Stories-a History Of Appalachia, One Story At A Time

Granny women were the healers and caretakers of folks in Appalachia, dispensing folk remedies, serving as midwives, and even dousing for water. These women were essential in rural Appalachia, where doctors and hospitals were scarce.Today we tell the story of one of these women, Orlean Hawk Puckett, from Carroll County, Virginia, known for being a midwife responsible for helping to bring over a thousand Appalachian babies into the world!Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends...This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

At the turn of the 20th century a wealthy and politically connected man from Grainger County, Tennessee, lost a lawsuit filed by a widow and was ordered to pay her a sum of money. Failing to do that, the court ordered a sale of some lumber this man owed, which was bought by a blacksmith in the community of Thorn Hill. Out of this came two murders, a prison sentence, a feud, and a deadly gun battle at the blacksmith's shop five years later.That, dear listeners, is our story of Appalachia this week!Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or at our podcast home, spreaker.com...Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends...This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

In 1914 a series of massive explosions occurred in the Eccles Mine No. 5 near Eccles, West Virginia in Raleigh County, West Virginia, leaving over 180 men and boys dead, including an insurance salesman who had the bad luck of making a call on the miners that day.Today we tell the story of West Virginia's second-worst mine disaster.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening to our stories and sharing them with your friends.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

At the turn of the 20th century a young woman named Cora Wilson Stewart was hired as an elementary school teacher, later becoming Rowan County school superintendent. Fifteen years later she began a program that has since spread across the country: the idea of adult education for those who needed it.Today we tell her story and the story of the schools she founded, the Moonlight Schools of eastern Kentucky.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast...we're on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, PlayerFM, Audible or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.We're also on TikTok@storiesofappalachia and on Instragram@storyappalachia.Thanks for listening.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Today we tell the story of one of the 20th century's most brilliant mathematicians, born in Bluefield, West Virginia, and the subject of the movie "A Beautiful Mind," John Forbes Nash, Jr.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, Audible, PlayerFM, Goodpods (where we're #34 on their Top 100 Indie Documentary Podcasts of all time!) or wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Thomas David Carr was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1846. After a childhood marked by abuse, a prison term at age 8 and an attemped poisoning of one of his "acquaintances," Carr joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. As he traveled with his unit, and by his own admission, Carr left a string of murders in his wake, culminating with the brutal murder of a 13-year-old girl who spurned his persistent marriage proposals.Today we tell the story of a dark and dangerous man, Thomas David Carr.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app if you haven't done so already.Catch us on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia for short video stories of this place we call home.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Sanctified Hill was a section of Cumberland, Kentucky, where many retired African American miners and their families resided in homes many had built themselves. In 1972 heavy rains fell across Appalachia, resulting in flooding and, in the case of Sanctified Hill, a terrible disaster.Today we tell that story.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast...we're on your favorite podcast app.We're also on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia. There you'll find short video stories of Appalachia.Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends...This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Around the turn of the 20th century a man charged with murder escaped from the Scott County, Virginia, jail and headed to Texas. He likely would have spent the rest of his life there but for an accident. A real accident, involving a train.Today we tell the story of a man whose demand for justice from the railroad company led to his own reckoning back home.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast. We're on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks so much for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Rising tensions along the Appalachian frontier culminated with what's called "Lord Dunmore's War," named after the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore. That conflict came to a head with a battle in 1774 at Point Pleasant in what's now West Virginia, in which Dunmore's forces battled the Shawnee warriors under Chief Cornstalk.Today we tell that story.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Our story of the West Virginia Mine Wars continues at Matewan, West Virginia, where a famous gun battle left several mine company hired guards dead, along with the town mayor, among others. The fighting was so fierce, many townsfolk fled across the Tug Fork into Kentucky, seeking safety. This battle also set the stage for the climax of the mine wars: the Battle of Blair Mountain.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Spreaker, or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

