Historical Marker

Founding of West Point/ James Young

Historical marker location:

West Point, Kentucky

( 109 Elm St., West Point)

In 1796, James Young and Samuel Pearman established the town of West Point on land owned by Young. It received its name because it was the westernmost English-speaking settlement downstream from the Falls of the Ohio River (Louisville).time the town prospered due to access to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

(Reverse) James Young (1767-1849)- While residing in West Point and operating Young’s Inn, James Young promoted and helped finance the Louisville-Nashville Turnpike that later evolved into Dixie Highway. By 1797, Young was operating a ferry from the mouth of the Salt River across the Ohio River, to what was the Northwest Territory (present day Indiana).