Judge Albert W. "Allie" Young & The Allie Young Law Office

This historical marker is located at the former office of Judge Albert W. "Allie" Young (1865-1935). Young was a prominent lawyer, judge, and Kentucky Senator from Morehead who was elected to the state senate in 1923. Young rose through the ranks of the Democratic Party and eventually became the leader of the party in Kentucky. During his time in the state senate, Young played a vital role in the growth of Morehead State University in addition to aiding in the expansion of roadways in eastern Kentucky. The site of Young's legal practice was later recognized as a state historical landmark. The building was condemned and demolished in 2014 but this historical marker continues to share the history of the building and Young's contribution to Kentucky history.

Albert W. "Allie" Young was born on December 29, 1865 in Elizaville,  a small town in Fleming County, Kentucky to Col. Zachary T. Young and Amelia O'Bannon. The family relocated to Morehead, Kentucky, in Rowan County in 1875, when Allie was nine years old, where his father, Zachary, who formerly served in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, established a law office and served as county attorney. There, Allie was largely educated via the library housed in his father's law office, an education which reportedly led to his own legal aspirations. These legal aspirations were first realized in 1886, when, at the age of twenty, shortly after his marriage to Eliza Flora Johnson, he was elected to the role of Rowan County attorney. Young took over the role from his father, and held the position for around a decade before eventually being appointed to the circuit court of Rowan County as a judge. Both of these elected positions allowed Young to remain based in the city of Morehead, the place which had long been his home. 

After serving as judge for twelve years, Young resigned and opened a private law office, in the same building in which his father's had been located. The law office thrived not only in Morehead, but Rowan County as a whole, with Young taking on a plethora of cases and offering both legal advice and his skills as a defense attorney to numerous clients. He acted in this capacity until 1923, when he was elected to the Kentucky state Senate. In this new role, Young soon became the Democratic floor leader of the Senate. During his time as a senator, Young worked to establish the state teacher training school in Morehead in addition to extending the primary road system in Eastern Kentucky. 

Young passed away on February 18, 1935 in Louisville, Kentucky at the age of sixty-nine. At the time of his death, he had established a legacy for himself within the state of Kentucky, in particular the city of Morehead. Consequently, his contributions to the city's legal circuit, educational facilities, and roadways have been commemorated on Morehead State University's historical archives. In addition, the site of his law office was deemed a historical landmark by the state of Kentucky and was affixed with a marker to inform visitors of Allie Young's legacy. The building was demolished by the state in 2014 after being condemned; however, the historical marker still stands on the edge of the property it was once located on, near Morehead State University's campus. 

Allie W. Young Grave Records. findagrave.com. . Accessed August 05, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84927227/allie-whittington-young.

Kleber, John E., editor. "Albert W. "Allie" Young." The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, KY. The University of Kentucky Press, 1992.