History
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series Driving north on Interstate 77 near Wytheville, VA, just before where the highway crosses the New River, stands a tower made from field stone: The Jackson Ferry Shot Tower. For more than 30 years, until 1839, the Tower manufactured lead shot. It played a key role…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series Another Valentine’s Day looms ahead. Some young ladies will be expecting gifts; some young men will hustle at the last minute to grab flowers or candy or secure a coveted dinner reservation. Others, perhaps, will be carefully crafting the perfect message for an online dating profile…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series The wind tore through the brakeman’s jacket as he inched along the top of a freight car, his boots skidding slightly on the frosted steel. Below him, the Blue Ridge Mountains stretched out in waves, shrouded in a foggy mist. The train groaned and shuddered as…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series The breaker boys’ story is one of stark contrasts: the innocence of childhood stolen by the grit and grime of industrial labor. Imagine being eight years old, bent over a conveyor belt, fingers raw and aching from hours of picking slate out of coal. The air…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series Imagine a quilt hanging on a clothesline, fluttering gently in the breeze. To a casual observer, it’s just a piece of fabric, a practical household item airing out in the sun. But for some, it might have been a covert message—a guide to freedom for those…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series I’m not a hillbilly, but I can sure sound like one when I want to. I grew up around Washington, DC, in a family of Appalachian Southerners. Their accent rolled off my tongue like gravy over biscuits. Over the years, I’ve worked hard to overcome my…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series In the heart of Appalachia, when winter settles deep into the valleys and the mountains stand quiet under a blanket of frost, a different kind of Christmas takes place. While most of the world celebrates on December 25, some Appalachian communities hold on to a much…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series During the Civil War, the lines between soldier and outlaw blurred in the mountains of Appalachia, where men like Champ Ferguson thrived. Ferguson wasn’t a typical Confederate soldier; he was a guerrilla fighter, leading a small band of men in bloody raids that left a trail…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series There’s little difference between the raging hormones of teen romance and the frantic mating rituals of beasts. Hearts race, tempers flare, and decisions are made in the heat of the moment. The rules of teen romance are firm: Stay away from my guy. Don’t mess with…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series Before the days of welfare programs and safety nets, communities had to find ways to care for their most vulnerable. Appalachia was no different. Scattered throughout the hills and valleys of this rugged region, poorhouse farms were an essential part of the social fabric, though rarely…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series When you think about Prohibition-era rum runners, the image of a fast-talking, fast-driving man usually comes to mind. But in the hills of Virginia, one woman stood out above all the men: Willie Carter Sharpe. Born in Floyd County in the early 1900s, Willie was destined…
An installment in our Appalachian History and Culture series In the final, desperate years of the Civil War, Confederate desertion rates soared. Exhausted and disillusioned soldiers, many of whom had been away from home for years, abandoned their posts, driven by the desperate hope of reuniting with their families and escaping the brutality of war….