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
Category: Personalities
An Interview With An Appalachian MoonshinerAn Interview With An Appalachian Moonshiner
Today we talk with a part of Appalachian history: a man who once ran moonshine in Henry County, Virginia, as a young man many decades ago. His name is Ira
John T. Scopes Found Guilty of Teaching Evolution – July 21, 1925John T. Scopes Found Guilty of Teaching Evolution – July 21, 1925
On this day in 1925 teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial.” Scopes was the football coach at Rhea County High
That Time Roy Acuff Ran For GovernorThat Time Roy Acuff Ran For Governor
Back in the 1940s Roy Acuff was at the top of his game. He was a country music star with such hits as “The Great Speckled Bird” and “The Wabash
Roy Acuff Announces Willingness to Accept Republican Nomination for Governor – June 30, 1948Roy Acuff Announces Willingness to Accept Republican Nomination for Governor – June 30, 1948
On this day in 1948 country music star and co-founder of Acuff-Rose Music publishing, Roy Acuff, born in Maynardville, Tennessee, announced in Knoxville that he would be willing to accept
General John D. ImbodenGeneral John D. Imboden
Lawyer, politician, Confederate general, land developer, promoter of coal and the founder of the town of Damascus, Virginia. All these jobs were held by one man for whom a mine
Boonesborough Named – 1775Boonesborough Named – 1775
In 1775 Daniel Boone established Boone’s Station to the southeast of what’s now Lexington, Kentucky. Boone’s Station, owned by the Transylvania Company headed by Richard Henderson and Nathaniel Hart, was
The Showgirl and the Tobacco HeirThe Showgirl and the Tobacco Heir
On November 23, 1931, 20-year-old Zachary Smith Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was divorced from his first wife. Six days later he married his second wife, Broadway showgirl Libby Holman,
Buried in Style – May 25, 1994Buried in Style – May 25, 1994
On this day 28 years ago 71-year-old George Swanson was buried in Irwin, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. George was a beer distributor and had served in the U. S. Army
Hog Greer Of Big Bald MountainHog Greer Of Big Bald Mountain
A jilted young man came over the mountains from North Carolina to Tennessee, intent on spending the rest of his life alone on a mountaintop. This he did, along with