The French-Eversole FeudThe French-Eversole Feud
In the last part of the nineteenth century, newspapers across America were obsessed with tales of blood feuds in Appalachia, the best known of which is the Hatfield-McCoy feud. At
Month: August 2016
The 1982 Knoxville Worlds Fair and the Butcher BrothersThe 1982 Knoxville Worlds Fair and the Butcher Brothers
In 1982, Knoxville, Tennessee, hosted a Worlds Fair. The fair was a success, breaking even, but it led to the downfall of the Butcher banking empire in East Tennessee. On
The EscapeThe Escape
The people who settled Appalachia were tough. They’d have to be to carve a home out of the forests and mountainsides of the area. In 1777, two girls, Polly Alley
George Went Hensley, Snake Handling PreacherGeorge Went Hensley, Snake Handling Preacher
George Went Hensley, born in Scott County, Virginia, was one of the first, if not the first, preacher, to adopt the practice of snake handling in his church after seeing
The Swinging Bridge CollapseThe Swinging Bridge Collapse
Every year the Tri State Singing Convention would come to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, bringing together the most popular southern gospel groups in the world to play for a packed