Mays Lick ''('' Mayslick, ''originally known as'' May's Lick) is

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

and unincorporated community located in

Mason County, Kentucky Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention kn ...

, United States, about nine miles southwest of Maysville.

Demographics

History

Local Government Officials: The Mayor of May's Lick is Joe Jolly. The Vice Mayor is Devin Hull. The Constable is Joe Collins. May's Lick was founded in 1788 by the following six families from

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...

. # Abraham Drake (1751–1805) # Cornelius Drake (1754–1833) # Isaac Drake (1756–1832), father of (i)

Daniel Drake Daniel Drake (October 20, 1785 – November 5, 1852) was a pioneering American physician and prolific writer. Early life Drake was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Isaac Drake and Elizabeth Shotwell. He was the elder brother of Benjamin ...

(1785–1852), American physician and author, and (ii)

Benjamin Drake Benjamin Drake (November 28, 1794, May's Lick, Kentucky – April 1, 1841, Cincinnati) historian, editor, and writer born to Isaac Drake (1756–1832) and Elizabeth Shotwell (; 1761–1821). His elder brother was the physician and author Daniel ...

(1795–1841), American historian, editor, and writer; Daniel Drake's son, Charles Daniel Drake (1811–1892), was a United States Senator from Missouri and an anti-slavery politician # David Morris (1746–1798) and wife, Mary ' Shotwell (1748–1806) # John Shotwell (1753–1826) and wife, Abigail ' Shipman (1754–1835) :: Note 1: Abraham, Cornelius, and Isaac Drake were brothers :: Note 2: John and Mary Shotwell were siblings The group purchased 1,400 acres of land from William May (for whom the community was named) near the

salt lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farm ...

in southern Mason county and began to build a community. The Mays Lick Post Office opened in 1800. Kentucky's first

consolidated school The history of education in the United States covers the trends in educational formal and informal learning in America from the 17th century to the early 21st century. Colonial era New England The first American schools in the thirteen origi ...

and first school transportation – consisting of a horse and wagon – was founded in Mays Lick. When May's Lick was founded (1788), Kentucky was part of the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

. That year (1788), the Commonwealth of Virginia established Mason County. May's Lick became the name of the town after first being called May's Spring.

Mays Lick Consolidated School

The Mays Lick Consolidated School was constructed in 1909–1910 for $32,500 The building was the first high school in Mason County and until 1960, was the only public high school to serve the Mays Lick District. In 1982, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Also see: May's Lick Negro School

The May family

The same May family for whom the Mason County Seat ( Maysville) is named is also the namesake for May's Lick. * Mays Lick is named after John's brother, William May. * Maysville is named after John May ( –1790). ;The May brothers * George May ( –1795), a surveyor * William May * Charles May * John May ( –1790) * Gabriel May (1751–1813), married to Sallie Stokes (Susannah May Stokes, 1759–1815), niece of

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...

(1738–1789), the hero of Ticonderoga and Crown Point

Notable residents

Joseph Desha Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was a U.S. Representative and the ninth governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Desha's Huguenot ancestors fled from France to Pennsylvania, wh ...

(1768–1842), a US Representative and the ninth governor of Kentucky *

(1785–1852), American physician, author *

(1795–1841), American historian, editor, and writer *

John McLean John McLean (March 11, 1785 – April 4, 1861) was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice of the Ohio and U.S. Supreme Courts. He was often discussed for ...

(1785–1861), Associate Justice, US Supreme Court from 1830 to 1861 * William McLean (1794–1839), Ohio legislator *

Charles Young Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(1864 - 1922), Third African-American graduate of West Point, first black U.S. national park superintendent, first black man to achieve the rank of colonel in the US Army.

References

External links

Mayslick history, online
{{authority control Census-designated places in Mason County, Kentucky Populated places established in 1788 Unincorporated communities in Kentucky Census-designated places in Kentucky 1788 establishments in Virginia