Appalachian History Within the coalfields of Appalachia, the mountains rise like folded hands and every hollow carries the memory of a miner’s working breath. Life here has always been shaped by the mines — by what they give, what they take, and what they demand of the people who live beneath their shadow. The Daughters of Mother Jones knew this, and bravely stood beside the miners.

Appalachian History  Within the coalfields of Appalachia, the mountains rise like folded hands and every hollow carries the memory of a miner’s working breath. Life here has always been shaped by the mines — by what they give, what they take, and what they demand of the people who live beneath their shadow. The Daughters of Mother Jones knew this, and bravely stood beside the miners.

Daughters of Mother Jones: The Pittston Coal Strike (1989)

Appalachian History Setting the stage in Western North Carolina By the spring of 1865, war in North Carolina had fractured into scattered columns, couriers, and rumors. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had agreed to surrender terms to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on April 26 at Bennett Place, yet in the mountains the situation remained fluid. Confederate forces in the Western District under Brig. Gen.

Appalachian History Setting the stage in Western North Carolina   By the spring of 1865, war in North Carolina had fractured into scattered columns, couriers, and rumors. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had agreed to surrender terms to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on April 26 at Bennett Place, yet in the mountains the situation remained fluid. Confederate forces in the Western District under Brig. Gen.

Waynesville, 1865: Martin’s Surrender and the “Last Shot” Legend

Appalachian Figures James and Virginia Vinson welcomed their son, Frederick “Fred” M. Vinson, on January 22, 1890. He was born in a small brick house located directly across from the Lawrence County jail, where his father worked as the local jailer. Vinson attended school in Louisa, Kentucky, before enrolling at Kentucky Normal School.

Appalachian Figures  James and Virginia Vinson welcomed their son, Frederick “Fred” M. Vinson, on January 22, 1890. He was born in a small brick house located directly across from the Lawrence County jail, where his father worked as the local jailer. Vinson attended school in Louisa, Kentucky, before enrolling at Kentucky Normal School.

The Story of Frederick M. Vinson of Lawrence, Kentucky

Appalachian History What happened At daybreak on April 30, 1863, Union Col. Abel D. Streight’s provisional brigade was pushing east along Sand Mountain when Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s pursuing cavalry struck the column’s rear at Day’s Gap in present-day Cullman County. The Federals stood, repulsed the first assaults, and kept moving.

Appalachian History What happened   At daybreak on April 30, 1863, Union Col. Abel D. Streight’s provisional brigade was pushing east along Sand Mountain when Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s pursuing cavalry struck the column’s rear at Day’s Gap in present-day Cullman County. The Federals stood, repulsed the first assaults, and kept moving.

Day’s Gap, April 30, 1863: Forrest Catches Streight on Sand Mountain

Appalachian History Series Why the cove mattered In the spring of 1864 Ulysses S. Grant pushed on all fronts in Virginia. One prong sent Brigadier General George Crook to wreck the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad at Dublin Depot and to burn the big railroad bridge over the New River at Central Depot, today’s Radford.

Appalachian History Series Why the cove mattered   In the spring of 1864 Ulysses S. Grant pushed on all fronts in Virginia. One prong sent Brigadier General George Crook to wreck the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad at Dublin Depot and to burn the big railroad bridge over the New River at Central Depot, today’s Radford.

Cove Mountain, May 10, 1864

Appalachian History Series A company town takes shape In 1916 Pocahontas Fuel established a new camp on the Guyandotte and named it for company president Isaac T. Mann. Within a short time Itmann gained pre cut houses, two early frame stores, a theater, and segregated schools. The store site was graded in 1917 in anticipation of a larger, permanent building that would anchor the town.

Appalachian History Series

A company town takes shape In 1916 Pocahontas Fuel established a new camp on the Guyandotte and named it for company president Isaac T. Mann. Within a short time Itmann gained pre cut houses, two early frame stores, a theater, and segregated schools. The store site was graded in 1917 in anticipation of a larger, permanent building that would anchor the town.

Itmann Company Store and Office: Pocahontas Fuel’s stone citadel in Wyoming County

Appalachian History On a cold Saturday morning in Anderson County, Tennessee, the Knoxville Iron Company’s Cross Mountain Mine No. 1 blew apart and turned the little coal town of Briceville into a scene of grief and rescue work that lasted ten long days. Eighty-four miners were dead, yet five men emerged alive after fifty-eight hours behind a hastily built barricade.

Appalachian History  On a cold Saturday morning in Anderson County, Tennessee, the Knoxville Iron Company’s Cross Mountain Mine No. 1 blew apart and turned the little coal town of Briceville into a scene of grief and rescue work that lasted ten long days. Eighty-four miners were dead, yet five men emerged alive after fifty-eight hours behind a hastily built barricade.

Five Lived Behind a Wall: The Cross Mountain Mine Disaster of 1911

Abandoned Appalachia Just off Lexington Road in Clark County, Kentucky, stands remnants of a local landmark that once shined along the stars in the summer nights—the Sky Vue Twin Drive-In. The gates opened in 1949 at the drive-in welcoming moviegoers of all kinds to a shared space of laughter, wonder, and small-town connection.

Abandoned Appalachia  Just off Lexington Road in Clark County, Kentucky, stands remnants of a local landmark that once shined along the stars in the summer nights—the Sky Vue Twin Drive-In. The gates opened in 1949 at the drive-in welcoming moviegoers of all kinds to a shared space of laughter, wonder, and small-town connection.

