Sam’s Magnificent BeardSam’s Magnificent Beard
A mountain farmer and schoolteacher from the North Carolina town of Magnetic City (now Buladean) got so tired of shaving that he tossed his straight razor in the garbage and
Category: The 1910’s
The Appalachian Insurrection of 1917The Appalachian Insurrection of 1917
As the United States entered World War I, it was found to be necessary to start drafting men to serve in the military. That decision was met with widespread resistance
The Amazing Life of One-Armed JimmyThe Amazing Life of One-Armed Jimmy
Today we tell the story of a man who refused to let a “disability” keep him down. Linguist, athlete, amateur astronomer, adventurer and genealogist James Brownlow Lawson from Sevier County,
The Tragic Tale of Mary the ElephantThe Tragic Tale of Mary the Elephant
In 1916 the circus came to Kingsport, Tennessee. During a parade, the star elephant, Mary, became enraged when she was jabbed behind an abscessed tooth with a metal prong, killing
The Knoxville Race RiotThe Knoxville Race Riot
In 1919 a wave of riots and lynchings occurred across America, fueled in part by a fear of communism and communist agitation among minorites and in part by fear of
The Hatfields and the McCoys: After the FeudThe Hatfields and the McCoys: After the Feud
When you say “feud” anywhere in America, what comes to most folks’ minds are the names “Hatfield” and “McCoy.” That notorious feud has been the stuff of legend not just
John Fox Jr., An Appalachian StorytellerJohn Fox Jr., An Appalachian Storyteller
One of the first writers to bring the real Appalachia to the world was John Fox Jr., who had come to the coal boom town of Big Stone Gap, making
World War I Anti-Conscription Movement – 1917World War I Anti-Conscription Movement – 1917
One hundred five years ago this month opposition against the draft was coming to a boil, including in Appalachia. With the entry of the United States into World War I
Eccles No. 5 Mine Explosions – April 28, 1914Eccles No. 5 Mine Explosions – April 28, 1914
On this day in 1914 the second worst mine disaster in West Virginia, after the Monongah explosion in 1907, occurred at the Eccles No. 5 mine in Eccles, West Virginia.
A Criminal OperationA Criminal Operation
In 1912 a Presbyterian pastor in Greeneville, Tennessee, decided to help his former secretary back at the school he headed in Pittsburgh. That decision cost the woman her life and