Stories of Appalachia

In the fall of 1902, a sickly Englishman arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, from parts unknown. He passed away shortly thereafter and, over the next seven years, became a part of the fabric of the mountain town, until he left just as mysteriously as he came. It’s the story of the Duke of Asheville, on […]

On this week’s episode of Stories, Rod and Steve tell you the story of the Harpes, two men who, at the turn of the 19th century, led authorities on a horrific crime spree from North Carolina to Illinois and back again, leaving numerous murder victims in their wake.

In 1929 a series of textile mill strikes hit the southeastern United States, starting in Elizabethton, Tennessee. On this episode, Rod and Steve tell the story of what happened in Elizabethton when workers went on strike against the rayon plants there. Thanks for listening to the podcast!

Sometimes love just isn’t enough. At least it wasn’t for Harry Powers of Quiet Dell, West Virginia. On today’s episode, we tell a story of murder in the singles ads in 1920’s West Virginia. You can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app. We’re also on Facebook, where we have even more stories […]

In 1873, there was a world-wide cholera epidemic. One of the worst hit places in the Appalachian region was the East Tennessee town of Greeneville, which saw 90 percent of its population either die or flee in absolute terror. The illness even struck a retired American president who lived in the town. On this episode […]

In 1896, Elva Zona Heaster met and married Edward Shue, a drifter who had just arrived in Elva’s hometown of Greenbrier, West Virginia, to work as a blacksmith. In less than a year, she would be dead and buried and her killer undiscovered but for her appearance as an apparition to her mother, who led […]

When there is a public execution, one expects a somber affair. That wasn’t the case with John Morgan of Ripley, whose hanging on December 16, 1897, for a grisly triple murder had more of a carnival atmosphere, which led the state of West Virginia to outlaw public hangings the next year. On this episode of […]

In the summer of 1859, as the country was rapidly coming apart over the issue of slavery, a man slipped into the Appalachian town of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia under an assumed name and began preparing to spark a massive slave revolt. In the end, what was waiting for John Brown was not a revolution but […]

On today’s episode of Stories, Steve tells the story of David Grier, who spent his adult life atop Big Bald Mountain, just above Flag Pond, Tennessee on the North Carolina border. You might call him the Appalachian Thoreau, but Grier had an odd streak about him, which landed him in a trial for murder and, […]

Up until the end of the nineteenth century, most “doctoring” in the rural parts of Appalachia was done by folk healers or “granny-women,” who used old time roots and herbs and traditional treatments. One of the first true doctors to settle in the mountains of Southwest Virginia was an Englishman named Lawrence Haddon, who came […]

In the mid-19th century, American “filibusters” descended on Latin America with an eye on extending the United States’ influence over the area. The most notorious of these men was William Walker of Tennessee, who led his band of Tennessee and Kentucky mercenaries into Nicaragua, where he made himself dictator. To this day, Walker’s name is […]

At one time, Buchanan County, Virginia, was the home of the largest number of millionaires in the Commonwealth of Virginia, due to the money to be made mining coal. Probably the best known of these “one percenters” was Arthur M. Ratliff, also known as “Smiley.” Smiley Ratliff was a World War II vet, the first […]

In the hills of West Virginia, at White Sulphur Springs, is a fine resort, the Greenbrier. There you can enjoy fine living and also take a tour of a Cold War relic: the underground nuclear bunker designed to protect the elite of Washington politics in the event of a nuclear war with the Russians. On […]

On this episode of Stories we have a tale of love and sex and murder in the mountains of North Carolina. Steve and Rod tell you the story of Tom Dula of Wilkes County, North Carolina, whose life has been immortalized in the song “Tom Dooley.” Thanks for your ears!

Corporal Edward Dickenson from the Cracker’s Neck section of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was captured by the Chinese during the Korean War and was one of a handful of Americans who initially refused to return to America after the war. On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the story of Corporal Dickenson’s […]

On October 4, 1960, the lives of the residents of Kingsport, Tennessee, changed forever. It was on that date that a massive explosion occurred at the Tennessee Eastman Chemical Plant in the city, causing 15 deaths and more than 200 injuries. On this episode of Stories, Rod and Steve tell the story of that horrible […]

The world was in the middle of the Cold War on May 1, 1960, when a young Pound, Virginia, man set off on a U-2 flight from Pakistan which ended up making him part of the history of not only Appalachia, but the world. On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the […]

On New Years Eve, 1952, 17 year old Charlie Carr was on a mission to deliver country music star Hank Williams to a concert in Canton, Ohio, and ended up driving into Appalachian history. Despite Charlie’s efforts, Hank didn’t make it to Canton, having died somewhere between Bristol, Virginia and Oak Hill, West Virginia. On […]

On December 18th, 1915, widower and President, Woodrow Wilson, married Edith Galt, from Wytheville, Virginia. The new First Lady went on to help her husband through a stroke and, some say, actually run the country during the last year of his presidency. On today’s episode, Rod and Steve tell her story. You can subscribe to […]

In 1912, Hillsville, Virginia, was the site of a deadly shootout in the Carroll County circuit courtroom that left the judge, a prosecutor, the sheriff and a witness dead, all because one man was intent on never seeing the inside of a jail cell. This week, it’s the story of the Carroll County Courthouse shootout, […]

On this episode of Stories, Rod tells the story of Dickenson County native Shifty Powers, World War II vet who was one of several men whose lives were portrayed in the HBO series, “Band of Brothers.” You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on your iPhone podcast app. If you have an Android […]

This week we bring you the story of what happened after the massacre at Matewan, West Virginia, when striking coal miners set off the largest and bloodiest labor revolt in American history. It’s the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain, part of the history of Appalachia. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the podcast, we tell you about one of the worst winter storms to ever hit the Appalachian region. Over Thanksgiving weekend of 1950, Pennsylvania and New York saw record flooding, parts of West Virginia saw five feet of snow, there were tornadoes and heavy rain on the eastern side of the […]

On this episode of Stories, Steve tells the story of the state that might have been, the State of Franklin. Consisting of the current East Tennessee counties of Washington, Sullivan, Greene, Unicoi, Carter, Johnson, Hawkins, Hancock, Cocke and Sevier, the state was one of two mountain areas that declared their independence, the other being Vermont. […]

On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the story of the birth of country music in what has been called “The Big Bang of country music.” It’s the story of how a New York record engineer and producer found his way to Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee and discovered the sound of gold in the […]