Elm Bend

The history of Woodford County, Kentucky, is often told through the lens of its lucrative bourbon industry and sprawling horse farms. However, the true foundation of this landscape lies in its Black majority. By 1860, the census recorded a population of 5,943 Black residents (both enslaved and free) compared to 5,276 white residents. This region was, in every sense, a Black landscape, built and cultivated by families whose stories have been systematically marginalized.

This website serves as a digital archive and act of reclamation for Elm Bend (pronounced El-limb-Ben), a vital, majority-Black rural community nestled in the hills of southern Woodford County. Our mission is to document the lives of the foundational families—including the Caise, Johnson, Ford, Johnston, and Creth clans—and to illuminate the resilience of those born and raised within this settlement.

The story of Elm Bend is anchored in the year 1867, when Ben Case (formerly enslaved by Esq. James P. Ford) was conveyed 62 acres of land in southern Woodford County. Through sheer persistence, Ben Case and his wife, Ann Risk Case, continued until to death to pay for this acreage, establishing a homestead that became the heart of a thriving community. Following the Civil War, Elm Bend grew into a self-reliant enclave, complete with its own church and schoolhouse, serving as a sanctuary for formerly enslaved families like the Creth,

While Elm Bend was a place of deep kinship and agrarian self-reliance along Elm Corner, Troy Pike, and Clear Creek, it was also a landscape of profound challenge. Residents navigated the physical isolation of rural Kentucky and limited access to essential infrastructure.

Today, the story of Elm Bend is also a cautionary tale of land loss. As descendants migrated to other parts of Woodford County and beyond in search of new opportunities, original acreage was gradually sold or lost—a process accelerated by modern development, restrictive land-use, and the shifting economics of farming. By preserving these records, we ensure that the "original settlers" of this million-dollar landscape are not erased by the luxury developments rising over their ancestral footprints.

We invite you to explore the archives, the family lineages, and the enduring spirit of Elm Bend as research continues.