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
Category: The 1880’s
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
The Cloudland HotelThe Cloudland Hotel
After the Civil War fine hotels were built all along the mountain range that separated North Carolina and Tennessee, each one grander than the last, a sort of Guilded Age
The Building of the Western North Carolina RailroadThe Building of the Western North Carolina Railroad
Building a railroad in Appalachia after the Civil War was always a hard, back-breaking effort. But in the very rugged mountains of Western North Carolina, which contained the tallest mountains
Tennessee’s War of the RosesTennessee’s War of the Roses
In 1886 two brothers from Elizabethton, Bob Taylor and Alf Taylor, were nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, for governor of Tennessee. Thus began a most fascinating campaign
Appalachia’s Hotel In The CloudsAppalachia’s Hotel In The Clouds
In the 1870s a veteran of the Civil War returned to East Tennessee to make his fortune. General John Wilder established foundries in Rockwood and Johnson City, he ran for
The Howard-Turner FeudThe Howard-Turner Feud
In the 1880’s and early 1890’s Harlan County, Kentucky was the scene for one of the most notorious feuds aside from the one between the Hatfields and McCoys. Two prominent
The Dunglen HotelThe Dunglen Hotel
During the post-Civil War coal boom in West Virginia, many new towns were founded to serve the coal industry and the railroads that hauled that coal to market. One of