A Century Ago in Pulaski County: Drought, Street Paving, and Community Debates

A century ago, residents of Pulaski County were dealing with an issue we are dealing with today: A lack of rain.

The drought — or “drouth,” as it was often spelled then — might have actually helped workers in the city accomplish a major improvement to the town, however, as some of the main roads in Somerset were being paved, drawing “much favorable comment from outsiders.” On the other hand, the county’s dry spell — and the rain that was bound to come eventually — was potentially leading to another issue: An outbreak of typhoid fever, which was already beginning to run rampant on the outskirts of the county.