Florence Y’all

If anyone has ever driven up I75 through Florence, KY, then you have seen it. The Florence Y’all Water Tower . But do you know the origin of this iconic tower and that the Y’all was originally Mall when it was built?

I was born and raised in Florence, KY and I remember when it said Florence Mall on the water tower instead of Florence Y’all. It all started when developers purchased the land for a new shopping mall. They gave a piece of that land to the city to build a water tower. The deal was that they would advertise the Florence Mall that was still yet to be built, however, it became a legal issue when the state Bureau of Highways said they could not advertise something that did not exist yet. So, to quickly and cost effectively fix the problem, CM “Hop” Ewing, then mayor of Florence and later my math teacher when I was in middle school, suggested they change the M to Y’ and thus the iconic Florence Y’all was born.

By the time the mall was built and open, the Florence Y’all Water Tower had become well known, so it was left as is and you can still see it today when you drive north on I75 through Florence, KY.