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Dr. John R. Brinkley: The Goat Gland Doctor from Appalachia
John Romulus Brinkley was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, to a former Confederate medic and his housekeeper. From those humble beginnings young …
2 years, 1 month ago
The Tragic End of Outlaw Joe Brown
Joe Brown was a hell-raiser, thug and violent alcoholic who terrorized the town of Whitmer, West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century.
He did, th…
2 years, 1 month ago
The 1921 West Virginia Capitol Fire
On January 3, 1921, a massive fire broke out at the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston. Not a big deal, you might be thinking, fires happen al…
2 years, 1 month ago
The Tragedy at the Cowee Tunnel
On December 30, 1881, 30 convicts, along with their guards, were shackled and deposited on the banks of the Tuckaseegee River near Dillboro, North Ca…
2 years, 1 month ago
Bettie Simms, The Queen of the Moonshiners
In the early 1900's a young mother in Polk County, North Carolina, had a decision to make. She had separated from her abusive husband and had severa…
2 years, 2 months ago
Appalachian Christmas Traditions
With Christmas fast approaching, Rod and Steve talk about the history and the folklore behind Christmas in Appalachia...
You can subscribe to the Stor…
2 years, 2 months ago
Tinker Dave Beaty, Union Guerrilla/Outlaw
David Crockett Beaty was a farmer in Fentress County, Tennessee...until the start of the Civil War.
He became a guerrilla fighter in that war, on the …
2 years, 2 months ago
The 1902 New River Coal Strike -The Battle of Stanaford
In 1902 coal miners struck the mines along the New River, seeking better wages and better working conditions. The strike continued until February 25,…
2 years, 2 months ago
The Fentress County Witch
In 1843 a prominent man in Jamestown, Tennessee, distributed a broadsheet, under an assumed name, accusing the wife of a tavern owner of being, among…
2 years, 2 months ago
Orlean Hawks Puckett. Appalachian Granny Woman
Granny women were the healers and caretakers of folks in Appalachia, dispensing folk remedies, serving as midwives, and even dousing for water. These…
2 years, 3 months ago