Appalachian History

“In this county Godfrey L. Cabot of Boston, MA has the largest carbon factory in the world, utilizing natural gas for the purpose,” stated the WV Geological Survey about Calhoun County in 1911. “The product is wagoned to Creston where it is loaded on boats and shipped down the Little Kanawha River to railway connection [...]

“Bullets and ballots are not companions;” said Lizzie French in a famous 1912 speech to the Tenneesee Bar Association, “but ballots in the hands of people are supposed to be a substitute for bullets in the hands of hired agents…Thanks be to God that in giving women the crown of motherhood he made her the [...]

My dear children, Herbie, Chedie, and Constance, my mind has been with you every moment since I received Chedie’s letter —that was the 8th—except when I was asleep, and then often dreaming about you. I think there is no one who can so fully understand the extent of your sorrow as myself. I know what [...]

There were only four kinds of country music. One is your gospel songs, your religious songs. The others were your jigs and reels, like we spoke of a while ago at fiddler’s conventions. Your third were your heart songs, sentimental songs that came from the heart, and the fourth, which has passed out to a [...]

We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the left side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today’s show with an oral history from Tennessean R.M. [...]