Appalachian Community Histories – Elihu, Pulaski County: Elihu Taylor, the Railroad, and a Community Named for Its First Postmaster
Approximately three miles south of Somerset, Kentucky, near Pitman Creek and Sinking Creek, the small community of Elihu developed during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Its history was closely connected to the arrival of the railroad, the establishment of a country store, and the opening of a post office that would serve the surrounding countryside for more than a century.
Although Elihu never became a major town, it developed around several businesses, a flour mill, and a railroad station, providing services to families living between Somerset and the Cumberland River. Its unusual name came from Elihu Taylor, a local storekeeper who became the community’s first postmaster in 1883. The story of how Taylor’s name became attached to the settlement, including a disagreement over its pronunciation, was preserved by Pulaski County historian Alma Owens Tibbals in her 1952 county history.
The community’s surviving history extends well beyond its founding. Early maps, postal records, and contemporary newspaper accounts document its development, including the construction of transportation infrastructure, the education of local children, and the everyday activities of the families who called Elihu home.
Elihu Taylor, Owens Price, and the First Post Office
Elihu’s documented history begins with a country store operated by Elihu Taylor on property associated with his father-in-law, Owens Price. According to Alma Owens Tibbals in A History of Pulaski County, Kentucky, the store had originally belonged to Price and later became the location of the community’s first post office.
The establishment of the office followed the arrival of the railroad in the countryside south of Somerset. As railroad construction opened new transportation connections between Somerset and the Cumberland River, the surrounding settlement gained greater access to commercial markets and opportunities for development. Taylor’s store occupied a location suitable for providing postal service to nearby residents, making it a natural place to establish an office.
Robert M. Rennick’s 2007 study of Pulaski County post offices identifies May 7, 1883, as the opening date of the Elihu post office. He located it immediately north of Pitman Creek, approximately half a mile east of the Sinking Creek branch, and identified Taylor as its original postmaster.
The establishment of the post office provided the settlement with an official identity and a place within the expanding postal network of southern Kentucky. For families living outside Somerset, the office offered a convenient point for sending and receiving correspondence and conducting business with the surrounding region. It also gave a name to a community whose commercial activities were increasingly connected to the nearby railroad.
The Disagreement Over the Name Elihu
One of the most distinctive stories associated with the community concerns the selection and pronunciation of its name. Tibbals preserved an account of the disagreement in her 1952 history, describing how several possible names were submitted to the Post Office Department before the federal government approved Elihu.
According to her account, two or three proposed names were rejected because other Kentucky communities were already using them. Eventually, the department selected Elihu in honor of the first postmaster, Elihu Taylor. Rennick’s later postal research adds that Pitman was among the unavailable names because it was already in use in Taylor County.
The selection of Taylor’s name did not immediately settle the matter. Some residents favored one pronunciation, while others believed a different pronunciation was more appropriate for a newly established community along the railroad. Tibbals explained that the disagreement continued until Taylor himself intervened, insisting that the community’s name should be pronounced in the same manner as his own given name.
The story provides an unusually personal account of how an Appalachian community acquired its name. Rather than being named for a geographical feature, a distant city, or a prominent political figure, Elihu received its identity from a local businessman whose store became one of the settlement’s earliest institutions.
The Railroad, Flour Mill, and Early Businesses
The railroad played an important role in Elihu’s early development. Rennick’s research places the establishment of the community’s post office shortly after the railroad arrived in the area between Somerset and the Cumberland River. By the time the settlement acquired its official name, the transportation corridor was helping connect the surrounding countryside with markets beyond Pulaski County.
Rennick identified a flour mill, railroad station, several stores, and additional businesses among the establishments served by the Elihu post office. The combination suggests that Elihu functioned as a small commercial center for surrounding farms rather than merely an isolated postal station. Although the surviving published research does not establish the ownership or precise operating dates of each business, their documented existence provides evidence of the settlement’s economic activity during its early development.
A flour mill was particularly important to an agricultural community because it provided a place where locally produced grain could be processed. Stores offered nearby residents access to merchandise, while railroad transportation created opportunities for moving agricultural products and other goods between the countryside and larger commercial centers.
Elihu’s position within Pulaski County’s developing transportation network is also reflected in contemporary cartography. Rand McNally’s 1911 map of Pulaski County identifies Elihu south of Somerset and north of Cedar Grove, placing the community among the established settlements of the county during the early twentieth century.
