In 1889, William West Skiles described a North Carolina location “entirely shut in by forest-clad mountains.” The area “was watered by three small, limpid streams, two of them leaping down the hillsides in foaming cascades,” Skiles wrote in Missionary Life at Valle Crucis. “It was this secluded valley which, from the cross-like form of the [...]
0 commentsAppalachian History
Stories, quotes and anecdotes.
Tag Archives: appalachian mountains history
Feb
22
He deserted the Confederate AND the Union armies
John Denton fought for the Confederate Army, but deserted it. Then he joined the Union Army, but deserted it even faster. And that was just the beginning of his troubles. Denton volunteered for Company B (Monroe County, TN), 3rd Tennessee Regiment of Confederate Volunteers in Knoxville, TN on May 23, 1861 and fought at Manassas. [...]
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Feb
15
A racy book, full of the thrill of mountain adventure
In winter one must draw the little hickory split chair close to the hearth, for most of the heat from the great glowing fire goes up the chimney. The house may have a small window-sash immovably built in. Often there is none. The woman cooks breakfast before sun-up, and supper after dark, by the smoky [...]
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Feb
10
Lots of people thought I was an idiot
“I never spoke a word until I was nine years old. I only clucked and motioned for what I wanted. Lots of people thought I was an idiot because I could not talk. I may have looked like one, for I was a little old country boy that never cut my hair in those days [...]
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Feb
01
The accidental town
There is a town in Maryland’s westernmost county of Garrett that got its name from a happy accident. In 1750, Maryland settler George Deakins was granted 600 acres of land as a payment of a debt from England’s King George II. Deakins sent out two corps of engineers, each without knowledge of the other, to [...]
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