When white settlers came into the White River valley, Oil Trough Bottom was covered with a dense canebrake inhabited by bear. Early hunters rendered bear oil and stored it in troughs made from hollowed out tree trunks, a practice remembered as the legendary origin of the name. A post office was opened here as Pleasant Island in 1832, and the name was changed to Oil Trough in 1849. Oil Trough Bottom became widely known for its productive soil in growing corn, cotton, grain, and soybeans.