On April 5, 1872, the last man to be hanged in Fentress County, Tennessee, was said to have made three eerie predictions, all of which came true.Today we tell the story of Cal Logston, a convicted murderer who is said to have foretold events up to a hundred years in the future. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast. We're at Spreaker.com or on your favorite podcast app.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

For a century and a half the king of central Appalachia has been coal. That mineral powered the industrial revolution in America, made some men and corporations very wealthy and provided jobs for the Appalachian men and women who dug it out of the ground. Those jobs, though, didn't pay nearly well enough to justify the human costs of the work, so in 1912 miners in the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek areas of West Virginia went on strike, triggering the first battle in what's come to be known as the West Virginia Mine Wars. Today we tell that story.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on Spreaker, where we tell the stories of this place we call home. We're also on your favorite podcast app. Catch us on TikTok and YouTube @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia for short video stories of the history and folklore of Appalachia.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/55

Alvin Goins was a hard worker who, like many Appalachian men of his time, never finished school and was unable to read or write. That never stopped him from getting work as a laborer in and around his home of Rhea County, Tennessee. But Mr. Goins was a little bit different.He was a mathematical genius, able to look at a pile of block, bricks and lumber and calculate in his head, almost to the last piece of wood, how much material would be needed to do the job.Today we tell his story.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast. We're on Spreaker and on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

Starting in the latter part of the 19th century and continuing up into the 20th century a valley in Clay County, West Virginia, became the site of a series of mysterious disappearances and deaths. It only stopped with the aid of an organized mob (yeah, we know, an oxymoron, but also true).Today we tell the story of the mysterious Booger Hole.If you haven't already done so, be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app.Catch us on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia for short video stories of this place we call home.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

On Friday, August 14, 1914, three Glen Alum Coal Company employees were returning to the mine office with that week's payroll. They didn't make it with the money to the mine alive.Today we tell the story of the great Glen Alum payroll robbery.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you download your podcasts.Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

In 1912 a young man's life was transformed by his witnessing a historic tragedy: the infamous Carroll County courthouse shootout, which left several prominent lawyers, police officers and a judge dead. Bob Childress left a life of violence, ignorance and alcohol abuse for a life of faith and service, establishing several churches in his part of Appalachia, many of which still exist today.Today we tell this man's remarkable story.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Spreaker or on your favorite podcast app.We're also on TikTok @storiesofappalachia and on Instagram @storyappalachia with short video stories of this place we call home...be sure to follow us there!Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

The Pocahontas coal field, located in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, was one of the most productive coal areas in the United States. The town of Pocahontas, in Tazewell County, Virginia, and for which the field was named, was granted a town charter by Virginia on January 31, 1884.Less than two months later tragedy struck when the Laurel (East) mine suffered a series of massive explosions powerful enough to move homes off their foundations and uproot massive trees.Today we tell the story of the Laurel mine disaster of 1884, a tragedy that cost the lives of at least 114 men and boys.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss any of our stories.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

In November 1966 a man on his way home from work literally drove into Appalachian history when he encountered a UFO blocking his way on I-77 outside Parkersburg, West Virginia. Not only that, he actually "spoke" to the occupant of said UFO!Today we tell the fascinating story of Woodrow Derenberger and his encounter with....something.You can subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss any of our stories.Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

In 1948 Clintwood, Virginia, held an election for the town's offices. After the campaigning, the voting, and the vote counting, something unique for it's time had happened: All of Clintwood's elected officials were women!Today we tell the story of the first all-female elected government in Appalachia.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast so you don't miss a single one of our stories.Thanks for listening!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement

From the 1930s to the 1980s an itinerant preacher from Georgia traveled throughout Appalachia and beyond in a ramshackle wagon pulled by a herd of goats. It was his way of spreading the gospel and of seeing the world beyond his home. Over those years Ches McCartney became world-renowned as the Goat Man.Today we tell his story.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast...we're found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, and most other podcast apps.Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5553692/advertisement