Abandoned Appalachia: Skyvue Twin Drive-In of Clark County

Appalachian Figures In the piney woods of Kemper County, the mill town of Electric Mills once advertised itself as the brightest town south of St. Louis. Built around a fully electric lumber mill, it had its own hospital, theater, and even company currency before the trees gave out and the town slowly emptied. From that fading industrial outpost came a girl who would spend nearly three decades in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Appalachian Figures  In the piney woods of Kemper County, the mill town of Electric Mills once advertised itself as the brightest town south of St. Louis. Built around a fully electric lumber mill, it had its own hospital, theater, and even company currency before the trees gave out and the town slowly emptied. From that fading industrial outpost came a girl who would spend nearly three decades in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

The Story of Betty Jane Long from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Figures On a warm May day in 1865, at Meridian, Mississippi, a Confederate cavalry colonel from tiny Scooba stood in line and signed his name to defeat.

Appalachian Figures

On a warm May day in 1865, at Meridian, Mississippi, a Confederate cavalry colonel from tiny Scooba stood in line and signed his name to defeat.

The Story of Colonel Robert O. Perrin from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Figures A reformer with a lawyer’s pen In 1903 Pennsylvania adopted one of the nation’s sturdier tenement-house codes for its “cities of the second class,” the statutory category that included Pittsburgh. The law did not fall from the sky.

Appalachian Figures A reformer with a lawyer’s pen   In 1903 Pennsylvania adopted one of the nation’s sturdier tenement-house codes for its “cities of the second class,” the statutory category that included Pittsburgh. The law did not fall from the sky.

The Story of Lucy Dorsey from Oakland, Maryland

Appalachian Figures A Garrett County life Darvin C. Moon grew up and worked around Oakland, Maryland, in the western Panhandle at the foot of Backbone Mountain. He built a small logging operation with family, played home-game tournaments at places like the Elks Lodge, and preferred the quiet of the woods to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

Appalachian Figures A Garrett County life   Darvin C. Moon grew up and worked around Oakland, Maryland, in the western Panhandle at the foot of Backbone Mountain. He built a small logging operation with family, played home-game tournaments at places like the Elks Lodge, and preferred the quiet of the woods to the bright lights of Las Vegas.

The Story of Darvin Moon from Oakland, Maryland

Appalachian Figures Garrett County’s lake country is a long way from the coasts that usually make American sailing history. Yet in the late 1950s a small shop near Deep Creek Lake began turning out a 19-foot dinghy that families still race across the United States. Designer Gordon K. “Sandy” Douglass brought his know-how to Western Maryland;

Appalachian Figures  Garrett County’s lake country is a long way from the coasts that usually make American sailing history. Yet in the late 1950s a small shop near Deep Creek Lake began turning out a 19-foot dinghy that families still race across the United States. Designer Gordon K. “Sandy” Douglass brought his know-how to Western Maryland;

The Story of Sandy Douglass from Oakland, Maryland

Appalachian Figures Boyd Davis Clay grew up in Hohenwald (Lewis County), Tennessee, and became a standout lineman at DuPont Highin the Nashville area before heading to the University of Tennessee. Decades later, The Tennessean included him in its “Nashville’s next 50 greatest high school football players,” a nod to the reputation he built before college.

Appalachian Figures Boyd Davis Clay grew up in Hohenwald (Lewis County), Tennessee, and became a standout lineman at DuPont Highin the Nashville area before heading to the University of Tennessee. Decades later,

 The Tennessean

included him in its “Nashville’s next 50 greatest high school football players,” a nod to the reputation he built before college.

The Story of Boyd Clay from Hohenwald, Tennessee

This is the Second in a series exploring once-thriving Appalachian towns left behind by shifting energy markets and changing times.

Abandoned Appalachia Series
 

– The Beschman (Putney) Lookout Tower of Harlan County High on Pine Mountain’s crest in eastern Kentucky, a rusted steel skeleton stands watch over the ridges: the Beschman Lookout Tower, better known by its local name — the Putney Fire Tower.

Abandoned Appalachia: The Beschman (Putney) Lookout Tower of Harlan County

Appalachian Figures Introduction Robert Burns “Bob” Conley was born in Mousie, Knott County, on February 1, 1934. He reached the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies in September 1958, starting two games in five days. His brief stay still matters here because it shows how a mountain kid from a small bend of Troublesome Creek climbed all the way to a big league mound.

Appalachian Figures Introduction   Robert Burns “Bob” Conley was born in Mousie, Knott County, on February 1, 1934. He reached the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies in September 1958, starting two games in five days. His brief stay still matters here because it shows how a mountain kid from a small bend of Troublesome Creek climbed all the way to a big league mound.

The Story of Bob Conley from Knott, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Leila Feltner Begley’s time as Kentucky’s Secretary of State was short, but the paper trail she left behind is unusually clear. Appointed by Governor Louie B. Nunn after the death of her husband and predecessor, Elmer Begley, she served through the fall of 1970 into early 1971.

Appalachian Figures  Leila Feltner Begley’s time as Kentucky’s Secretary of State was short, but the paper trail she left behind is unusually clear. Appointed by Governor Louie B. Nunn after the death of her husband and predecessor, Elmer Begley, she served through the fall of 1970 into early 1971.

