The Bristol Water WarThe Bristol Water War
For over a hundred years, the states of Tennessee and Virginia tried to figure out their common border. It took a United States Supreme Court decision and a near war
Author: Steve Gilly
The Mysterious Lights of Holston MountainThe Mysterious Lights of Holston Mountain
Holston Mountain is the tallest peak in East Tennessee, and the location of several television and radio towers. It’s also near the Tri City Airport, the air hub for the
Crime StoriesCrime Stories
Today, Steve and Rod have not one story, not two stories, but THREE stories, along with a short story! Thanks for listening. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at
The Night They Almost Nuked Big Savage Mountain.The Night They Almost Nuked Big Savage Mountain.
In January, 1964, a crippled B-52 was on its way home from Massachusetts to an airbase in Georgia, when it ran into a heavy snowstorm. The plane’s vertical stabilizer (the
The Shootout in Clintwood, VirginiaThe Shootout in Clintwood, Virginia
In 1926, Prohibition was in full force, and the Commonwealth of Virginia had prohibition enforcement agents employed across the state, looking for illegal liquor. In Dickenson County, Virginia, that man
The French-Eversole FeudThe French-Eversole Feud
In the last part of the nineteenth century, newspapers across America were obsessed with tales of blood feuds in Appalachia, the best known of which is the Hatfield-McCoy feud. At
The 1982 Knoxville Worlds Fair and the Butcher BrothersThe 1982 Knoxville Worlds Fair and the Butcher Brothers
In 1982, Knoxville, Tennessee, hosted a Worlds Fair. The fair was a success, breaking even, but it led to the downfall of the Butcher banking empire in East Tennessee. On
The EscapeThe Escape
The people who settled Appalachia were tough. They’d have to be to carve a home out of the forests and mountainsides of the area. In 1777, two girls, Polly Alley
George Went Hensley, Snake Handling PreacherGeorge Went Hensley, Snake Handling Preacher
George Went Hensley, born in Scott County, Virginia, was one of the first, if not the first, preacher, to adopt the practice of snake handling in his church after seeing
The Swinging Bridge CollapseThe Swinging Bridge Collapse
Every year the Tri State Singing Convention would come to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, bringing together the most popular southern gospel groups in the world to play for a packed