Yale, Kentucky

Yale was a Licking River community in Bath county about 12 miles southeast of Owingsville. It was established by the Sterling Lumber Company in 1897 and was the home of mills and the Licking River Railway. The source of the name is obscure. Most of the Yale area was inundated by the Cave Run Lake reservoir in 1969. The Yale post office operated from 1897 to 1954, apparently in several locations, including a few years on the Menifee county side of the river.

The Licking Valley Railway operated from 1896 to 1899 and was succeeded by the Licking River Railroad from 1899 to 1913. The railroad was owned first by the Sterling Lumber Company and later by the Yale Lumber Company and was a narrow-gauge line that hauled lumber, freight, and passengers along a route that was eventually 32 miles long and connected to the Chesapeake and Ohio at Salt Lick.

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© 2024 David C. Elbon