The Story of Leila Begley from Hyden, Kentucky

Appalachian Historian A mountain childhood “I know that you were born in Cumberland, Kentucky in 1931,” the interviewer begins. “I grew up in that little town in the Depression,” Betty Lentz Siegel replies, then sketches the geography of her Harlan County world: the market town of Cumberland, flanked by the company coal towns of Benham and Lynch just up the mountain toward Virginia.

Appalachian Historian A mountain childhood   “I know that you were born in Cumberland, Kentucky in 1931,” the interviewer begins. “I grew up in that little town in the Depression,” Betty Lentz Siegel replies, then sketches the geography of her Harlan County world: the market town of Cumberland, flanked by the company coal towns of Benham and Lynch just up the mountain toward Virginia.

The Story of Betty Siegel from Cumberland, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures A coal camp beginning Clara Juanita Morris was born in Lynch, Kentucky, a model company town built by the U.S. Coal &amp; Coke Company, a U.S. Steel subsidiary. Lynch rose quickly after 1917 with stone public buildings, graded streets, schools, a hospital, and a massive coal tipple.

Appalachian Figures A coal camp beginning   Clara Juanita Morris was born in Lynch, Kentucky, a model company town built by the U.S. Coal &amp; Coke Company, a U.S. Steel subsidiary. Lynch rose quickly after 1917 with stone public buildings, graded streets, schools, a hospital, and a massive coal tipple.

The Story of Juanita Kreps from Lynch, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Leland Eugene “Hammer” Byrd began life in the coal camp of Lynch, Kentucky, and grew up in Matoaka, West Virginia. He reached Morgantown in 1944 as a left-handed forward, became one of West Virginia University’s earliest hardwood stars, and later helped steer college athletics through a transformative era as an athletic director and conference leader.

Appalachian Figures  Leland Eugene “Hammer” Byrd began life in the coal camp of Lynch, Kentucky, and grew up in Matoaka, West Virginia. He reached Morgantown in 1944 as a left-handed forward, became one of West Virginia University’s earliest hardwood stars, and later helped steer college athletics through a transformative era as an athletic director and conference leader.

The Story of Leland Byrd from Lynch, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures On paper Charles Counts was a potter. In practice he was a builder of communities who linked clay, quilts, and economic hope from the Kentucky coalfields to the hills of north Georgia and classrooms in northern Nigeria.

Appalachian Figures  On paper Charles Counts was a potter. In practice he was a builder of communities who linked clay, quilts, and economic hope from the Kentucky coalfields to the hills of north Georgia and classrooms in northern Nigeria.

The Story of Charles Counts from Lynch, Kentucky

Appalachian History Jenkins, in Letcher County, started life as a model coal town planned and built by Consolidation Coal Company in the years just before the First World War. Company brick offices, a recreation building, churches, and schools rose almost at the same pace as tipples and rows of miners’ houses.

Appalachian History  Jenkins, in Letcher County, started life as a model coal town planned and built by Consolidation Coal Company in the years just before the First World War. Company brick offices, a recreation building, churches, and schools rose almost at the same pace as tipples and rows of miners’ houses.

Mary Jo Wolfe and the Jenkins Public Library: A Coal Town’s Book Legacy

Appalachian Figures Born in Hyden in Leslie County in 1934, Jim Morgan became a hardwood star at Dayton’s Stivers High School and the University of Louisville, then chose the classroom over the NBA before crafting a second, celebrated career as a thoroughbred trainer in Ohio. He died in Dayton in 2019 at age 85. From Hyden to Dayton Morgan’s family left the Hyden area for Dayton in the early 1940s.

Appalachian Figures  Born in Hyden in Leslie County in 1934, Jim Morgan became a hardwood star at Dayton’s Stivers High School and the University of Louisville, then chose the classroom over the NBA before crafting a second, celebrated career as a thoroughbred trainer in Ohio. He died in Dayton in 2019 at age 85. From Hyden to Dayton   Morgan’s family left the Hyden area for Dayton in the early 1940s.

The Story of Jim Morgan from Hyden, Kentucky

Appalachian Folklore &amp; Myths On a foggy night in the southern coalfields, the woods around Boone County can feel crowded even when you are alone. There is the constant drip of water off the highwalls, the clatter of loose slate, the smell of old coal smoke still clinging to siding and jackets. Deer slide through the timber. Stray dogs work the hollows. Every headlamp catches eyeshine.

Appalachian Folklore &amp; Myths  On a foggy night in the southern coalfields, the woods around Boone County can feel crowded even when you are alone. There is the constant drip of water off the highwalls, the clatter of loose slate, the smell of old coal smoke still clinging to siding and jackets. Deer slide through the timber. Stray dogs work the hollows. Every headlamp catches eyeshine.

The White Thing to Sheepsquatch: Boone County’s Most Famous West Virginia Beast

Appalachian Figures On a cool October afternoon in 1929, the Washington Senators wrapped up a long and mostly forgettable season with a meaningless game against the Boston Red Sox. In center field for Washington stood a twenty six year old rookie from a fading river town in Kemper County, Mississippi. His name on the lineup card was simple enough. Land, center field.

Appalachian Figures

On a cool October afternoon in 1929, the Washington Senators wrapped up a long and mostly forgettable season with a meaningless game against the Boston Red Sox. In center field for Washington stood a twenty six year old rookie from a fading river town in Kemper County, Mississippi. His name on the lineup card was simple enough. Land, center field.

