For decades a preacher would come to the Bristol, Virginia, train station to meet the incoming trains, looking for couples who’d come to the city to elope. He claimed to have married 5,142 couples, over 10,000 people, in a matrimonial career that included rival preachers, angry fathers, runaway couples, a “matrimonial hotel,” and even a plea to the state of Tennessee for a state pension based on his marrying work. This week we tell the story of Alfred Harrison Burroughs, known as “The Marrying Parson,” another one of the Stories of Appalachia. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast so you
In 1794, thousands of federalized militia marched into western Pennsylvania to put down an uprising by American farmers. Their crime? Making whiskey and refusing to pay a federal tax on it. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first major test of the new federal government’s authority, and George Washington personally accompanied the troops sent to suppress it. But why did a tax on whiskey bring the young United States so close to civil war? It’s another one of the Stories of Appalachia. Subscribe to the Stories podcast for more stories about the people, places, and events that shaped Appalachia. Tha
Dillion “Old Dill” Asher was one of the early pioneers of southeastern Kentucky, a frontier soldier and farmer who became the toll keeper at the Cumberland River ford at what’s now Pineville, giving him a front row seat to the early settlement of the state. In this episode, we tell Old Dill’s story, from his connection to the first settlers in what became Tennessee, his military service, his journeys into Kentucky along the Wilderness Road, the settlement of Red Bird Valley, and his, shall we say, “complicated family life.” Along the way, we try to separate what can be documented from the rich
In 1779, on the Georgia frontier, a group of armed Loyalist soldiers forced their way into Nancy Hart’s cabin, demanding a hot meal from a helpless woman and her daughter. Instead, they found themselves face to face with one of the American Revolution’s toughest and fiercest patriots. Join us as we tell the story of Nancy Hart, whose courage, quick thinking, and tough stand against soldiers loyal to the British crown made her one of the most celebrated heroines of the southern Appalachian frontier, another one of the Stories of Appalachia. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Stories podcast, avai
The infamous Killing Rock massacre ended with the deaths of a moonshiner and his wife and several of their friends on a mountain along the Virginia-Kentucky border. It began years earlier with a lawsuit, a bitter rivalry, and two determined men on opposite sides of the law. This week, we trace the feud between lawman Doc Marshall Benton Taylor and moonshiner Ira “Bad Ira” Mullins, and the long road that ended in one of the most notorious acts of violence in that part of Appalachia. It’s another one of the Stories of Appalachia. Don’t miss any of our stories by subscribing on your favorite podc
In the winter of 1789, Cherokee war leader John Watts made a daring decision. Instead of returning to the Chickamauga towns as he usually did for the winter, he established a hidden winter camp deep in the mountains, at what’s now the Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park in Unicoi County, Tennessee, so he and his men could attack the frontier farms when it was least expected. When John Sevier learned of the camp’s location, he led a militia through snow and bitter cold to launch a surprise attack that became one of the bloodiest and most controversial battles with the Cherokee. Join us as we
In the late 1780s a man from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, William Hewitt, crossed the Ohio River seeking to find solitude in the Appalachian wilderness after heartbreak changed his life forever. Living alone in caves and rough dugouts for nearly fifty years, Hewitt lived in peace alongside the Shawnee, served as a scout during the War of 1812, and became a legend across southeastern Ohio. But the strangest chapter of his story began after his death. Join us as we tell the haunting true story of the Hermit of Hewitt’s Fork. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast a
In September 1894, a routine drilling operation on a Tyler County, West Virginia, farm broke into a massive natural gas pocket, unleashing one of the most powerful and uncontrollable wells the world had ever seen. For nearly a year, the Big Moses well defied human engineering, triggered massive fissures in the ground, survived two separate lightning strikes, and wasted billions of cubic feet of gas. Join us as we tell this wild true story from the West Virginia oil boom era about the legendary Big Moses gas well. If you like these historical stories, make sure to hit that subscribe button and
Vincent “Clawhammer” Witcher became one of the most feared Confederate guerrilla leaders along the Virginia/Kentucky border in the Civil War. As the leader of what was called “Witcher’s Boys, he operated from the Ohio River in what’s now West Virginia down into northeast Tennessee, bringing brutal violence to both friend and foe alike. This week we tell his story, including notorious incidents in Lee County, Virginia and Unicoi County, Tennessee, that earned him the name “The Devil in the Mountains.” Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss any
The early settlements along the Watauga and Holston Rivers in what’s now Tennessee were the very beginning of “The Wild West.” While names like Daniel Boone, John Sevier, and William Bean filled the history books, another man was standing right beside them at nearly every major turning point—yet his story has been lost to time. In this episode, suggested by one of our listeners, Steve and Rod tell the story of Captain William Asher. One of the first to arrive in the Watauga settlement, Captain Asher served as a Patriot in the American Revolution, fought the Chickamauga, established fortified s
