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

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 stories!

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 ended up on trial for another murder that happened in Missouri and the story of his trial for that killing is our story today.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, Goodpods, Spotify, Audible or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening...

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 haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast, at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, Audible, Goodpods, or on your favorite podcast app.

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, Spotify, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends.

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 magnate R. J. Reynolds.Today we tell that story.

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 has a statue erected in its honor on High Knob in Norton, Virginia.Today we tell you a story that's a little bit history and a little bit folklore. You can subscribe to our stories at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Goodpods, Audacy, Audible, or on whatever podcast app you prefer.

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 tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends...

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!

In 1923 a rigid airship, made with new material produced by Alcoa Aluminum in Pittsburgh, became the U. S. Navy's flagship aircraft.   Two years later this airship came down in bad weather in eastern Ohio with tragic results. Today we tell the story of the crash of the Shenandoah. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Spotify, Audible, Goodpods, RadioPublic or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.

Today we tell the story of the man who led the most successful Confederate raid on American territory during the Civil War, leading his men into battle throughout Indiana and Ohio.  Afterwards, General John Hunt Morgan met his end at the hands of Union soldiers in Greeneville, Tennessee. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Goodpods, RadioPublic, Audacy, Audible or on your own favorite podcast app.

In April 1865 a riverboat that carried cargo from Illinois south to New Orleans was hired to transport newly freed Union prisoners from Vicksburg, Mississippi, home.  Unfortunately, many of them would end up dying during this trip. Today we tell the story of the man claimed to be the last survivor of this ill-fated trip, a man born and raised in Blount County, Tennessee.

In the 1930's a man interested in writing, new age religions and far-right politics came to Asheville, North Carolina, where he established his own fascist organization in support of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany.   Today we tell the story of William Dudley Pelley.