Stories of Appalachia

Doris Payne was born in 1930 to a coal miner in Slab Fork, West Virginia. She didn't stay there. In fact, she ended up traveling the world for decades pursuing her chosen path in life. International jewel thief. Today we tell her story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Spotify, IHeart Radio, or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening!

In the late 19th century a man from Stoney Creek, in Johnson County, Tennessee, went West to seek his fortune. He found that fortune. He then lost that fortune and in the process decided that he no longer wanted the company of his fellow man, so he took what money he had left and purchased the top of an East Tennessee mountain on which to live, with his faithful dog and, for a time, with a pet rat...

In 1919 a wave of riots and lynchings occurred across America, fueled in part by a fear of communism and communist agitation among minorites and in part by fear of battle-hardened African-American soldiers returning from service in World War I not complying with Jim Crow laws in the south. Appalachia was not immune to this wave. In the summer of 1919 a mob swept through downtown Knoxville, Tenness...

Years before European settlers moved into Appalachia, native tribes from Alabama to Ohio spoke of going to war with a mysterious race of pale-skinned people who were so sensitive to sunlight they only came out at night. These "moon-eyed" people were forced from Alabama into North Carolina, then to Tennessee and Kentucky before being driven out west of the Mississippi River. Today we tell the legen...

Today we bring you part of the end of an era of public executions in Appalachia, which had, in many cases, turned into an excuse for a carnival, with vendors selling food and drink (much of it the hard stuff) and children brought in for a day with a picnic and other family activities, prior to the hanging itself. Our first story comes from Wilkes County, North Carolina, where an alleged horse thie...

One of the biggest moonshiners (literally) in Appalachia was a Melungeon woman from Newman's Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. She lived an interesting life, providing shine in many ways, including from a hollow tree. To find out more, give this week's episode a listen! You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Stitcher, Goodpods or on your favorite podcast a...

The 1920s were a decade of loosening morals, Prohibition and crime, with notorious outlaws popping up across America. Along with the likes of Al Capone, John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde was a home-grown Appalachian outlaw whose exploits made headlines across the South. Today we tell the story of Appalachian outlaw Kinnie Wagner, from Scott County, Virginia. You can subscribe to the Stories podc...

In 1911 Devil Anse Hatfield’s sons Troy and Elias were in Fayette County running a bar, which was doing quite well. They had established their liquor and beer territory thanks to agreements with the competition and things looked bright…until someone with ties to the Italian-American miners’ community decided to compete with them. Things did not turn out well. Today we tell the story of the last gu...

We've told stories of moonshiners; we've even interviewed one of them. Today we're going to tell the story of untaxed whiskey from the other side, that of the federal revenue agent, or revenuer. One of those agents was well-known in the hills and hollers of Kentucky, the legendary Big Six. Today we tell his story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audib...

A man from Anderson County, Tennessee, had developed a reputation as being a bit strange, going on about all those visions he had after his wife left him years before. One vision, though, led many people to decide that maybe they'd misjudged him. Today we tell the story of John Hendrix, the prophet of Appalachia. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitch...

In 1892 a West Virginia hermit living high above the Cheat River announced to the world that he had an invention: a suit that would allow him to fly above the forests and mountains of Appalachia just like the hawks that lived there. If only he had a little more money to finish his invention... Today we tell the story of the Appalachian "Bat-Man." You can subcribe to the Stories podcast at Spotify,...

To many the word "Appalachia" is synonymous with the word "hillbilly," for better or for worse. Often used as a derogatory term by non-residents of the region, many here have adopted "hillbilly" with defiant pride. Today we're going to tell a bit of the history of that word, which involves religion, war, and a famous British king and queen. Quite the story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast...

After the Civil War fine hotels were built all along the mountain range that separated North Carolina and Tennessee, each one grander than the last, a sort of Guilded Age race between the wealthy hotel operators flooding into the region. There were many of these fine hotels, from the Wonderland Hotel to Unaka Springs to the Cloudland Hotel. That last hotel had one advantage the others didn't. It s...

It is Christmas week, folks, so join us as we talk about Old Christmas and some Appalachian Christmas folklore. Merry Christmas, all!

Christmas Eve, 1924, started like Christmas Eve always had, with people getting ready for family gatherings, caroling, and opening presents the next morning. That's not what ended up happening in Saltville, Virginia, that night. Instead, the town suffered through a literal nightmare of caustic muck, debris, death and destruction as an alkali plant's muck dam collapsed, sending a massive wave down...

When you say "feud" anywhere in America, what comes to most folks' minds are the names "Hatfield" and "McCoy." That notorious feud has been the stuff of legend not just in Appalachia but all across America as well. But that feud eventually burnt itself out. So what happened to Devil Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy after that? Well, for one thing, did you know that Devil Anse Hatfield went on the v...

In the early part of the 19th century, a woman was arrested for the gruesome murder of her husband in what's now Mitchell County, North Carolina. Some said she acted in jealousy, others say she reacted to ongoing spousal abuse to protect herself and her baby daughter. Today we tell the story of Frankie Silver, the first woman to be hanged in North Carolina.

On a few nights in October, 1973 all over Appalachia, from Ohio to Tennessee, there was a wave of UFO sightings and reports of attempted abductions. Today we tell that story. If you like our stories of Appalachian history, you might want to subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss an episode. You can do that at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, PlayerFM or on your own favorit...

In the late 1940's a man who went by the name of Ernest I. Torrence traveled across Appalachia, from Georgia to Pennsylvania, seeking his true love. Unfortunately for the women he met, his true love was not them, but their money. Today we tell the tale of a smooth-talking Appalachian con man, who targeted women through the lonely hearts clubs ads in newspapers all around the region. You can subscr...

Earlier this summer we took our YouTube viewers to the area around Fontana Lake to show them a road that was promised but never fully built. On today's podcast episode, we're going to tell the story of what's come to be known as the "Road to Nowhere." You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Goodpods, Audible, Stitcher, and on most other podcast apps. Thanks for listen...

Building a railroad in Appalachia after the Civil War was always a hard, back-breaking effort. But in the very rugged mountains of Western North Carolina, which contained the tallest mountains east of the Mississippi River, it was deadly. Today we tell the story of the building of the Western North Carolina Railroad. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, G...

In 1925 a man from Coal Creek, Tennessee, named Condy Dabney came to Harlan County, Kentucky, looking for work down in the mines. He soon tired of that work and started a taxi service that shuttled folks around Harlan and other towns in the county. Things were looking bright for Mr. Dabney, until he was arrested and charged with killing a 14-year-old girl who it was said had taken a ride in his ca...

Back during the Great Depression East Tennessee was visited by a mysterious beast, a large dog with, some say, glowing red eyes. This dog, called the Witch Dog by some, terrorized farms in the region. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the Witch Dog vanished, never to be seen again. Today we bring you the story of the Witch Dog, in honor of Halloween... You can subscribe to the Stories podcast...

Every now and then there appears a man or woman with a sense of the true importance of the culture of Appalachia. Bascom Lamar Lunsford was one of those people. Trained as a teacher and as a lawyer, Lunsford not only taught and practiced law in Western North Carolina, he also spent time as a fruit tree salesman, a beekeeper, a newspaper publisher, and an auctioneer, among other pursuits. But it wa...

In 1935 a young Appalachian teacher from Pound, Virginia, was arrested for the murder of her abusive father. The trials that followed attracted the attention of the national press, which chose, as it always does, to portray Appalachia as a land of ignorant, backward and poor folks while they focused on the more lurid details of the case. Today we tell the story of Edith Maxwell. You can subscribe...