Tomahawk is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 that stretches along Kentucky Route 40

Kentucky Route 40

Kentucky Route 40 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The road begins at a junction with U.S. Route 460 in Salyersville in Magoffin County, then continues eastward through Paintsville in Johnson County. KY 40 ends in Martin County at an intersection with KY Route 292 and an access...

 in Martin County, Kentucky

Martin County, Kentucky

Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 12,929. Its county seat is Inez. The county is named for Congressman John Preston Martin...

, United States, in the eastern part of the state near the West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 border. It is located on Rockhouse Fork of Rockcastle Creek, about six miles (9.6 km) west of Inez

Inez, Kentucky

There were 212 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone...

, the county seat.

Establishment

The post office was established as Wells on August 20, 1886, and named for its first postmaster, Richard M. Wells, according to Kentucky Place Names by Richard M. Rennick. It was closed in 1894, but reopened on November 4, 1898 as Tomahawk for The Tomahawk News, a newspaper then being published in Inez. It now has an estimated population of 1,000, based on voter registration in the Tomahawk precinct. The post office (41262) survived in 1975 when the Postal Service closed nearby offices in Milo and Davisport.

Facilities

The community still contains a volunteer fire department

Volunteer fire department

See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...

, a grocery, a convenience store

Convenience store

A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

, a mining supply company, an antique/musical instrument store, a car wash, a used car lot, a Jabez Ministries outlet, three churches, a Columbia Gas Co. pumping station and a large furniture store located in the old stone WPA

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

-era Tomahawk Grade School, which was closed and sold in 2002 after the school was consolidated with Grassy Grade School into Eden Elementary School at Inez, Kentucky. Tomahawk has produced several locally prominent educators, journalists and business leaders, the best-known of whom was Russell Williamson, a banker, educator and high school basketball coach. Williamson was president of the Inez Deposit Bank, president of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, the acknowledged first graduate of Morehead State University

Morehead State University

Morehead State University is a public, co-educational university located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County, midway between Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia. The 2012 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S...

and the principal and basketball coach at Inez High School, which won two state championships during his tenure.

Notoriety

Tomahawk became briefly notorious on February 8, 1933 after a local family ritually murdered their mother after a church revival under the mistaken belief they could bring her back to life in three days. Law enforcement officers found the oldest son, kneeling in bed on his mother's breasts, with her head turned face-down into a pillow. Two daughters were dancing on a nearby table while another son stood at the foot of the bed, reading the Bible. Accounts of this incident and subsequent trial were published nationally and internationally, Associated Press articles show.