Appalachian History

The smallest church in 48 states

Along Route 219, in Silver Lake, WV, southeast of Kingwood, you’ll find “Our Lady of The Pines,” — the “Smallest Church in 48 States.”

Ah, dandelion wine! The name comes from dent de lion, French for “lion’s tooth,” referring to the leaves’ teeth. Wine is made from the heads.

When Bessie Smith sang the blues she meant it. Smith (1894-1937) was the greatest and most influential classic blues singer of the 1920s.

John Denton fought for the Confederate Army, but deserted it. Then he joined the Union Army, but deserted it even faster. Then it began.

Soon after the guilty verdicts, the NAACP and the International Labor Defense came to the defense of the “Scottsboro Boys.”

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