Appalachian History

Claude W. Hibbard was the first naturalist at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park (June 1, 1934 to August 22, 1935). His job was to evaluate the area and record the types of wildlife he found in this region. Hibbard was to look at various habitats in this region and evaluate them to help determine what [...]

“Garnet Carter was an entrepreneur, and he developed 300 acres here on top of Lookout Mountain as a resort community in 1928,” says Bill Chapin, Carter’s nephew. “With the Fairyland Inn as the cornerstone of his development, he had plans to continue development with a world class 18 hole golf course. The golf course construction [...]

Jenkins, KY didn’t come into existence by steady settlement over a period of years. Jenkins was planned and built by Consolidation Coal Company [Consol] for men who came to mine its coal– what was to become known as the best coal in Kentucky. Mrs. G. C. Johnson: I came from Pikeville. My husband was here–he [...]

Please welcome guest blogger Matthew Burns of Pendleton County WV, author of the recently begun Appalachian Lifestyles blog. “My goal in starting this blog was to create a forum where I could share my colorful family stories,” he tells me, and the following story certainly fits that bill. A few days ago, I received from [...]

Neal Thompson, author of Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR, read at the 2008 Carolina Literary Festival over in Burnsville, NC this past weekend. We caught up with Neal to get a quick overview of the wild world of early moonshiners and stock car drivers. Appalachian History: Could [...]