Germantown, as a neighborhood, began taking shape in the 1850’s, as railway development encouraged a steady flow of immigrants into what at the time was a marshy region adjacent to Beargrass creek. The neighboring Schnitzelburg community developed shortly thereafter – in some regards part of the same region, but divided physically by what would become Goss Avenue and culturally by the distinct local community that formed. Much of the area was devoted to farmland, but by the time the early 1900’s rolled around, much of the area had developed into residential and industrial functionality (boasting the largest collection of shotgun houses in Louisville).