Samuel May, born in 1783 to Revolutionary War veteran John May and Sarah Phillips May, settled in Prestonsburg around 1807. In 1818 he was commissioned to build the county’s first brick courthouse, and after his election as state senator in 1835 he proposed improving the Mount Sterling-Pound Gap Road, a critical road in eastern Kentucky. He died in California during the gold rush. Built by Samuel May in 1817, the Samuel May House is the oldest house in Prestonsburg. It was constructed of bricks manufactured at the site, and the 350-acre farm, with its grist mill, served as a recruitment and supply post for Confederates during the Civil War. The house was restored in 1997 by the City of Prestonsburg and Friends of Samuel May House, Inc.