Fish – Hiatt Building

An Elkin Hotel building stood on this site from about 1820 until 1905. Built by Rueben Elkin, it was a two-story wooden clapboard structure with a wood-shingled roof, and it was Mt. Vernon’s first hotel other than Stephen Langford’s tavern. It became well known as the first establishment in the area to use a bell that could be heard along Main Street to call people to meals. In 1899 James F. Houk bought the building and operated Houk & Sons General Store there until selling it to Jesse Fish in 1902. Jesse Fish’s son, Jones P. Fish, moved the business into a temporary building so the old Elkin building could be replaced by the masonry stone building that opened as J. Fish in 1906. Its main entrance originally opened onto Church Street, and fish imprints in the sidewalk marked that entrance for shoppers. The concrete blocks were made on site by C. Shipp of Corbin, and John H. Ramsey completed the masonry work. In March 1909, A.J. Fish installed a glass front and changed the entrance to face Main Street. That year, Fritz Krueger began excavating for a new building for J. Fish and W.L. Richards, believed to have been an addition to the original block structure. O.V. Hilton bought the building during World War II and operated it for 17 years, then sold the building and business to his daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Billy Hiatt. The store thrived during the 1960s and 70s, and for 46 years residents shopped there at Hiatt’s 5 & 10 until it closed in 2007.

Mount Vernon, Kentucky · United States