Settlement of Pellville, originally called Bucksnort, began on the Hardinsburg-Owensboro Trail. The first post office was established in 1851 under the name Blackford, and the community’s name was changed to Pellville in 1868 in honor of Samuel P. Pell, a state legislator from 1855 to 1856 and Hancock County sheriff from 1850 to 1864. Pellville was incorporated on February 25, 1870.