Prospect is a home rule-class city[4] in Jefferson and Oldham counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

The present community grew up around the "Prospect" railroad station erected by the Louisville, Harrods Creek and Westport Railway c. 1872.

The name referred either to the view from the top of the hill or the expected completion of the line (which – owing to the Long Depression – never did reach Westport and collapsed into bankruptcy in 1879).

When the post office was established in 1886, the local postmaster named it "Wilhoyte" in his own honor, but the community corrected this within the month.

[6] Although a few luxury residences existed in the area from the late 19th century and the Louisville Railway Company offered hourly electrified-rail trolleys along the former LHC&W line after 1904,[7] it was largely agricultural until the mid-1960s when large, high-end subdivisions were built in the area, most notably Hunting Creek, which included a golf course.

[5] The postal address of "Prospect" (ZIP Code 40059) covers an area far beyond the city limits, extending east as far as the Norton Commons development in the Worthington community.