Louisa is a city in Lawrence County

Lawrence County, Kentucky

Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 15,569. Its county seat is Louisa. The county is named for James Lawrence, and co-founded by Isaac Bolt, who served as a Lawrence County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace. It is the home of...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 2,018 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Lawrence County

Lawrence County, Kentucky

Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 15,569. Its county seat is Louisa. The county is named for James Lawrence, and co-founded by Isaac Bolt, who served as a Lawrence County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace. It is the home of...

. The Levisa Fork River

Levisa Fork River

The Levisa Fork is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long, in southwestern Virginia and eastern Kentucky in the United States....

 and Tug Fork River

Tug Fork River

The Tug Fork is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, long, in southwestern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Kentucky in the United States. Via the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River....

 join at Louisa to form the Big Sandy River. Just north of this merger is the location of the first needle dam

Needle dam

A needle dam is a weir designed to maintain the level or flow of a river through the use of thin "needles" of wood. The needles are leaned against a solid frame and are not intended to be water-tight...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 which was completed in 1896.

The origin on of the city's name is unclear. Theories include that it was named for Louisa County, Virginia

Louisa County, Virginia

Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...

, or a corruption of the name of the river ("Levisa") or that it was named after Louisa Swetnam, one of the first children born in the area to Europeans.