Stories of Appalachia

Russell Bean was the son of William Bean and his wife, Lydia, the first people to settle in what's now Tennessee and for whom Bean Station is named. Russell, considered the first child of European descent to be born in the future Tennessee, was a large, strong man with a temper who most folks avoided that temper came to a boil. Andrew Jackson was a judge on the Tennessee Superior Court, hearing ca...

In the 1880s and 1890s a bloody feud was happening across two Appalachian counties, with conflicts over hogs, shootings, ambushes, cabins set on fire and the threat of the governor to call in the state militia to stop it. This feud was NOT between the Hatfield and McCoy families in Kentucky and West Virginia. This one was about a hundred miles to the southwest, in Hancock and Hawkins counties in T...

After the Civil War, as the South lay in ruins, a group of freedmen decided to depart the Mississippi plantation on which they had been held as slaves in search of a promised land. They found it...in the mountains of Appalachia. Come along with us as we tell the story of one of the first successful black communities in the south, the Kingdom of the Happy Land. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories p...

Billy Dean Anderson was born in Fentress County, Tennessee, and, by all accounts, lived a normal law-abiding life as he grew up, even becoming a volunteer preacher in his church. Then it all went horribly wrong. He and some other men held up a theater in Jamestown, beginning a life of crime in two states. He eventually made the FBI most wanted list. This is his story. Be sure to subscribe to the S...

After the Civil War a young man bought Cherry Mountain in Rutherford County, North Carolina and used the wild cherries found there to add flavor to his distilled product, illegal of course, that became a runaway hit. Not only was his distinctive "Cherry Bounce" popular in his part of Appalachia, but it was also the favored beverage on riverboats from Cincinnati to New Orleans! Today we tell the st...

John Romulus Brinkley was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, to a former Confederate medic and his housekeeper. From those humble beginnings young Brinkley grew up to become a traveling "Quaker doctor," a medical huckster and conman in both Knoxville, Tennessee and Greenville, South Carolina, a student at several "eclectic medical schools," a successful surgeon in Kansas, renowned for his "goat g...

Joe Brown was a hell-raiser, thug and violent alcoholic who terrorized the town of Whitmer, West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century. He did, that is, until he went a step too far. That, folks, is our story today. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss any of our stories of Appalachia. Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories...

On January 3, 1921, a massive fire broke out at the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston. Not a big deal, you might be thinking, fires happen all the time. This one, though, had a twist or three, as you'll find out. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast, at Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Audible or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening and for sharing our...

On December 30, 1881, 30 convicts, along with their guards, were shackled and deposited on the banks of the Tuckaseegee River near Dillboro, North Carolina, with a job to do: cross the river in a boat and then start digging out the Cowee Tunnel for the Western North Carolina Railroad. 19 of the 30 didn't make it across alive. Today we tell that tragic story. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories pod...

In the early 1900's a young mother in Polk County, North Carolina, had a decision to make. She had separated from her abusive husband and had several young children to feed, house and clothe, with very few job prospects. So she started her own business...moonshining. Bettie Simms was good at that chosen profession but, as so often happens, she had a run-in with the law. Today we tell the story of...

With Christmas fast approaching, Rod and Steve talk about the history and the folklore behind Christmas in Appalachia... You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PlayerFM, Spreaker, Audible or on your favorite podcast app, whatever that might be. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, y'all!

David Crockett Beaty was a farmer in Fentress County, Tennessee...until the start of the Civil War. He became a guerrilla fighter in that war, on the side of the Union, with his most well-known rebel counterpart being Champ Ferguson, with whom he had a running war all its own. Today we tell the story of Tinker Dave Beaty, Union guerrilla/outlaw. Be sure to subscribe on our YouTube channel or on yo...

In 1902 coal miners struck the mines along the New River, seeking better wages and better working conditions. The strike continued until February 25, 1903, when a massive gun battle broke out between miners and coal company men, including detectives from the Baldwin-Felts agency and local law enforcement. The battle was fierce, with both sides exchanging gunfire for approximately five minutes. Man...