The Story of Doc Land from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Figures In the late twentieth century, thousands of families left the hills and hollers of Appalachia for the auto plants of the industrial Midwest. Mountain men and women who once cut timber or mined coal found themselves under fluorescent lights, tightening bolts on assembly lines in places like Detroit, Flint, and Sterling Heights. Those plants were dangerous.

Appalachian Figures  In the late twentieth century, thousands of families left the hills and hollers of Appalachia for the auto plants of the industrial Midwest. Mountain men and women who once cut timber or mined coal found themselves under fluorescent lights, tightening bolts on assembly lines in places like Detroit, Flint, and Sterling Heights. Those plants were dangerous.

The Story of Odessa Komer from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Figures In most stories about Benjamin Vernon “Ben” Lilly, the hunter appears fully formed. He pads through the Gila Wilderness with a pack of hounds, slips after lions in the Sierra Madre, or guides President Theodore Roosevelt on a black bear hunt along a Louisiana bayou.

Appalachian Figures  In most stories about Benjamin Vernon “Ben” Lilly, the hunter appears fully formed. He pads through the Gila Wilderness with a pack of hounds, slips after lions in the Sierra Madre, or guides President Theodore Roosevelt on a black bear hunt along a Louisiana bayou.

The Story of Ben Lilly from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Figures If you stand on the public square in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, you are standing inside a story that began with a clerk, a frontier rifleman, and a small circle of town founders. In 1819 the Tennessee legislature passed a private act that created a county seat for the recently formed Lawrence County. The law named five commissioners to choose the site and lay out the town.

Appalachian Figures  If you stand on the public square in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, you are standing inside a story that began with a clerk, a frontier rifleman, and a small circle of town founders. In 1819 the Tennessee legislature passed a private act that created a county seat for the recently formed Lawrence County. The law named five commissioners to choose the site and lay out the town.

The Story of Josephus Somerville Irvine of Lawrence, Tennessee

Appalachian History On the north side of East Bernstadt, a single CSX main line slips into the side of the hill and vanishes. The bore is not long by modern standards, only a short black throat cut into sandstone and clay, but it carries a heavy railroad.

Appalachian History  On the north side of East Bernstadt, a single CSX main line slips into the side of the hill and vanishes. The bore is not long by modern standards, only a short black throat cut into sandstone and clay, but it carries a heavy railroad.

Caleb’s Tunnel: Crooked Hill and Tunnel No. 9 at East Bernstadt, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures In the spring of 1919 a baby boy arrived in a railroad town that straddled the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau. He would grow up to play end for Auburn, serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during the Second World War, and catch passes in the early years of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

Appalachian Figures  In the spring of 1919 a baby boy arrived in a railroad town that straddled the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau. He would grow up to play end for Auburn, serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during the Second World War, and catch passes in the early years of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

The Story of Ted Cremer of Whitley, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures On a rise above the Tug Fork at Buskirk Cemetery in Pike County, Kentucky, a tall stone bears the face of William Sidney “Sid” Hatfield. The inscription remembers him as a defender of working people who was gunned down on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch and links his death to the miners’ rebellion at Blair Mountain.

Appalachian Figures  On a rise above the Tug Fork at Buskirk Cemetery in Pike County, Kentucky, a tall stone bears the face of William Sidney “Sid” Hatfield. The inscription remembers him as a defender of working people who was gunned down on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch and links his death to the miners’ rebellion at Blair Mountain.

The Story of William Sidney Hatfield of Pike, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures On a November night in 1961, a six foot guard in a Saints jersey kept firing jumpers against the Kansas City Steers in the short lived American Basketball League. By the time the buzzer sounded, Whitey Bell had poured in 30 points for San Francisco, one of the highest individual totals in the league that winter.

Appalachian Figures  On a November night in 1961, a six foot guard in a Saints jersey kept firing jumpers against the Kansas City Steers in the short lived American Basketball League. By the time the buzzer sounded, Whitey Bell had poured in 30 points for San Francisco, one of the highest individual totals in the league that winter.

The Story of Whitey Bell of Wayne, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures On Berger Street in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, a dark brick church rises from ground once worked by German Catholic farmers. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church began in the 1870s as a mission for immigrants who arrived through the Cincinnati Homestead Society.

Appalachian Figures  On Berger Street in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, a dark brick church rises from ground once worked by German Catholic farmers. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church began in the 1870s as a mission for immigrants who arrived through the Cincinnati Homestead Society.

The Story of James D. Niedergeses of Lawrence, Tennessee

Appalachian History On a map, the Cumberland Gap Tunnel looks simple enough, just a short segment of divided highway where U S 25E disappears under Cumberland Mountain and reappears on the other side. On the ground, it is something stranger.

Appalachian History  On a map, the Cumberland Gap Tunnel looks simple enough, just a short segment of divided highway where U S 25E disappears under Cumberland Mountain and reappears on the other side. On the ground, it is something stranger.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel on US 25E: From “Massacre Mountain” to a Safer Passage Under the Wilderness Road

Appalachian History If you stand in Vardy Valley on a foggy morning, the mountains almost fold in on you. Newman’s Ridge rises to the south, Powell Mountain to the north, and the narrow strip of bottomland along Blackwater Creek feels like its own small world. For more than two centuries, outsiders have looked into that world and tried to give a name to the people who lived there.

Appalachian History  If you stand in Vardy Valley on a foggy morning, the mountains almost fold in on you. Newman’s Ridge rises to the south, Powell Mountain to the north, and the narrow strip of bottomland along Blackwater Creek feels like its own small world. For more than two centuries, outsiders have looked into that world and tried to give a name to the people who lived there.

