- Yard Sale Sign - J. M. Griffin
The "World's Longest Yard Sale" is held on the first Thursday in August through that Sunday. That's four days of shopping and sightseeing along 654 miles of route 127, starting in West Unity, Ohio, south through Kentucky, Tennessee, and winding down in Gadsden, Alabama. Property owners such as churches, schools, businesses and homeowners set up booths or lease space to others. It's the dream yard sale for the serious and the not so serious can enjoy the local sights.
The Route 68 Sale is held the first weekend in June and is 400 miles entirely within the state of Kentucky, from Maysville, running south and west to Paducah.
Yard Sale Shopping Strategy
Since it's not feasible to see it all in four days, pick a section of the route that has at least one relatively large population center where there will be more vendors. Find interesting side attractions for the grumbling family members who may not be as enthusiastic about several hundred miles of yard sales. Pack lightly, leaving plenty of room for all the great finds along the way.
Places Along the 127 Sale Route
Gadsden, Alabama, the southernmost location of the 127 sale is home to the Talladega Superspeedway and Noccalulu Falls Park. Chattanooga Tennessee has many attractions including the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo. North of Chattanooga on 127 is Pikeville. A short trip east of Pikeville is Dayton, Tennessee where the courthouse was the setting for one of the most famous trials in American history, the Scopes trial over teaching evolution.
Harrodsburg, Kentucky was the first permanent English settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and is just south of Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky on 127. Cinncinnati is the largest Ohio city on sale route, with several small towns and villages north of Cinncinnati to West Unity, a small village of about 1800 people at the northern end of the sale.
Places Along the 68 Sale Route
The Route 68 sale runs through the heart of Kentucky and many small towns and cities. At the north end is Blue Licks State Resort Park and Flemingsburg, an area known for covered bridges. Pleasant Hill was the site of a Shaker community until 1910. The largest city on the route is Bowling Green in southern Kentucky. Paducah is at the southwest end of route 68, on the Ohio River. Travel between towns is through legendary Kentucky Bluegrass country.
Yard Sale Vendors
Visit the websites of the sale organizers for information on locations, fees and regulations. Just about everything imaginable is sold, including food and drink, so buyers never have to leave the sale except maybe to sleep. These yard sales are a must for yard sale junkies and an excellent opportunity to see the beauty of the countryside.
Corinne Shibley - Corinne Shibley studied sculpture in art history and created her own sculpture on the way to a B.A. in Studio Art. "There's something ...