Everyday Life in Elihu During the Early Twentieth Century
By the early twentieth century, Elihu was an established community whose residents maintained close relationships with Somerset and neighboring settlements such as Cedar Grove and Pisgah. Contemporary newspapers provide a particularly valuable record of this period because they document the everyday activities of ordinary families rather than concentrating exclusively on prominent individuals or major events.
The Somerset Journal regularly published reports from Elihu during 1920, preserving accounts of family visits, illnesses, births, travel, and other local developments. Its January 30 issue reported the birth of a son to the Chester Phelps family, visits between Elihu and Cedar Grove, and the return of Jennie and Anna Leese from Cincinnati to visit their family. Other residents were traveling to communities throughout Kentucky and beyond, demonstrating the personal connections maintained between the settlement and the wider region.
These newspaper columns also preserve the names of families associated with Elihu during the period, including the Phelps, Gibson, Gover, Goff, Massey, McKinney, Leese, and Vaughn families. Their appearances in contemporary reports provide valuable starting points for reconstructing the community’s population and family relationships.
The same reports reveal the difficulties confronting local residents. During February 1920, the newspaper recorded cases of influenza and pneumonia in Elihu, including illnesses affecting the Harrison and Bryant families and the young son of Chester Phelps. These accounts place the community within the broader experience of infectious disease that continued to affect American families in the years following the influenza pandemic of 1918.
The newspaper also documented the movement of residents between Elihu and larger cities. Some traveled to Cincinnati for medical treatment, while others visited relatives or relocated to states such as Iowa and Kansas. Although individual newspaper notices cannot establish the extent of migration from the community, they demonstrate that Elihu’s residents maintained connections extending well beyond Pulaski County.
Schools and Education in the Elihu Community
Education provides another glimpse into community life during the early twentieth century. Contemporary newspaper records identify several children from Elihu who completed their common school examinations in 1920, reflecting the participation of local families in Pulaski County’s public education system.
The February 20, 1920, edition of the Somerset Journal published the names of students who had successfully completed the county’s common school diploma examinations, which were held on January 30 and 31. Four students identified with Elihu appeared in the published results: Nannie Goff, Vera Hamm, Margie Hamm, and Mae Phelps.
These examinations represented an important educational milestone because students receiving common school diplomas became eligible to attend Pulaski County’s high schools without paying tuition. For children from rural communities, completing the examination could provide opportunities to continue their education beyond the elementary grades.
The surviving newspaper evidence establishes the presence of school-age children from Elihu and their participation in the county’s educational system. Further investigation of school registers, county educational reports, and historical maps would help identify the individual schools that served the community and document how educational opportunities changed during the following decades.
The 1920 Pitman Creek Bridge and the Improvement of Local Roads
One of the most significant documented infrastructure projects associated with Elihu occurred in October 1920, when the Pulaski County Fiscal Court ordered the construction of a steel bridge across Pitman Creek near the community’s railroad station.
The October 29 edition of the Somerset Journal reported that the proposed bridge would cross Pitman Creek immediately east of the Elihu railroad station along the old Coal Bank Road. Residents of the surrounding neighborhood had agreed to construct the bridge’s abutments without charge, providing a contribution toward the planned improvement.
The project demonstrates the importance of transportation infrastructure to the settlement and the surrounding countryside. Although the railroad connected Elihu with more distant communities, local roads and creek crossings remained essential for travel between nearby farms, businesses, and neighboring settlements. Improving these routes could make everyday transportation more reliable, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall when streams became difficult to cross.
The same Fiscal Court session addressed additional road improvements elsewhere in Pulaski County, reflecting the growing importance of maintaining an interconnected county road system. The newspaper establishes that construction of the Pitman Creek bridge was ordered in October 1920, although additional county records would be needed to confirm its completion date and subsequent history.
Elihu’s Post Office and the Changing Community
The institution that had given Elihu its name remained part of the community throughout much of the twentieth century. From its establishment on May 7, 1883, the post office continued operating through successive generations of residents, eventually closing in 1984.
Rennick records the closure in his study of Pulaski County’s postal history, while historical post office datasets independently identify 1883 and 1984 as the office’s opening and closing years. These dates give Elihu a documented postal history extending across approximately 101 years.
The closing of the office marked the end of an institution that had been associated with the community since the days of Elihu Taylor and Owens Price. Its original location in a country store reflected the close relationship between small businesses and postal services in nineteenth-century rural Kentucky, while its continued operation into the 1980s demonstrates the longevity of the settlement’s established identity.