The Melungeons of Newman’s Ridge: Vardy Valley Records, Race, and a Borderland Community

Appalachian Figures Why Baker matters Edwin T. Baker served eight years in the California Assembly, then two years on the Los Angeles City Council, during a moment when Southern California was growing fast and demanding a bigger voice in state government.

Appalachian Figures Why Baker matters   Edwin T. Baker served eight years in the California Assembly, then two years on the Los Angeles City Council, during a moment when Southern California was growing fast and demanding a bigger voice in state government.

The Story of Edwin Baker from Oakland, Maryland

Appalachian Figures Charles McElroy White grew up in the logging and rail hamlet of Hutton on the outskirts of Oakland, Maryland. He went on to lead one of the nation’s largest steelmakers during the most turbulent decades of American industrial history. His path ran from a mountain schoolhouse to the University of Maryland, from mill floors to boardrooms, and into the hearing rooms of Congress.

Appalachian Figures  Charles McElroy White grew up in the logging and rail hamlet of Hutton on the outskirts of Oakland, Maryland. He went on to lead one of the nation’s largest steelmakers during the most turbulent decades of American industrial history. His path ran from a mountain schoolhouse to the University of Maryland, from mill floors to boardrooms, and into the hearing rooms of Congress.

The Story of Charles White from Oakland, Maryland

Appalachian Figures A Lewis County start David Fain “Dave” Sisco was born June 26, 1937, the son of Ira Guy Sisco and Cuba Irene Fain. He later made his home in Bon Aqua and died on July 25, 2016. He was a U. S. Army veteran and was buried at Edwards Cemetery in Hohenwald. Those core facts come straight from the funeral home record and contemporaneous obituary, which also list the service and burial details.

Appalachian Figures A Lewis County start   David Fain “Dave” Sisco was born June 26, 1937, the son of Ira Guy Sisco and Cuba Irene Fain. He later made his home in Bon Aqua and died on July 25, 2016. He was a U. S. Army veteran and was buried at Edwards Cemetery in Hohenwald. Those core facts come straight from the funeral home record and contemporaneous obituary, which also list the service and burial details.

The Story of David Sisco from Hohenwald, Tennessee

Appalachian Figures John Jones Pettus is usually remembered as Mississippi’s fiery secession governor. He helped pull the state out of the Union and tried to hold it in the Confederate war effort through conscription, militia policy, and heavy use of enslaved labor. Yet before Pettus ever signed a proclamation in Jackson, he was a boy on the move and then a young lawyer on the cotton frontier of Kemper County along the Alabama line.

Appalachian Figures  John Jones Pettus is usually remembered as Mississippi’s fiery secession governor. He helped pull the state out of the Union and tried to hold it in the Confederate war effort through conscription, militia policy, and heavy use of enslaved labor. Yet before Pettus ever signed a proclamation in Jackson, he was a boy on the move and then a young lawyer on the cotton frontier of Kemper County along the Alabama line.

The Story of John Jones Pettus from Kemper, Mississippi

Appalachian Churches Series – Jenkins United Methodist Church in Jenkins, Kentucky On the uphill side of Main Street in Jenkins, Kentucky, a two story brick church with a row of tall arched windows still looks out over the old company town. Across the street the former depot holds the David A. Zegeer Coal Railroad Museum, and behind both buildings the hills rise steeply toward former mine camps and company houses.

Appalachian Churches Series – Jenkins United Methodist Church in Jenkins, Kentucky  On the uphill side of Main Street in Jenkins, Kentucky, a two story brick church with a row of tall arched windows still looks out over the old company town. Across the street the former depot holds the David A. Zegeer Coal Railroad Museum, and behind both buildings the hills rise steeply toward former mine camps and company houses.

Jenkins United Methodist Church in Jenkins, Kentucky

Forgotten Appalachia Series – Dunham High School: Letcher County’s Only Black High School in Jenkins, Kentucky If you drive up No. 4 Hollow above Jenkins today, the road climbs past St. George Catholic Church and a handful of houses before it levels off on a narrow shelf of ground. Here, on a bend in the hollow, a low concrete-block wing stands in the weeds.

Forgotten Appalachia Series – Dunham High School: Letcher County’s Only Black High School in Jenkins, Kentucky  If you drive up No. 4 Hollow above Jenkins today, the road climbs past St. George Catholic Church and a handful of houses before it levels off on a narrow shelf of ground. Here, on a bend in the hollow, a low concrete-block wing stands in the weeds.

Dunham High School: Letcher County’s Only Black High School in Jenkins, Kentucky

Appalachian History Series – Winchester City Hall: The Tower on Wall Street If you walk up Wall Street from Lexington Avenue and stop between the courthouse lawn and the high wall of the Brown Proctor Hotel, Winchester City Hall still commands the block.

Appalachian History Series – Winchester City Hall: The Tower on Wall Street  If you walk up Wall Street from Lexington Avenue and stop between the courthouse lawn and the high wall of the Brown Proctor Hotel, Winchester City Hall still commands the block.

Winchester City Hall: The Tower on Wall Street

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Harlan County Extension Depot On a short bend of River Street in downtown Harlan, a long, depot-shaped building sits with its wide eaves turned toward the tracks. On the county extension website it appears in plain bureaucratic language as the Harlan County Extension Depot, 110 River Street, listed alongside the main office on South Main Street.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Harlan County Extension Depot  On a short bend of River Street in downtown Harlan, a long, depot-shaped building sits with its wide eaves turned toward the tracks. On the county extension website it appears in plain bureaucratic language as the Harlan County Extension Depot, 110 River Street, listed alongside the main office on South Main Street.

Repurposed Appalachia: Harlan County Extension Depot

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – From Depot Yard to Coal Miners Memorial Park in Benham, Kentucky Benham sits in a narrow valley beneath Black Mountain, the highest point in Kentucky. A century ago this was one of the most productive coal camps in the world, a company town built by Wisconsin Steel, a subsidiary of International Harvester.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – From Depot Yard to Coal Miners Memorial Park in Benham, Kentucky  Benham sits in a narrow valley beneath Black Mountain, the highest point in Kentucky. A century ago this was one of the most productive coal camps in the world, a company town built by Wisconsin Steel, a subsidiary of International Harvester.

Repurposed Appalachia: From Depot Yard to Coal Miners Memorial Park in Benham, Kentucky

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Benham City Hall of Harlan County In the middle of Benham, Kentucky, where Looney Creek bends through a narrow valley below Black Mountain, the city hall does not look like a grand marble temple of government. It is a compact red brick office building, one of a ring of matching structures that frame a small park. Coal trucks once rattled past just outside its doors.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Benham City Hall of Harlan County  In the middle of Benham, Kentucky, where Looney Creek bends through a narrow valley below Black Mountain, the city hall does not look like a grand marble temple of government. It is a compact red brick office building, one of a ring of matching structures that frame a small park. Coal trucks once rattled past just outside its doors.

Repurposed Appalachia: Benham City Hall of Harlan County

Abandoned Appalachia Series – Newlee Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap At the base of Cumberland Mountain, where Gap Creek cuts a narrow notch toward the little town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, a towering block of stone rises beside the water. Locals call it the Newlee Iron Furnace.

Abandoned Appalachia Series – Newlee Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap  At the base of Cumberland Mountain, where Gap Creek cuts a narrow notch toward the little town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, a towering block of stone rises beside the water. Locals call it the Newlee Iron Furnace.

Abandoned Appalachia: Newlee Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap

Appalachian History Series – The Oldest House in Bell County: Rev. John C. Colson’s Brick Home on Yellow Creek If you drive up North 19th Street in Middlesboro, traffic hums past a modest brick house set back behind a yard and a low slope. The building does not announce itself loudly. Its lines are simple, two stories of brick with later stucco and porch alterations that make it easy to mistake for an ordinary early twentieth century home.

Appalachian History Series – The Oldest House in Bell County: Rev. John C. Colson’s Brick Home on Yellow Creek  If you drive up North 19th Street in Middlesboro, traffic hums past a modest brick house set back behind a yard and a low slope. The building does not announce itself loudly. Its lines are simple, two stories of brick with later stucco and porch alterations that make it easy to mistake for an ordinary early twentieth century home.

The Oldest House in Bell County: Rev. John C. Colson’s Brick Home on Yellow Creek

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Twin Tunnels of Typo and Yerkes of Perry County On the north side of Hazard, the North Fork of the Kentucky River bends through a narrow valley where the slopes are so steep that the railroad disappears straight into the rock. Trains slip in and out of the hills, light fading to black and back again in a few seconds.

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Twin Tunnels of Typo and Yerkes of Perry County  On the north side of Hazard, the North Fork of the Kentucky River bends through a narrow valley where the slopes are so steep that the railroad disappears straight into the rock. Trains slip in and out of the hills, light fading to black and back again in a few seconds.

Abandoned Appalachia: The Twin Tunnels of Typo and Yerkes of Perry County

Appalachian History Series – The Campbell Building of Middlesboro: An 1890 Cornerstone of Cumberland Avenue The Campbell Building rises at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and 21st Street in downtown Middlesboro, where three states almost meet and the Cumberland Gap opens like a doorway in the mountains. It is an old corner in a relatively young town.

Appalachian History Series – The Campbell Building of Middlesboro: An 1890 Cornerstone of Cumberland Avenue  The Campbell Building rises at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and 21st Street in downtown Middlesboro, where three states almost meet and the Cumberland Gap opens like a doorway in the mountains. It is an old corner in a relatively young town.

The Campbell Building of Middlesboro: An 1890 Cornerstone of Cumberland Avenue

Repurposed Appalachia Series – The Train Depot of Evarts On a quiet day in Evarts it is easy to mistake the little frame depot for a simple photo backdrop. The paint is fresh, the roofline neat, and a caboose rests on a short section of rail that no longer goes anywhere. The building is small enough that you can step from one end to the other in a few strides.

Repurposed Appalachia Series – The Train Depot of Evarts  On a quiet day in Evarts it is easy to mistake the little frame depot for a simple photo backdrop. The paint is fresh, the roofline neat, and a caboose rests on a short section of rail that no longer goes anywhere. The building is small enough that you can step from one end to the other in a few strides.

Repurposed Appalachia: The Train Depot of Evarts

Appalachian History Series – The Story of the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum On the edge of the Kentucky Virginia line, Elkhorn City sits where the Russell Fork cuts out of the Breaks of the Sandy. It looks like a small river town at first glance, but for most of the twentieth century it was also a hinge in the railroad map of Appalachia.

Appalachian History Series – The Story of the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum  On the edge of the Kentucky Virginia line, Elkhorn City sits where the Russell Fork cuts out of the Breaks of the Sandy. It looks like a small river town at first glance, but for most of the twentieth century it was also a hinge in the railroad map of Appalachia.

The Story of the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum

Appalachian Figures William Gay wrote himself out of the backroads around Hohenwald, Tennessee, and into American letters with a voice equal parts lyric and flint. A construction worker for decades who didn’t publish until his mid-fifties, he turned the creeks, hollows, and hard bargains of Middle Tennessee into a personal territory readers now recognize on sight.

Appalachian Figures  William Gay wrote himself out of the backroads around Hohenwald, Tennessee, and into American letters with a voice equal parts lyric and flint. A construction worker for decades who didn’t publish until his mid-fifties, he turned the creeks, hollows, and hard bargains of Middle Tennessee into a personal territory readers now recognize on sight.

The Story of William Gay from Hohenwald, Tennessee

Appalachian History Series Evarts High School stood at the heart of Clover Fork for most of the twentieth century, first as the community’s own secondary school, then as one of three high schools in the Harlan County district. The Wildcats carried blue and gold in halls filled with class banners, pep club signs, and KHSAA schedules.

Appalachian History Series

Evarts High School stood at the heart of Clover Fork for most of the twentieth century, first as the community’s own secondary school, then as one of three high schools in the Harlan County district. The Wildcats carried blue and gold in halls filled with class banners, pep club signs, and KHSAA schedules.

Evarts High School, Harlan County’s Wildcat School

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – The Benham Schoolhouse Inn of Harlan County If you stand in the center of Benham and look toward the long brick facade of the old schoolhouse, it is easy to see what Wisconsin Steel and International Harvester were trying to build in the 1920s. The company did not just carve driftmouths into Black Mountain and lay tipple tracks along Looney Creek.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – The Benham Schoolhouse Inn of Harlan County  If you stand in the center of Benham and look toward the long brick facade of the old schoolhouse, it is easy to see what Wisconsin Steel and International Harvester were trying to build in the 1920s. The company did not just carve driftmouths into Black Mountain and lay tipple tracks along Looney Creek.

Repurposed Appalachia: The Benham Schoolhouse Inn of Harlan County

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Benham Theater of Harlan County On the quiet streets of Benham, the brick facade of the old theater still faces Circle Park, its green ticket booth and canopy standing out against the red walls and the backdrop of Black Mountain.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Benham Theater of Harlan County  On the quiet streets of Benham, the brick facade of the old theater still faces Circle Park, its green ticket booth and canopy standing out against the red walls and the backdrop of Black Mountain.

Repurposed Appalachia: Benham Theater of Harlan County

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, Kentucky On a gray morning in the Tri-Cities, the old company store at Benham still anchors Main Street. Brick walls rise in neat lines against the slope of Black Mountain, and the wide storefront windows look out on a town that once lived by coal and corporate schedules.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, Kentucky  On a gray morning in the Tri-Cities, the old company store at Benham still anchors Main Street. Brick walls rise in neat lines against the slope of Black Mountain, and the wide storefront windows look out on a town that once lived by coal and corporate schedules.

Repurposed Appalachia: The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, Kentucky

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Kingdom Come School of Linefork, Letcher County On a clear day at Kingdom Come State Park the overlooks pull your eyes outward to black bear country and the sawtooth ridges of Letcher and Harlan counties. Look long enough down into the Linefork valley though and another landmark begins to stand out. In the bottom, beside Highway 160, the roofline of a brick school building breaks the tree line.

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Kingdom Come School of Linefork, Letcher County  On a clear day at Kingdom Come State Park the overlooks pull your eyes outward to black bear country and the sawtooth ridges of Letcher and Harlan counties. Look long enough down into the Linefork valley though and another landmark begins to stand out. In the bottom, beside Highway 160, the roofline of a brick school building breaks the tree line.

Abandoned Appalachia: The Kingdom Come School of Linefork, Letcher County

Appalachian History Series – The Coal Camp Post Office at the Heart of a Company Town The Benham Post Office has never been the biggest building in town. It does not tower over the valley like the old tipples once did, and it does not have the imposing bulk of the commissary that now houses the Kentucky Coal Museum. What it has instead is persistence.

Appalachian History Series – The Coal Camp Post Office at the Heart of a Company Town  The Benham Post Office has never been the biggest building in town. It does not tower over the valley like the old tipples once did, and it does not have the imposing bulk of the commissary that now houses the Kentucky Coal Museum. What it has instead is persistence.

From Yowell to Benham: The Coal Camp Post Office at the Heart of a Company Town

Appalachian Figures Born in Knott County in 1942, Elijah Haydn “Lige” Clarke grew up between Cave Branch and Hindman. He carried Appalachian sensibilities into national activism. Historian Jonathan Coleman argues that Clarke’s mountain upbringing shaped a politics that rejected respectability and favored personal freedom and experiment. Coleman’s peer-reviewed study is the deepest scholarly treatment of Clarke’s life and Kentucky roots.

Appalachian Figures  Born in Knott County in 1942, Elijah Haydn “Lige” Clarke grew up between Cave Branch and Hindman. He carried Appalachian sensibilities into national activism. Historian Jonathan Coleman argues that Clarke’s mountain upbringing shaped a politics that rejected respectability and favored personal freedom and experiment. Coleman’s peer-reviewed study is the deepest scholarly treatment of Clarke’s life and Kentucky roots.

The Story of Lige Clarke from Knott, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Lynch, Kentucky, as a beginning Lynch was carved out of Harlan County by the U.S. Coal &amp; Coke Company, a U.S. Steel subsidiary, beginning in 1917. It grew into a model company town with miles of planned streets, graded house types, a hospital, schools, churches, and one of the most advanced coal loading plants of its era.

Appalachian Figures Lynch, Kentucky, as a beginning   Lynch was carved out of Harlan County by the U.S. Coal &amp; Coke Company, a U.S. Steel subsidiary, beginning in 1917. It grew into a model company town with miles of planned streets, graded house types, a hospital, schools, churches, and one of the most advanced coal loading plants of its era.

The Story of Louise Slaughter from Lynch, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Few Leslie Countians have written a song that climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart. One did it from Hyden. Betty Jean Robinson, born Betty Jean Rhodes on June 17, 1933, grew up in the hills around Hyden and later carried that upbringing to Nashville as a working songwriter and, in time, a prolific gospel artist.

Appalachian Figures  Few Leslie Countians have written a song that climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart. One did it from Hyden. Betty Jean Robinson, born Betty Jean Rhodes on June 17, 1933, grew up in the hills around Hyden and later carried that upbringing to Nashville as a working songwriter and, in time, a prolific gospel artist.

The Story of Betty Robinson from Hyden, Kentucky

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Elkhorn City Walk Bridge over the Russell Fork On a quiet morning in Elkhorn City the Russell Fork looks almost gentle. The river slides past sycamores and willows, the light catches on riffles below the cliffs, and coal trains roll along the far bank toward the Breaks.

Abandoned Appalachia Series – The Elkhorn City Walk Bridge over the Russell Fork  On a quiet morning in Elkhorn City the Russell Fork looks almost gentle. The river slides past sycamores and willows, the light catches on riffles below the cliffs, and coal trains roll along the far bank toward the Breaks.

Abandoned Appalachia: The Elkhorn City Walk Bridge over the Russell Fork

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Jenkins Depot, Now the David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum On a fall day in 1912 a photographer working for Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company set up a glass plate camera beside a brand new frame building in a brand new coal town. The caption on the negative reads simply “Jenkins Depot.” Coal camps were rising along Elkhorn Creek and Shelby Creek.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Jenkins Depot, Now the David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum  On a fall day in 1912 a photographer working for Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company set up a glass plate camera beside a brand new frame building in a brand new coal town. The caption on the negative reads simply “Jenkins Depot.”  Coal camps were rising along Elkhorn Creek and Shelby Creek.

Repurposed Appalachia: Jenkins Depot, Now the David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Little Shepherd Amphitheater of Jenkins On a summer evening in Jenkins, headlights snake up Amphitheater Road as families ease their cars onto the gravel lot beneath Pine Mountain. Crickets tune up in the tree line.

Repurposed Appalachia Series​ – Little Shepherd Amphitheater of Jenkins  On a summer evening in Jenkins, headlights snake up Amphitheater Road as families ease their cars onto the gravel lot beneath Pine Mountain. Crickets tune up in the tree line.

Repurposed Appalachia: Little Shepherd Amphitheater of Jenkins

Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of Travis Glenn Brock of Leslie, Kentucky On a winter morning in 2010, deep under Leslie County, a young miner from Helton was doing the work he had learned as a teenager. He stood beside a remote controlled cutting machine in a crosscut of the Abner Branch Rider mine, trimming the mine floor and ribs so the crew could keep advancing.

Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of Travis Glenn Brock of Leslie, Kentucky  On a winter morning in 2010, deep under Leslie County, a young miner from Helton was doing the work he had learned as a teenager. He stood beside a remote controlled cutting machine in a crosscut of the Abner Branch Rider mine, trimming the mine floor and ribs so the crew could keep advancing.

The Story of Travis Glenn Brock of Leslie, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Series – On a Nashville night in 1948 a young woman from Perry County, Kentucky tagged along to the wrestling matches at the old Hippodrome Arena. She was not a fan. Her sister sewed jackets for the wrestlers and had talked her into going. During the women’s bout one of the wrestlers, Dot Dotson, took a spill out of the ring and landed squarely in the visitor’s lap.

Appalachian Figures Series –   On a Nashville night in 1948 a young woman from Perry County, Kentucky tagged along to the wrestling matches at the old Hippodrome Arena. She was not a fan. Her sister sewed jackets for the wrestlers and had talked her into going. During the women’s bout one of the wrestlers, Dot Dotson, took a spill out of the ring and landed squarely in the visitor’s lap.

The Story of Cora Combs of Perry, Kentucky

Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of James Harrod of Bedford, Pennsylvania Along the courthouse lawn at Harrodsburg, a roadside marker and a reconstructed fort point back toward a man most Kentuckians know only by name. James Harrod does not loom in popular memory the way Daniel Boone does, yet the town that still carries his name began as his outpost on the edge of Virginia’s empire.

Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of James Harrod of Bedford, Pennsylvania  Along the courthouse lawn at Harrodsburg, a roadside marker and a reconstructed fort point back toward a man most Kentuckians know only by name. James Harrod does not loom in popular memory the way Daniel Boone does, yet the town that still carries his name began as his outpost on the edge of Virginia’s empire.

Appalachianhistorian.org

Abandoned Appalachia: The Beschman (Putney) Lookout Tower of Harlan County

Abandoned Appalachia: Bledsoe Mining Company