The Great Glen Alum Payroll RobberyThe Great Glen Alum Payroll Robbery
On Friday, August 14, 1914, three Glen Alum Coal Company employees were returning to the mine office with that week’s payroll. They didn’t make it with the money to the
Category: The 1910’s
From Darkness to Hope: The Appalachian Journey of Bob ChildressFrom Darkness to Hope: The Appalachian Journey of Bob Childress
In 1912 a young man’s life was transformed by his witnessing a historic tragedy: the infamous Carroll County courthouse shootout, which left several prominent lawyers, police officers and a judge
Floyd Allen: The Untamed Legacy of Hillsville’s Outlaw PatriarchFloyd Allen: The Untamed Legacy of Hillsville’s Outlaw Patriarch
In 1912 Floyd Allen was convicted for his part in freeing his nephews from custody and sentenced to a term in prison. This did NOT sit well with Mr. Allen
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
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