Appalachian History

The largest Waldensian colony in the world outside of Italy–Valdese, NC–was officially incorporated as a town on February 17, 1920. The Waldenses, or Waldensians, are a Christian sect founded in the 12th century by Peter Valdo (hence Valdese = Waldensian), a merchant of Lyons, France who lived only a short time before St. Francis. For [...]

“Two strokes of paralysis convinced me that I am on the borderland, I feel it my duty before my voice is hushed upon the shore to give some tragical features in the life of my brother, Stillman, in proof of the perpetuity and power of nursery impressions. “A childless couple was my father’s nearest neighbors. [...]

The following are daily notes Great Great Grandfather James Calloway Campbell wrote to his children near the end of his life.  The spelling of words is sometimes peculiarly his, but often times, the seemingly misspelled words are spellings found in the Old Blueback Speller of that time period. These “dispatches,” as he called them, were [...]

“Sugar making time was looked forward to with pleasant anticipation by the young people,” writes George Benson Kuykendall in a family geneaology published in 1919. His uncle, Isaac Kuykendall, purchased a 670 acre farm near Huttons, Garrett County, MD in 1881. “It came along in the early spring when there were clear days and frosty [...]

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 right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today’s show with a story about a journalistic scoop [...]