The surviving published sources do not establish the precise circumstances that led to the post office’s closure or the subsequent arrangements for local mail delivery. Postal announcements and contemporary newspaper coverage from 1984 would provide important additional evidence about this final chapter of Elihu’s postal history.
Remembering Elihu
Elihu’s history illustrates how transportation, commerce, and local institutions contributed to the development of small communities throughout Pulaski County. Its earliest documented institutions emerged alongside the railroad, while a country store operated by Elihu Taylor became the location of a post office that would provide the settlement with its enduring name.
The community’s surviving records also reveal a history extending beyond its early businesses. Newspaper accounts preserve the names of families, students, and residents whose everyday experiences formed the character of Elihu during the early twentieth century. The planned construction of the Pitman Creek bridge in 1920 demonstrates the continuing importance of transportation improvements, while the community’s long postal history reflects its place within the surrounding countryside.
Although the post office closed in 1984, the historical record preserves Elihu’s identity through original newspapers, contemporary maps, postal documentation, and local histories. Together, these sources provide a foundation for reconstructing the story of a community whose origins can be traced to a country store, a railroad, and a postmaster determined that his neighbors would pronounce his name correctly.
Sources & Further Reading
Tibbals, Alma Owens. A History of Pulaski County, Kentucky. Published by Grace Owens Moore, 1952. https://www.therainwatercollection.com/reference/ref058.pdf.
The Somerset Journal. “Elihu.” January 30, 1920. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/news/1_30_1920.htm.
The Somerset Journal. “Common School Graduate.” February 20, 1920. Includes Nannie Goff, Vera Hamm, Margie Hamm, and Mae Phelps of Elihu. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/school/1920_com.htm.
The Somerset Journal. “Elihu.” February 20, 1920. Reports on local families, illnesses, and community activities. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/news/2_20_1920.htm.
The Somerset Journal. “Elihu.” February 27, 1920. Reports on influenza, pneumonia, family visits, and travel between Elihu and neighboring communities. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/news/2_27_1920.htm.
The Somerset Journal. “Elihu.” March 12, 1920. Reports on marriages, family movements, education, and community life. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/news/3_12_1920.htm.
The Somerset Journal. “Fiscal Court in Session This Week: To Build Bridge Over Pitman Creek Near Elihu.” October 29, 1920. Transcribed by Pulaski County KYGenWeb. https://kygenweb.net/pulaski/news/10_29_1920.htm.
Rand McNally & Company. Kentucky. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1911. Pulaski County detail reproduced by My Genealogy Hound. https://mygenealogyhound.com/maps/kentucky-maps/KY-Pulaski-County-Kentucky-1911-Rand-McNally-map-Somerset-Burnside-Science-Hill.html.
Rennick, Robert M. “Pulaski County: Post Offices.” County Histories of Kentucky, no. 388. Morehead State University, 2000. https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/kentucky_county_histories/388/.
Works Progress Administration and Robert M. Rennick. “Pulaski County: Post Offices & Place Names.” County Histories of Kentucky, no. 284. Morehead State University. Cataloged as 1939. https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/kentucky_county_histories/284/.
National Archives and Records Administration. Post Office Department Reports of Site Locations, 1837–1950. Record Group 28, Microfilm Publication M1126. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/research/post-offices/locations-1837-1950.html.
Pulaski County Public Library. Digital Archives of the Pulaski County Public Library. Historical newspapers, census schedules, county court records, deeds, and tax lists. Somerset, KY. https://pulaskilibrary.advantage-preservation.com/.
Kentucky Historical Society. Maps and Atlases. Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections. Frankfort, KY. https://www.kyhistory.com/digital/collection/Maps.
U.S. Geological Survey. Historical Topographic Map Collection. National Geospatial Program. Historical topographic maps published between 1884 and 2006. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/national-geospatial-program/historical-topographic-maps-preserving-past.
RoadsideThoughts. “Elihu (Pulaski County, KY): Mentions and References.” Updated March 31, 2026. A secondary finding aid identifying the 1895 Rand McNally commercial atlas, the 1911 map, and historical postal datasets. https://roadsidethoughts.com/ky/elihu-xx-pulaski-mentions.htm.
Author Note: Elihu’s story reminds us that even the smallest Appalachian communities have histories preserved in the names of their families, businesses, schools, and local institutions. If your family has connections to Elihu or you have photographs, documents, or memories of the community, I welcome your contributions to help preserve its history.