Discover the fascinating story of Kentucky’s unique soft drink, “Ale 8 One,” in this episode of Stories of Appalachia. Join Steve and Rod as they tell the history of
Railroads played a crucial role in the development of Appalachia, but the construction of these vital links to the world was no easy feat. Today we go on the road
By request of one of our listeners, this week we tell the story of Bad Tom Smith, a notorious figure at the very heart of the French-Eversole feud in Kentucky.
Nimrod Jarrett Smith, born in 1832 near Murphy, North Carolina, was a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee who played a crucial role in shaping the tribe’s future.
At the beginning of the Civil War, the small Appalachian town of Philippi, Virginia, now West Virginia, became the site of the first organized land action of the conflict as
In the late 1920s and early 30s, the coal fields of Harlan County, Kentucky, became the backdrop for one of the darkest chapters in labor history. Known as Bloody Harlan,
On January 2, 2006, a quiet morning turned into tragedy at the Sago Mine in Sago, West Virginia. A powerful explosion trapped 13 miners underground for nearly two days. Of
On December 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the West Virginia Statehood Bill, setting the stage for the creation of America’s thirty-fifth state. This pivotal moment in history was the
On New Year’s Eve 1959, the quiet town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, became the stage for a teenage prank that would put the town in newspapers all around the
On December 26, 1820, Moses Austin, founder of Austinville, Virginia, met with Spanish officials in San Antonio with a daring proposal: to establish an American colony in the Mexican region