Stay ConnectedWelcome to “Stories of Appalachia,” the podcast where hosts Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins have been unraveling the captivating history and folklore of the Appalachian region since 2015. Join them as they guide you through mist-covered mountains and winding rivers, exploring the stories that define the heart and soul of Appalachia.
www.storiesofappalachia.com
Copyright: © Copyright Steve Gilly
Granny women were the healers and caretakers of folks in Appalachia, dispensing folk remedies, serving as midwives, and even dousing for water. These women were essential in rural Appalachia, where doctors and hospitals were scarce.
Today we tell the story of one of these women, Orlean Hawk Puckett, from Carroll County, Virginia, known for being a midwife responsible for helping to bring over a thousand Appalachian babies into the world!
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At the turn of the 20th century a wealthy and politically connected man from Grainger County, Tennessee, lost a lawsuit filed by a widow and was ordered to pay her a sum of money. Failing to do that, the court ordered a sale of some lumber this man owed, which was bought by a blacksmith in the community of Thorn Hill.
Out of this came two murders, a prison sentence, a feud, and a deadly gun battle at the blacksmith's shop five years later.
That, dear listeners, is our story of Appalachia this week!
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In 1914 a series of massive explosions occurred in the Eccles Mine No. 5 near Eccles, West Virginia in Raleigh County, West Virginia, leaving over 180 men and boys dead, including an insurance salesman who had the bad luck of making a call on the miners that day.
Today we tell the story of West Virginia's second-worst mine disaster.
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At the turn of the 20th century a young woman named Cora Wilson Stewart was hired as an elementary school teacher, later becoming Rowan County school superintendent. Fifteen years later she began a program that has since spread across the country: the idea of adult education for those who needed it.
Today we tell her story and the story of the schools she founded, the Moonlight Schools of eastern Kentucky.
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Today we tell the story of one of the 20th century's most brilliant mathematicians, born in Bluefield, West Virginia, and the subject of the movie "A Beautiful Mind," John Forbes Nash, Jr.
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Thomas David Carr was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1846. After a childhood marked by abuse, a prison term at age 8 and an attemped poisoning of one of his "acquaintances," Carr joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War.
As he traveled with his unit, and by his own admission, Carr left a string of murders in his wake, culminating with the brutal murder of a 13-year-old girl who spurned his persistent marriage proposals.
Today we tell the story of a dark and dangerous man, Thomas David Carr.
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Catch us on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia for short video stories of this place we call home.
Sanctified Hill was a section of Cumberland, Kentucky, where many retired African American miners and their families resided in homes many had built themselves. In 1972 heavy rains fell across Appalachia, resulting in flooding and, in the case of Sanctified Hill, a terrible disaster.
Today we tell that story.
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We're also on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia. There you'll find short video stories of Appalachia.
Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends...
Around the turn of the 20th century a man charged with murder escaped from the Scott County, Virginia, jail and headed to Texas. He likely would have spent the rest of his life there but for an accident.
A real accident, involving a train.
Today we tell the story of a man whose demand for justice from the railroad company led to his own reckoning back home.
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Rising tensions along the Appalachian frontier culminated with what's called "Lord Dunmore's War," named after the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore. That conflict came to a head with a battle in 1774 at Point Pleasant in what's now West Virginia, in which Dunmore's forces battled the Shawnee warriors under Chief Cornstalk.
Today we tell that story.
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Our story of the West Virginia Mine Wars continues at Matewan, West Virginia, where a famous gun battle left several mine company hired guards dead, along with the town mayor, among others. The fighting was so fierce, many townsfolk fled across the Tug Fork into Kentucky, seeking safety. This battle also set the stage for the climax of the mine wars: the Battle of Blair Mountain.
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Thanks for listening!
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