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.
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Copyright: © Copyright Steve Gilly
In 1775, Appalachia WAS the West, and people were pouring into the region and beyond. With the purchase of millions of acres of Kentucky land by the Transylvania Company, a way was needed to get settlers over the mountains to that land. And that’s where Daniel Boone came in. Boone and a company of ax-men […]
There is little else worse than a flood in the Appalachian Mountains, due to the water being funneled down deep river valleys straight into towns and cities. What is worse is when that flood could have been prevented. On this episode of Stories, Rod and Steve tell the story of the Johnstown Flood of 1889, […]
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42629998 The 1930s saw the Great Depression come over America, and probably no place was harder hit than the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky. During that decade, Harlan County was the epicenter of a great struggle to establish the union, and it was a bloody one. Today, we tell the story […]
There are tales of strange creatures seen in the mines and caves of Appalachia. On this episode, Rod and Steve tell the story of the giants in the earth, on Stories. You can subscribe at iTunes, the iPhone podcast app, Google Play or on your favorite Android or Windows phone podcast app. We’re on Facebook […]
Moonshining has long been associated with Appalachia. Probably the most well-known and well-marketed moonshiner was Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton of Cocke County, Tennessee. Popcorn dressed the part, at least the way he believed everybody outside the area thought a moonshiner should look like. And he made sure everybody knew who he was, appearing on television, in […]
In the hills of North Georgia in the 19th century lived a farmer named Micajah Clark Dyer. Dyer wasn’t just a Georgia farmer, though. He was a self-taught inventor and tinkerer whose passion was flight. Clark Dyer devised a very detailed flying machine that not only received a patent from the U.S. Patent office, but […]
In 1780, the Patriot cause was suffering from losses across the colonies. Then, a British commander threatened to cross the Appalachians and lay waste to the settlements established in what is now East Tennessee, and that changed everything. Around 1400 militia were mustered from Southwest Virginia, present-day East Tennessee and Western North Carolina and set […]
In the spring of 1891, wealthy Pikeville, Kentucky, businessman James Hatcher buried his young wife, Octavia, after she apparently died while giving birth to their baby boy, who also died. Unfortunately, there was a bout of African sleeping sickness going around the coalfields at about this same time, with the symptoms mimicking death. On this […]
In 1903, the Wentz family of Philadelphia was in control of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company and Stonega Coal and Coke. In that year, young Edward Wentz came to the coalfields of Wise County, Virginia, to help manage the corporate property. In fact, Edward took a personal hand in patrolling the property, throwing out […]
Starting in the mid-19th century, just before the Civil War, there were several Tennessee court cases that helped define the role of the mysterious people known as “Melungeons” in Appalachian society. On this episode, Rod and Steve tell the story of those cases as well as the history, as best it can be determined, of […]
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