Brigadier General Charles Young Birthplace

Kentucky’s diverse and complex African-American history encompasses the experiences of enslaved laborers, freedmen, soldiers, activists, inventors, artists and more, across more than four hundred years. 

One of these men is Brigadier General Charles Young, who was born into slavery in Mays Lick, Kentucky, and overcame racial inequality to become one of the first African-American graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Young went on to be the first African-American superintendent of a National Park, as well as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. 

In recent years, Young’s birthplace has been the subject of fundraising and preservation efforts. Tours are available by appointment. Click here for more information.