Devil John Wright of the CumberlandsDevil John Wright of the Cumberlands
In the heart of Appalachia, a legend looms as large as the mountains themselves. Today, we tell the story of John Wesley Wright. Born in the Elkhorn Valley of Kentucky,
Category: The 1880’s
The Hanging Judge’s ExecutionerThe Hanging Judge’s Executioner
Discover the fascinating tale of George Maledon, the legendary hangman for Arkansas’ Hanging Judge Parker, and his peculiar path to Tennessee’s Mountain Home veterans cemetery. Uncover a piece of Old
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
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
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:
Appalachia’s Deadly Railroad ExcursionAppalachia’s Deadly Railroad Excursion
After the Civil War, the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, decided to invest in a railroad to Cumberland Gap and Middlesborough. The first train to travel on that railroad from Knoxville
The Laurel Mine Disaster of 1884The Laurel Mine Disaster of 1884
The Pocahontas coal field, located in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, was one of the most productive coal areas in the United States. The town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell
The Unfetchable Melungeon Moonshiner (Video)The Unfetchable Melungeon Moonshiner (Video)
A woman who once lived atop Newman’s Ridge in Hancock County developed a reputation as the biggest moonshiner in Appalachia, literally. Her unique ability to avoid the law brought reporters
The Last Public Hangings in Lawrence County, Kentucky and Wilkes County, North CarolinaThe Last Public Hangings in Lawrence County, Kentucky and Wilkes County, North Carolina
Today we bring you part of the end of an era of public executions in Appalachia, which had, in many cases, turned into an excuse for a carnival, with vendors
The Unfetchable MoonshinerThe Unfetchable Moonshiner
One of the biggest moonshiners (literally) in Appalachia was a Melungeon woman from Newman’s Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. She lived an interesting life, providing shine in many ways, including