Appalachian History

December 12, 2018 Child labor / Tennessee

“Morrison Is Employing Boy 12 Years of Age”

Child labor was common in Tennessee in the late 1800s. Many textile and coal mills in the state employed young children.

illustration of woman's face transposed onto a letter

December 11, 2018 Love and romance / North Carolina

I am a poor girl what you might say got no home

Letter from the personal papers of Edgar M. Lyda (1873-1956), who among other posts was mayor of Asheville.

Three masks used in the belsnickeling Christmas custom, from Rockingham County, VA, 1920s. Cotton feed sack (l), knit stocking or sweater sleeve, and a sugar sack (r).

December 7, 2018 Appalachian music / Coal mining / Mules / Virginia

The mule I drove was called Old Red

Folk singers today sing happy work songs about mule drivers & mule-skinners. I wonder if any of them know what driving a mule is really like.

1935; CCC workers digging a ditch in Maryland

December 6, 2018 Civilian Conservation Corps / Virginia / Works Progress Administration

He is now in the C.C. Camp

He got to go to the C.C. Camp by his mother taking him to the welfare office and asking that he be signed up.