Stories of Appalachia
Welcome to "Stories of Appalachia," the podcast where hosts Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins have been unraveling the captivating history and folklore of the Appalachian region since 2015. Join them as they guide you through mist-covered mountains and winding rivers, exploring the stories that define the heart and soul of Appalachia.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 557
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
The French Settlement
During the French Revolution a French baron attempted to establish a colony of Frenchmen in Appalachia, at present-day St. Paul, Virginia. Today we tell you that story. You can subscribe to the Stor…
00:11:57 |
Sat 12 Jun 2021
Joseph Martin
Explorer, surveyor, soldier and Indian agent are all jobs held by Joseph Martin. He also built a settlement, Martin's Station, that was a way station for settlers moving west into Kentucky. Today we …
00:14:17 |
Sat 05 Jun 2021
The Draft Dodger
During World War I a wealthy playboy from Philadelphia refused induction into the U. S. Army and was charged and convicted of draft evasion. He managed to escape and, when captured, offered to buy h…
00:10:58 |
Sat 29 May 2021
Who Am I ?
Today we tell the story of an East Tennessee man who realized after 20 years of marriage that he wasn't who he always thought he was. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitc…
00:11:19 |
Sat 22 May 2021
Earl
On April 11, 1946, Earl McFarland was captured by the FBI at the corner of Gay Street and Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville while waiting for a streetcar. Why this happened to a Marine veteran of the B…
00:12:46 |
Sat 15 May 2021
The Scopes Monkey Trial, Part Two
In 1925 the state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. Today we tell part two of that story, the trial itself. You can subscr…
00:10:04 |
Sat 08 May 2021
The Scopes Monkey Trial, Part One
In 1925 the state of Tennessee passed the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. A group of men in Dayton, Tennessee, decided to challenge that law with…
00:13:23 |
Sat 01 May 2021
The Kentucky Meat Shower 2021
Today we go back and retell one of our favorite stories, about a very odd occurrence at a farm in Kentucky in the 1870s that's still a mystery today. A tasty tale, indeed. You can subscribe to the St…
00:12:33 |
Sat 24 Apr 2021
Cassius Marcellus Clay
Prior to the Civil War the Clay family of Kentucky was one of the nation's most prominent political families, the most well-known of which was congressman, senator, speaker of the House and Secretary…
00:11:59 |
Sat 17 Apr 2021
George Washington's Lost Colony
After the French and Indian War the governor of Virginia awarded veterans land in the western part of the state in payment for their service to king and colony. Among those vets receiving land was G…
00:14:48 |
Sat 10 Apr 2021
Bouncing Bertha's Appalachian Ghost
In 1938 a family had an encounter with an Appalachian ghost when young Bertha Sybert's bed began to shake mysteriously every night. Soon people were coming from all over the country to witness the sp…
00:15:54 |
Sat 03 Apr 2021
Kidnapped!
In 1949 a gang robbed the Bank of Follansbee, near Weirton, West Virginia, of $5,400.00 and made their escape. Later that night two policemen pulled over a car they suspected belonged to those robber…
00:08:48 |
Sat 27 Mar 2021
The Marshall University Plane Crash
November 14, 1970, is a date burned into the memories of the residents of Huntington, West Virginia. That's the day Marshall University lost its football team in a terrible plane crash, and that's t…
00:11:54 |
Fri 19 Mar 2021
Fire In The Hole!
New Straitsville, Ohio, was founded as a coal town in the Hocking Valley after the Civil War. Labor unrest happened in the 1880's, leading to the Great Hocking Valley coal strike. During that strike …
00:10:59 |
Sat 13 Mar 2021
The Greeneville Cholera Epidemic of 1873
In 1873 a wave of cholera swept across the southeastern U.S. This epidemic hit the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, hard; so hard, in fact, that around 10% of the town's population was killed. Today …
00:15:37 |
Sat 06 Mar 2021
The Shelton Laurel Massacre
Loyalties were divided in Appalachia, from Kentucky to Tennessee to North Carolina. And it was in western North Carolina that a Confederate army unit committed an atrocity against Union sympathizers …
00:10:25 |
Sat 27 Feb 2021
Appalachia And The First Anti-Lynching Law
Wise County, Virginia, saw very little racial violence after the Civil War. In fact, up until 1927, there were only three known cases of death by lynching in this southwestern Virginia county. But th…
00:13:30 |
Sat 20 Feb 2021
The Lady Chained To The Wall
Firefighters responding to a house fire in Canton, Pennsylvania, in 1896 were stunned by what they found. Today we tell that story. The Stories podcast is available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Goog…
00:08:50 |
Sat 13 Feb 2021
The Wild Man Of The Smokies
Mason Evans was a schoolteacher and principal in McMinn County, in southeast Tennessee. After his one true love left him he made a fateful and life-changing decision to head to the Smoky Mountains. T…
00:13:18 |
Sat 06 Feb 2021
The Wright-Templeton Gang
The bloody legacy of the Civil War lived on in Appalachia up until the beginning of the 20th century in the form of feuds and honor killings between those who once served the Union and those who did …
00:14:00 |
Sat 30 Jan 2021
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