David,
There was and is such a district in Louisville, Kentucky. The area is known
as"Butchertown" and it was formed in the early 1800s along a creek that
empties into the Ohio River. There are many references to this creek being
consistantly fouled by this industry. This area was predominately occuppied
by German and Irish immigrants. Although no archaeology has been done in
area, local histories discuss this area of town in detail. By the way the
area is still home to the stockyards and two meat packing plants. If would
like some of these local references let me know. I hope this helps.
M. Jay Stottman
University of Kentucky