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

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 the north fork of the Holston River.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Stitcher, Goodpods or on your favorite podcast app.

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 vaudeville circuit early in the twentieth century? Today we tell you that story and more about the Hatfields and McCoys after the end of their famous feud. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Audacy, Goodpods, Audible, or on your favorite podcast app.

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 favorite podcast app...we'll be there.Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends!(Picture of Watauga Lake by Ryan Rice at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2246001)(Picture of Broad Street by AppalachianCentrist - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113623763)

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 subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, Audible, Goodpods, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!

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 listening and for sharing us with your friends!

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, Goodpods, Audible, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!

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 cab. He was convicted of her murder.Then, things got strange.Today we tell the story of a Harlan County murder that never happened.You can subscribe to our stories by going to Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, TuneIn, Stitcher, Goodpods, PlayerFM or on your own favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and for sharing our podcast with your friends.

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 at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, PlayerFM, Radiopublic or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.Thanks for listening. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

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 was his love of old-time Appalachian music that made him famous. Lunsford is known for his travels through the hills and hollers collecting songs and tunes, many of which he recorded himself.Today we tell the story of Bascom Lamar Lunsford.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Audible or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!

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 to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends.

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, murders and even threats to burn the town itself to the ground. Today we tell the story of the Howard-Turner feud.

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 quite a saucy reputation: the Dunglen Hotel.Today we tell that story.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, IHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast app.

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 was that 6th one, the last one attributed to him, that sent him to the gallows...just a short time before the hanging of the man who captured him in Memphis, Tennessee.Today we tell the story of Bad Talt Hall.

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 in 1865. Today we tell the story of an outlaw from both sides in the Civil War: Champ Ferguson.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Goodpods, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends!

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 Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, Spotify, Stitcher or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends...For more information, go the Night Marauder Project here: https://thenightmarauderproject.com/

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.