Stories of Appalachia

In the 1880's and early 1890's Harlan County, Kentucky was the scene for one of the most notorious feuds aside from the one between the Hatfields and McCoys. Two prominent families, the Howards and the Turners, and their allies, fought to avenge wrongs inflicted by the other side, for control of the county and for control of the local whiskey trade. Harlan itself was the scene of gun battles, murd...

On January 7, 1938, a blast rocked the little community of Hampton, Tennessee. After the smoke cleared, the home of Harmon and Pauline Gouge was in ruins, their three daughters lay dead, and Pauline Gouge was in a coma. On this episode of the Stories podcast, Steve and Rod tell the story of this bit of Appalachian history.

During the post-Civil War coal boom in West Virginia, many new towns were founded to serve the coal industry and the railroads that hauled that coal to market. One of these towns was Thurmond, founded by a former Confederate captain of Thurmond's Rangers which was based in the area. Along with those towns came hotels to accomodate visitors and businessmen. In Thurmond one of those hotels gained qu...

Talt Hall had a very interesting life. Born and raised in eastern Kentucky, he had been a Confederate soldier, a deputy sheriff, a U. S. Marshal, a feudist, a railroad employee and a traveler who lived in various places across the country. He was also alleged to have killed nearly a hundred men in his lifetime. He was tried for 6 of those killings over the years and was acquitted of 5 of them. It...

During the Civil War a man from Kentucky who had moved to Tennessee joined the Confederate side as a guerrilla fighter. Due to his extreme anger issues he soon became a Confederate vigilante, killing anyone he knew who had any connections with the Union. It was an infamous incident at a Confederate hospital in Saltville, Virginia, that resulted in his capture and arrest by Confederate authorities...

A man's family in the Smoky Mountains community of Cade's Cove is torn apart by the Civil War, with tragic results for him. Today we share that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Audacy, Goodpods, Audible, or on your favorite podcast app.

In the 1920s residents of Maryville, in Blount County, Tennessee, were living in fear of being the victim of a violent home invasion by a mysterious man known as the Night Marauder. One man was arrested and charged with being the Night Marauder, Will Sheffey, and he was put on trial for several sexual assaults and two murders. Today we tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at A...

On November 20, 1968, there was a massive explosion at the Consol number 9 mine near Farmington, West Virginia. This explosion resulted in the death of scores of miners, including the uncle of a current U. S. senator from West Virginia. It also spurred the passage of mine safety legislation by Congress to lessen the chances of another such mine explosion. Today we tell that story.

From its beginnings in a former church, the Barter Theater has become the premiere theatrical destination in Appalachia, starting the careers of many a Broadway and Hollywood actor. Today we tell the story of the Barter and the man whose vision made it possible. Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our podcast with your friends.

In the Washington Irving story, Rip Van Winkle partakes in some boozy fun in the Catskill Mountains in New York, then falls asleep for 20 years, waking to find the world completely changed. That story was a fantasy tale. Today we have the true story of a woman who, like old Rip, fell asleep one night in 1936 and didn't wake up until 1948 to a world turned upside down. Thanks for listening to our s...

Every place has a name, and every name has its story...including the tourist destination of the Smokey Mountains, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Listen as we tell you the very interesting story of how White Oak Flats became Gatlinburg! Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends...

In the 1880's there was a feud between the Turner and Howard families in Harlan County, Kentucky, almost as notorious as the one going on between the Hatfields and the McCoys a couple of counties to the east at the same time. One of the feudists, Wilson, or Wils, Howard was alleged to have killed seven men in that feud and he left Harlan for Missouri, then on to California, as a result. Mr. Howard...

Back in the 1940s Roy Acuff was at the top of his game. He was a country music star with such hits as "The Great Speckled Bird" and "The Wabash Cannonball" under his belt; he was appearing in the movies, and he was one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ol' Opry. In 1948, Mr. Acuff tried to attain one more goal: the office of Governor of the State of Tennessee. Today we tell you that story. If you...

Isabella Marie Boyd, better known to history as Belle Boyd, was a notorious rebel spy during the Civil War who used her wiles to obtain Union secrets which she then passed on to the Confederate government. Today we tell the story of this woman, who was born in what's now West Virginia. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Audible, Goodpods, Audacy, Spotif...

Lawyer, politician, Confederate general, land developer, promoter of coal and the founder of the town of Damascus, Virginia. All these jobs were held by one man for whom a mine and a coal camp were also named: General John D. Imboden. Today we tell his story. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening!

It's been said that there is a mine somewhere in Appalachia, in which a vein of the highest quality silver can be found. And it's located...well, that's the problem. Nobody knows where this supposed silver mine can be found. Today we tell the story of the legendary Swift's Silver Mine.

Early in 1940 two middle-aged sisters and a teen-aged boy who did odd jobs for them were brutally murdered in their home in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. These killings were unsolved for over 60 years. Today we tell that story.

On November 23, 1931, 20-year-old Zachary Smith Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was divorced from his first wife. Six days later he married his second wife, Broadway showgirl Libby Holman, and six months later he was dead from a gunshot wound that may or may not have been self-inflicted. This was a tragedy, magnified in the media by the fact that Smith was the youngest son of tobacco ma...

In 1965 a Kentucky widow managed to drive the coal company from her land with what was called a "sit-in," an early use of peaceful civil disobedience in Appalachia. Today we tell the story of Ollie Combs of Knott County, Kentucky, and her fight to save her farm from strip-mining. Thanks for listening!

A jilted young man came over the mountains from North Carolina to Tennessee, intent on spending the rest of his life alone on a mountaintop. This he did, along with developing his own moral code, rewriting the U. S. Constitution, and killing a man, among other things. Today we tell the story of David (Hog) Greer, of Big Bald Mountain. Thanks for listening!

Many years ago, before the first settlers had arrived on the Appalachian frontier of what's now West Virginia and far southwestern Virginia, it's told that a long hunter and his son spent some time hunting and trapping, gathering meat and furs to take back home to their farm in North Carolina. That trip turned out to be one not soon forgotten, for they encountered...something. And that something h...

In 1788 the fate of the State of Franklin was uncertain. North Carolina had re-exerted control over the area, appointing judges, sheriffs and other state and county officials, and residents of the area were divided between supporters of Franklin and supporters of North Carolina. Everything came to a head early in 1788 at the John Tipton farm in Washington County, Franklin/North Carolina. Today we...

We've told the stories of businessmen in Appalachia, all with their own colorful history, folks from Cas Walker to Virgil Q. Wacks. But they take a back seat to an Asheville businessman who took pushing boundaries to a whole new level. Today we tell the story of who the newspapers of the 1920's called "Asheville's Ponzi," Scott Dillingham.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, struck against the coal operators for better pay and better working conditions. These strikes often turned violent and gun battles were common. Today we tell the story of the Harlan County coal war of the 1930s.

Today we tell the story of one of the most successful musicians to come from Southwest Virginia: Dr. Ralph Stanley, from Dickenson County. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Audacy, Audible, Goodpods, RadioPublic, or on your own favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening to our stories!