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 Night Marauder of Blount County, Tennessee
In the 1920s residents of Maryville, in Blount County, Tennessee, were living in fear of being the victim of a violent home invasion by a mysterious man known as the Night Marauder. One man was arre…
00:12:24 |
Sat 20 Aug 2022
The Farmington Coal Mine Explosion
On November 20, 1968, there was a massive explosion at the Consol number 9 mine near Farmington, West Virginia. This explosion resulted in the death of scores of miners, including the uncle of a curr…
00:16:19 |
Sat 13 Aug 2022
Robert Porterfield and the Barter Theater
From its beginnings in a former church, the Barter Theater has become the premiere theatrical destination in Appalachia, starting the careers of many a Broadway and Hollywood actor.
Today we tell the …
Today we tell the …
00:17:42 |
Sat 06 Aug 2022
The Appalachian Rip Van Winkle
In the Washington Irving story, Rip Van Winkle partakes in some boozy fun in the Catskill Mountains in New York, then falls asleep for 20 years, waking to find the world completely changed. That sto…
00:11:36 |
Sat 30 Jul 2022
How Gatlinburg Got Its Name
Every place has a name, and every name has its story...including the tourist destination of the Smokey Mountains, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Listen as we tell you the very interesting story of how White O…
Listen as we tell you the very interesting story of how White O…
00:15:03 |
Sat 23 Jul 2022
The Trial of Wilson Howard
In the 1880's there was a feud between the Turner and Howard families in Harlan County, Kentucky, almost as notorious as the one going on between the Hatfields and the McCoys a couple of counties to …
00:18:43 |
Sat 16 Jul 2022
That Time Roy Acuff Ran For Governor
Back in the 1940s Roy Acuff was at the top of his game. He was a country music star with such hits as "The Great Speckled Bird" and "The Wabash Cannonball" under his belt; he was appearing in the mov…
00:17:03 |
Sat 09 Jul 2022
Belle Boyd, The Siren of the Shenandoah
Isabella Marie Boyd, better known to history as Belle Boyd, was a notorious rebel spy during the Civil War who used her wiles to obtain Union secrets which she then passed on to the Confederate gover…
00:10:43 |
Sat 02 Jul 2022
General John D. Imboden
Lawyer, politician, Confederate general, land developer, promoter of coal and the founder of the town of Damascus, Virginia. All these jobs were held by one man for whom a mine and a coal camp were a…
00:10:45 |
Sat 25 Jun 2022
The Legend of Swift's Silver Mine
It's been said that there is a mine somewhere in Appalachia, in which a vein of the highest quality silver can be found. And it's located...well, that's the problem. Nobody knows where this suppose…
00:18:56 |
Sat 18 Jun 2022
The Murder of the Richards Sisters
Early in 1940 two middle-aged sisters and a teen-aged boy who did odd jobs for them were brutally murdered in their home in Oliver Springs, Tennessee.
These killings were unsolved for over 60 years.
…
These killings were unsolved for over 60 years.
…
00:14:44 |
Sat 11 Jun 2022
The Showgirl and the Tobacco Heir
On November 23, 1931, 20-year-old Zachary Smith Reynolds of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was divorced from his first wife. Six days later he married his second wife, Broadway showgirl Libby Holman…
00:16:27 |
Sat 04 Jun 2022
Good Trouble
In 1965 a Kentucky widow managed to drive the coal company from her land with what was called a "sit-in," an early use of peaceful civil disobedience in Appalachia.
Today we tell the story of Ollie …
Today we tell the story of Ollie …
00:11:54 |
Sat 28 May 2022
Hog Greer of Big Bald Mountain
A jilted young man came over the mountains from North Carolina to Tennessee, intent on spending the rest of his life alone on a mountaintop. This he did, along with developing his own moral code, re…
00:14:55 |
Sat 21 May 2022
Joash And The Beast
Many years ago, before the first settlers had arrived on the Appalachian frontier of what's now West Virginia and far southwestern Virginia, it's told that a long hunter and his son spent some time h…
00:10:06 |
Sat 14 May 2022
The Battle of the State of Franklin
In 1788 the fate of the State of Franklin was uncertain. North Carolina had re-exerted control over the area, appointing judges, sheriffs and other state and county officials, and residents of the a…
00:11:15 |
Sat 07 May 2022
Asheville's Ponzi
We've told the stories of businessmen in Appalachia, all with their own colorful history, folks from Cas Walker to Virgil Q. Wacks. But they take a back seat to an Asheville businessman who took pus…
00:25:34 |
Sat 30 Apr 2022
The Harlan County Coal War
During the Great Depression of the 1930s coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, struck against the coal operators for better pay and better working conditions. These strikes often turned violent and…
00:16:51 |
Sat 23 Apr 2022
Dr. Ralph Stanley
Today we tell the story of one of the most successful musicians to come from Southwest Virginia: Dr. Ralph Stanley, from Dickenson County. Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcast…
00:09:33 |
Sat 16 Apr 2022
The Crash Of The Shenandoah
In 1923 a rigid airship, made with new material produced by Alcoa Aluminum in Pittsburgh, became the U. S. Navy's flagship aircraft. Two years later this airship came down in bad weather in eastern…
00:13:07 |
Sat 09 Apr 2022
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