In 1843 a prominent man in Jamestown, Tennessee, distributed a broadsheet, under an assumed name, accusing the wife of a tavern owner of being, among other sordid things, a "witch of the most extraordinary power." That, as you can imagine, led to legal action in the Fentress County courts. Today we tell the story of the Fentress County witch, another one of the Stories of Appalachia! Be sure to su...

Granny women were the healers and caretakers of folks in Appalachia, dispensing folk remedies, serving as midwives, and even dousing for water. These women were essential in rural Appalachia, where doctors and hospitals were scarce. Today we tell the story of one of these women, Orlean Hawk Puckett, from Carroll County, Virginia, known for being a midwife responsible for helping to bring over a th...

At the turn of the 20th century a wealthy and politically connected man from Grainger County, Tennessee, lost a lawsuit filed by a widow and was ordered to pay her a sum of money. Failing to do that, the court ordered a sale of some lumber this man owed, which was bought by a blacksmith in the community of Thorn Hill. Out of this came two murders, a prison sentence, a feud, and a deadly gun battle...

In 1914 a series of massive explosions occurred in the Eccles Mine No. 5 near Eccles, West Virginia in Raleigh County, West Virginia, leaving over 180 men and boys dead, including an insurance salesman who had the bad luck of making a call on the miners that day. Today we tell the story of West Virginia's second-worst mine disaster. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, Apple Po...

At the turn of the 20th century a young woman named Cora Wilson Stewart was hired as an elementary school teacher, later becoming Rowan County school superintendent. Fifteen years later she began a program that has since spread across the country: the idea of adult education for those who needed it. Today we tell her story and the story of the schools she founded, the Moonlight Schools of eastern...

Today we tell the story of one of the 20th century's most brilliant mathematicians, born in Bluefield, West Virginia, and the subject of the movie "A Beautiful Mind," John Forbes Nash, Jr. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, Audible, PlayerFM, Goodpods (where we're #34 on their Top 100 Indie Documentary Podcasts of all time!) or wherever you get your p...

Thomas David Carr was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1846. After a childhood marked by abuse, a prison term at age 8 and an attemped poisoning of one of his "acquaintances," Carr joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. As he traveled with his unit, and by his own admission, Carr left a string of murders in his wake, culminating with the brutal murder of a 13-year-old girl who spur...

Sanctified Hill was a section of Cumberland, Kentucky, where many retired African American miners and their families resided in homes many had built themselves. In 1972 heavy rains fell across Appalachia, resulting in flooding and, in the case of Sanctified Hill, a terrible disaster. Today we tell that story. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast...we're on your favorite podcast app. We're a...

Around the turn of the 20th century a man charged with murder escaped from the Scott County, Virginia, jail and headed to Texas. He likely would have spent the rest of his life there but for an accident. A real accident, involving a train. Today we tell the story of a man whose demand for justice from the railroad company led to his own reckoning back home. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podc...

Rising tensions along the Appalachian frontier culminated with what's called "Lord Dunmore's War," named after the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore. That conflict came to a head with a battle in 1774 at Point Pleasant in what's now West Virginia, in which Dunmore's forces battled the Shawnee warriors under Chief Cornstalk. Today we tell that story. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podca...

Our story of the West Virginia Mine Wars continues at Matewan, West Virginia, where a famous gun battle left several mine company hired guards dead, along with the town mayor, among others. The fighting was so fierce, many townsfolk fled across the Tug Fork into Kentucky, seeking safety. This battle also set the stage for the climax of the mine wars: the Battle of Blair Mountain. Be sure to subscr...

On April 5, 1872, the last man to be hanged in Fentress County, Tennessee, was said to have made three eerie predictions, all of which came true. Today we tell the story of Cal Logston, a convicted murderer who is said to have foretold events up to a hundred years in the future. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast. We're at Spreaker.com or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening...