Stories-a History Of Appalachia, One Story At A Time

On this episode of Stories we have a tale of love and sex and murder in the mountains of North Carolina. Steve and Rod tell you the story of Tom Dula of Wilkes County, North Carolina, whose life has been immortalized in the song “Tom Dooley.” Thanks for your ears!

Corporal Edward Dickenson from the Cracker’s Neck section of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was captured by the Chinese during the Korean War and was one of a handful of Americans who initially refused to return to America after the war. On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the story of Corporal Dickenson’s […]

On October 4, 1960, the lives of the residents of Kingsport, Tennessee, changed forever. It was on that date that a massive explosion occurred at the Tennessee Eastman Chemical Plant in the city, causing 15 deaths and more than 200 injuries. On this episode of Stories, Rod and Steve tell the story of that horrible […]

The world was in the middle of the Cold War on May 1, 1960, when a young Pound, Virginia, man set off on a U-2 flight from Pakistan which ended up making him part of the history of not only Appalachia, but the world. On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the […]

On New Years Eve, 1952, 17 year old Charlie Carr was on a mission to deliver country music star Hank Williams to a concert in Canton, Ohio, and ended up driving into Appalachian history. Despite Charlie’s efforts, Hank didn’t make it to Canton, having died somewhere between Bristol, Virginia and Oak Hill, West Virginia. On […]

On December 18th, 1915, widower and President, Woodrow Wilson, married Edith Galt, from Wytheville, Virginia. The new First Lady went on to help her husband through a stroke and, some say, actually run the country during the last year of his presidency. On today’s episode, Rod and Steve tell her story. You can subscribe to […]

In 1912, Hillsville, Virginia, was the site of a deadly shootout in the Carroll County circuit courtroom that left the judge, a prosecutor, the sheriff and a witness dead, all because one man was intent on never seeing the inside of a jail cell. This week, it’s the story of the Carroll County Courthouse shootout, […]

On this episode of Stories, Rod tells the story of Dickenson County native Shifty Powers, World War II vet who was one of several men whose lives were portrayed in the HBO series, “Band of Brothers.” You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on your iPhone podcast app. If you have an Android […]

This week we bring you the story of what happened after the massacre at Matewan, West Virginia, when striking coal miners set off the largest and bloodiest labor revolt in American history. It’s the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain, part of the history of Appalachia. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the podcast, we tell you about one of the worst winter storms to ever hit the Appalachian region. Over Thanksgiving weekend of 1950, Pennsylvania and New York saw record flooding, parts of West Virginia saw five feet of snow, there were tornadoes and heavy rain on the eastern side of the […]

On this episode of Stories, Steve tells the story of the state that might have been, the State of Franklin. Consisting of the current East Tennessee counties of Washington, Sullivan, Greene, Unicoi, Carter, Johnson, Hawkins, Hancock, Cocke and Sevier, the state was one of two mountain areas that declared their independence, the other being Vermont. […]

On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell you the story of the birth of country music in what has been called “The Big Bang of country music.” It’s the story of how a New York record engineer and producer found his way to Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee and discovered the sound of gold in the […]

On this episode of Stories, Rod tells a ghost story, about a “haint” at the Tavern in Abingdon, Virginia, who just might pinch your behind! Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @storyappalachia. Thanks for listening…

In 1929 there was an outbreak of deadly tornadoes in the eastern U.S., including Appalachia. One of the worst hit places was in Rye Cove, Virginia, where the twister destroyed a school. On this episode, we tell the story of that tornado and its aftermath. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or Stitcher […]

On this episode of the podcast, Steve tells the story of how a 12 mile wide strip of land led to a war between North Carolina and Georgia in the early 19th century. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or Stitcher or on your favorite Android or Windows phone podcast app. You can […]

On this episode of Stories, Steve and Rod tell the story of what is possibly the worst mining disaster in the history of Virginia. Forty-five men lost their lives in 1938 when an explosion tore through the Red Jacket Coal Company’s mine at Keen Mountain, near Grundy, at shift change time. You can subscribe to […]

On this episode, we tell the story of a will left by Lloyd Ford, of Washington County, Tennessee. This will was the subject of a pre-Civil War court battle in Jonesborough between Mr. Ford’s children and his slaves, and it went all the way up to the Tennessee Supreme Court, leading to a landmark decision. […]

In 1920, UMWA organizing was in full swing, with the union successfully gaining pay raises and better working conditions in mines across the country. In that year, John L. Lewis set his sights on the coal fields of West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia, and the mine owners responded with force. On this episode, […]

Today Steve tells the story of Gabriel Arthur, 17th century fur trader and explorer who was adopted into the Cherokee tribe and who was the first English colonist to travel through the Cumberland Gap, 80 years before Dr. Thomas Walker traveled to the area. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or on your […]

This is the story of a witch. Not a real witch, but an elderly lady by the name of Jane Dutton who was accused of being a witch by her neighbor. Aunt Jane, as she was known, didn’t take that insult lightly; she promptly sued her neighbor and we’ll tell you what happened on this […]