Follow Farnsley-Moremen's lead and invest in southwest Louisville

Vince Jarboe

Special to the Courier Journal

On Oct. 10, 1993, the newly restored Farnsley-Moremen House (built circa 1837) opened to the public. A crowd estimated to be in the thousands gathered along banks of the beautiful Ohio River in southwest Louisville to see this new attraction.

At the time, the project was hailed as a much-needed investment in southwest Louisville and as a point of pride for the community. Twenty-five years after its grand opening, it’s safe to say the project has succeeded in those areas and it has served as an important cultural center, educational resource and tourist destination in southwest Louisville.

As many had hoped when the Farnsley-Moremen House first opened, this project was an early indicator of the direction and growth of investments and improvements in south and southwest Louisville. In the past few years especially, the momentum has been building thanks to the concerted efforts of community groups, business associations and engaged political leadership.

We are seeing a number of new projects and investments realized that promise transformative change for this area: state-of-the-art regional libraries; a multi-million-dollar transformation of the Dixie Highway corridor to improve safety; a new round-a-about and planned community space in Fairdale; an exciting new treetop ropes course in the Jefferson Memorial Forest and renovation of Colonial Gardens as a venue for several restaurants right across from the thriving Iroquois Amphitheatre—which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.

If you haven’t ventured west of I-65 lately, I encourage you to do so. If you live in the area, bring family and friends to visit our South Points Scenic Area attractions which include: Mike Linnig’s Restaurant, The Little Loomhouse, the Iroquois Amphitheatre, Iroquois Park’s incredible scenic overlook, Jefferson Memorial Forest (the largest municipally owned urban forest east of the Mississippi at over 6,700 acres) and, of course, Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing. Several of these attractions are right on the Louisville Loop. Don’t forget events this fall like the Southwest Community Festival at Sun Valley, the Jack-o-lantern Spectacular at Iroquois, the Forest’s annual spring Forest Fest bluegrass festival and fall Forest Adventure, Riverside’s Archaeology Day (Sunday, October 21 from 1-5 when the site will celebrate its 25th anniversary) as well as many other events throughout the year all around the area.

If you are looking to start a business, we welcome you to consider becoming a part of this momentum. If you want to be part of the efforts of one of the community groups engaged in advocacy for these improvements, reach out to us.

More:How 5,000 pumpkins make the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular come alive

Vince Jarboe is president of the Southwest Dream Team, and Charlotte Caldwell is executive director. Learn more at www.southwestdreamteam.org.