The Greene-Jones WarThe Greene-Jones War
In the 1880s and 1890s a bloody feud was happening across two Appalachian counties, with conflicts over hogs, shootings, ambushes, cabins set on fire and the threat of the governor
Author: Steve Gilly
The Kingdom of the Happy LandThe Kingdom of the Happy Land
After the Civil War, as the South lay in ruins, a group of freedmen decided to depart the Mississippi plantation on which they had been held as slaves in search
Billy Dean Anderson: Appalachia’s Most Wanted OutlawBilly Dean Anderson: Appalachia’s Most Wanted Outlaw
Billy Dean Anderson was born in Fentress County, Tennessee, and, by all accounts, lived a normal law-abiding life as he grew up, even becoming a volunteer preacher in his church.
The Appalachian Earthquake of 1897The Appalachian Earthquake of 1897
Rod and Steve share the story of one of the largest earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, which happened in Pearisburg, Virginia, in 1897. Plus an announcement about our YouTube
Amos Owens: The Cherry Mountain MoonshinerAmos Owens: The Cherry Mountain Moonshiner
After the Civil War a young man bought Cherry Mountain in Rutherford County, North Carolina and used the wild cherries found there to add flavor to his distilled product, illegal
January 31, 1900 – The Assassination of Kentucky Governor William GoebelJanuary 31, 1900 – The Assassination of Kentucky Governor William Goebel
On this day in 1900, William Justus Goebel was sworn in as Kentucky’s 34th governor. While lying in a hospital bed after having been shot in the chest by an
Dr. John R. Brinkley: The Goat Gland Doctor from AppalachiaDr. John R. Brinkley: The Goat Gland Doctor from Appalachia
John Romulus Brinkley was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, to a former Confederate medic and his housekeeper. From those humble beginnings young Brinkley grew up to become a traveling “Quaker
The Tragic End of Outlaw Joe BrownThe Tragic End of Outlaw Joe Brown
Joe Brown was a hell-raiser, thug and violent alcoholic who terrorized the town of Whitmer, West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century. He did, that is, until he
The 1921 West Virginia Capitol FireThe 1921 West Virginia Capitol Fire
On January 3, 1921, a massive fire broke out at the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston. Not a big deal, you might be thinking, fires happen all the time.
The Tragedy at the Cowee TunnelThe Tragedy at the Cowee Tunnel
On December 30, 1881, 30 convicts, along with their guards, were shackled and deposited on the banks of the Tuckaseegee River near Dillboro, North Carolina, with a job to do: