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
An Appalachian Frontier Legend: Simon Kenton, Part Two
Today we wrap up our story about legendary Appalachian explorer, longhunter and guide Simon Kenton, who went from explorer and longhunter to owning hundreds of thousands of acres of frontier land, bu…
00:18:07 |
Sat 20 May 2023
An Appalachian Frontier Legend: Simon Kenton, Part One
Today we have a story so big we had to split it into two parts!
Simon Kenton was an Appalachian explorer, longhunter and guide. His life was so filled with adventure that it became the stuff of legend…
Simon Kenton was an Appalachian explorer, longhunter and guide. His life was so filled with adventure that it became the stuff of legend…
00:18:39 |
Sat 13 May 2023
French, The Alderson Lion
In 1890 the circus came to Alderson, West Virginia. When the circus moved on, it left a new resident of the town, which became loved by all, well, except for one traveling salesman.
Today we tell the …
Today we tell the …
00:13:31 |
Sat 06 May 2023
The Amazing Life of One-Armed Jimmy
Today we tell the story of a man who refused to let a "disability" keep him down.
Linguist, athlete, amateur astronomer, adventurer and genealogist James Brownlow Lawson from Sevier County, Tennessee,…
Linguist, athlete, amateur astronomer, adventurer and genealogist James Brownlow Lawson from Sevier County, Tennessee,…
00:12:54 |
Sat 29 Apr 2023
The Buffalo Creek Disaster
In February, 1972, a coal company muck dam along Buffalo Creek in Logan County, West Virginia, collapsed after a winter of heavy snow and rain. The resulting flash flood of water and gob destroyed ho…
00:14:43 |
Sat 22 Apr 2023
The Outlaw Otto Wood: Appalachian Escape Artist
Otto Wood was headed in the wrong direction from a young age. As a child he learned how to make moonshine while in the care of his relatives in West Virginia, to whom he had run away from home.
One th…
One th…
00:14:46 |
Sat 15 Apr 2023
The Flatwoods Monster
Did some Braxton County, West Virginia, kids see a UFO back in 1952? Some folks thought so, especially after locals began exhibiting strange symptoms. Today Steve and Rod tell the tale of the Flatwoo…
00:11:57 |
Sat 08 Apr 2023
Uncle Bush's Magnificent Funeral
In 1938 a Roane County, Tennessee, hermit felt the pull of time. Concerned about how he was going to be remembered after he was gone and wondering if anyone cared anyway, he decided to plan and hold…
00:09:55 |
Sat 01 Apr 2023
Hell's Cabin
There was once a cabin down by Sinking Creek at the foot of Droop Mountain in West Virginia, or so it's been told. That cabin was the home of a mysterious man known as "Old Hell."
Some folks around t…
Some folks around t…
00:11:16 |
Sat 25 Mar 2023
The Girl From Slab Fork, West Virginia
Doris Payne was born in 1930 to a coal miner in Slab Fork, West Virginia.
She didn't stay there. In fact, she ended up traveling the world for decades pursuing her chosen path in life.
International …
She didn't stay there. In fact, she ended up traveling the world for decades pursuing her chosen path in life.
International …
00:13:23 |
Sat 18 Mar 2023
The Man Who Wanted to be Alone - Uncle Nick Grindstaff
In the late 19th century a man from Stoney Creek, in Johnson County, Tennessee, went West to seek his fortune.
He found that fortune.
He then lost that fortune and in the process decided that he no l…
He found that fortune.
He then lost that fortune and in the process decided that he no l…
00:10:38 |
Sat 11 Mar 2023
The Knoxville Race Riot
In 1919 a wave of riots and lynchings occurred across America, fueled in part by a fear of communism and communist agitation among minorites and in part by fear of battle-hardened African-American so…
00:11:03 |
Sat 04 Mar 2023
The Legend of the Moon-eyed People
Years before European settlers moved into Appalachia, native tribes from Alabama to Ohio spoke of going to war with a mysterious race of pale-skinned people who were so sensitive to sunlight they onl…
00:10:22 |
Sat 25 Feb 2023
The Last Public Hangings in Lawrence County, Kentucky and Wilkes County, North Carolina
Today we bring you part of the end of an era of public executions in Appalachia, which had, in many cases, turned into an excuse for a carnival, with vendors selling food and drink (much of it the ha…
00:17:19 |
Sat 18 Feb 2023
The Unfetchable Moonshiner
One of the biggest moonshiners (literally) in Appalachia was a Melungeon woman from Newman's Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. She lived an interesting life, providing shine in many ways, includin…
00:17:37 |
Sat 11 Feb 2023
The Outlaw Kinnie Wagner
The 1920s were a decade of loosening morals, Prohibition and crime, with notorious outlaws popping up across America. Along with the likes of Al Capone, John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde was a home…
00:13:39 |
Sat 04 Feb 2023
The Last Gunfight of Troy and Elias Hatfield
In 1911 Devil Anse Hatfield’s sons Troy and Elias were in Fayette County running a bar, which was doing quite well. They had established their liquor and beer territory thanks to agreements with the …
00:12:48 |
Sat 28 Jan 2023
The Legendary Revenuer: Big Six
We've told stories of moonshiners; we've even interviewed one of them. Today we're going to tell the story of untaxed whiskey from the other side, that of the federal revenue agent, or revenuer.
One …
One …
00:12:06 |
Sat 21 Jan 2023
The Appalachian Prophet
A man from Anderson County, Tennessee, had developed a reputation as being a bit strange, going on about all those visions he had after his wife left him years before. One vision, though, led many pe…
00:08:07 |
Sat 14 Jan 2023
The Appalachian "Bat-Man"
In 1892 a West Virginia hermit living high above the Cheat River announced to the world that he had an invention: a suit that would allow him to fly above the forests and mountains of Appalachia just…
00:11:04 |
Sat 07 Jan 2023
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