as New Holland Station.[1] The station was one of a group of six forts established on Beargrass Creek during this period in this area that is now a part of Louisville. The leader of the group was Hendrick Banta.[2] The group of settlers were a part of the "Low Dutch Company" and had their own bylaws, a formal charter, and accounting procedures. The group had as its purpose the preservation of the language, culture and religion of the Dutch.[3] The Dutch traveled from a settlement near Harrodsburg to Low Dutch Station.[4]

Historic cemetery

There is no connection between Low Dutch Station or its settlers and the nearby road known as Dutchmans Lane in St. Matthews. The aforementioned Dutchmans Lane was originally named Deutschman's Lane, taking its name from the fact that it was the access road from Taylorsville Road to the farm owned and operated by Louis J. Hollenbach Sr., a prominent German-American businessman in early 20th-century Louisville. Anti-German sentiment in Louisville during World War I prompted the shortening of the name from Deutschman (lit. "German man") to Dutchman.


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