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

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

and unincorporated community in Mason County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 252.

History

May's Lick was founded in 1788 by six families from

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...

: # Abraham Drake (1751–1805) # Cornelius Drake (1754–1833) # Isaac Drake (1756–1832), father of (i) Daniel Drake (1785–1852), American physician and author, and (ii) Benjamin Drake (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 ''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Shotwell (1748–1806) # John Shotwell (1753–1826) and wife, Abigail ''née'' Shipman (1754–1835) Abraham, Cornelius, and Isaac Drake were brothers, and John and Mary Shotwell were siblings. The group purchased 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 far ...

in southern Mason County and began to build a community. The Mays Lick Post Office opened in 1800. Kentucky's first consolidated school 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 Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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

Geography

Mays Lick is in southern Mason County, southwest of downtown Maysville. U.S. Route 68 runs along the eastern edge of the community, leading north to Maysville and to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and southwest to Lexington. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Mays Lick CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.31%, are water. The community is drained by several small streams that flow north to Lees Creek, a north-flowing tributary of the North Fork of the Licking River, which joins the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

at Covington.

Demographics

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

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

Notable residents

* Joseph Desha (1768–1842), a

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and the ninth governor of Kentucky * Benjamin Drake (1795–1841), historian, editor, and writer * Daniel Drake (1785–1852), physician, author *

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 United States Supreme Courts. He was often discu ...

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