Stories of Appalachia

20:41

Into the Unknown: John Lederer's Journeys Into...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/05/30

In the late 1600’s, Dr. John Lederer, a German immigrant to the Virginia colony, became one of the first Europeans to explore the Appalachian region. Between 1669 and 1670, Lederer made three trips into the Blue Ridge Mountains, traveled west and south through Native territories in Virginia and the Carolinas, and searched for a passage west through the Alleghenies.Along the way he encountered wolves, rattlesnakes, deadly spiders, Native villages, rumors of strange bearded white men, and stories that

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13:06

The Varmint of Burkes Garden

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/05/23

The highest mountain valley in Virginia is Burke’s Garden, also referred to as “God’s Thumbprint” for its bowl-like shape.It was here that something began killing sheep in the winter of 1952. Night after night, farmers woke to fresh losses, and no one could agree on what was responsible. Was it a wolf, a panther, or something stranger and unexplainable? This week we tell the story of Burke’s Garden and the mysterious predator that became known as the “Varmint of Burke’s Garden” and gripped an

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26:01

They Claimed They Spoke For God: Appalachia's 19th...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/05/16

This week we tell the strange and little-known story of the Mountain Cove Community, a spiritualist commune founded in the mountains of what’s now West Virginia in the early 1850s.Led by Reverends Thomas Lake Harris and James L. Scott, the group believed they could communicate with spirits, build a new Eden in Appalachia, and create a perfect society apart from the corruption of the outside world. But as power, prophecy, and control grew inside the community, Mountain Cove began to unravel.If you

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18:29

The Night They Burned Superman in West Virginia

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/05/09

In 1948, a small town in West Virginia became the center of a growing national fear over the perceived evil influence of comic books. There, in the town of Spencer, a schoolteacher and her students gathered thousands of comic books and set them ablaze in a bonfire, starting with one featuring the Man of Steel, Superman. What led to this dramatic moment? In this episode, Rod and Steve tell the story of the time a national panic reached into the heart of Appalachia, another one of the Stories of

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25:25

Worse than Savages: The Bloody Legacy of Kirk's Raiders

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/05/02

George Washington Kirk was a carpenter from Greene County, Tennessee.He was also a feared and hated Union soldier/bushwhacker during the Civil War, operating in the mountains along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. Kirk and his band of Unionists known as Kirk's Raiders were hailed as heroes by some and denounced as nothing but savages by others.From the audacious raid on Camp Vance and the brutal Battle of the Bloody Chucky at Red Banks in what’s now Erwin, to his post-war role in the

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27:48

The Long Walk Home: The Harrowing Journey of Mary...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/04/25

In 1755, the frontier settlement of Draper’s Meadow was shattered by a brutal Shawnee raid in which many settlers were killed and the survivors captured. Among those taken prisoner was Mary Draper Ingles, a young wife and mother. The group was forced into a grueling march north to a village in the Ohio country. Separated from her children and facing a winter in the wilderness, Mary made a choice that would become one of the greatest survival stories in American history.This week, we tell the story

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17:15

James Harrod: The Kentucky Pioneer and his Mysterious...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/04/18

James Harrod was a soldier, a longhunter, an explorer and the man who founded Kentucky’s first permanent pioneer settlement. But in February 1792, the legendary Colonel Harrod walked into the woods and never returned.Today we tell the story of the man who founded Harrodsburg, Kentucky and the many theories surrounding his mysterious disappearance, including a possible connection to the fabled Swift’s silver mine.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast so you don’t miss any of our stories.

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14:57

The Woman-Hating Hermit of Kentucky

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/04/11

Roger Tandy Quisenberry had every advantage in life: wealth, education, and opportunity, but chose a path few could understand. From the California Gold Rush to a dangerous expedition in Nicaragua, his early years were filled with adventure. But when he returned home to Kentucky, something had changed. He withdrew from everybody, lived alone in a crude cabin, and became known for his extreme isolation and strange behavior. Today we tell the story of Tandy Quisenberry, the woman hating hermit of

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17:39

The 1895 Flat Top Coal Strike

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/04/04

In the spring of 1895, a sudden wage cut swept through the Flat Top-Pocahontas coal fields along the Virginia/West Virginia border, touching off one of the earliest large-scale labor confrontations in that part of Appalachia. What began as a wildcat strike quickly shut down mines along the Norfolk and Western Railroad, disrupted coal shipments to Norfolk, and brought state militia into the company town of Pocahontas.Today we tell the story of the Flat Top miners’ strike of 1895.If you enjoy our

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16:39

Exploring the Cumberland: The Story of Kasper Mansker

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/03/28

Born aboard a ship of immigrants in the Atlantic Ocean, Kasper Mansker became a longhunter, venturing out to explore the wilderness of Kentucky and Tennessee from his home in what’s now West Virginia. From those longhunts to building Mansker’s Station and helping shape the Cumberland frontier, his life is part of the story of those who moved west on the Appalachian frontier. If you enjoy our stories, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Consider becoming a supporter of the

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19:56

The Old Red Fox of East Tennessee: Daniel Ellis

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/03/21

Daniel Ellis of Carter County, Tennessee was a wagon maker who became one of the most successful guides of the Civil War. Living behind Confederate lines in East Tennessee, Ellis created a secret route through the Appalachian Mountains to Union territory at Cumberland Gap.Traveling mostly at night and avoiding Confederate patrols, Ellis made about twenty journeys through East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, guiding roughly four thousand Union supporters to safety. About two thousand of them later

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23:10

Von Shores: The Daredevil Pilot of the Cumberlands

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/03/14

This week, Rod and Steve tell the story of Ray Vaughn Shores, better known as Von Shores, an Appalachian aviator and popular aerial daredevil in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky during the 1920s and ’30s, who, it’s said, once crashed his airplane near Pound, VirginiaHe was a favorite at local airshows and fairs and it’s also said he ran whiskey for Al Capone during prohibition.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you get you favorite podcasts. Consider becoming a supporter of

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18:34

The Kirkland Bushwhackers

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/03/07

This week, we tell a story from the lawless mountain border between western North Carolina and east Tennessee during the Civil War. As great battles raged elsewhere, outlaws and deserters came to the mountains to hide, to rob and to turn old trails and creek crossings into killing grounds.At the center of this story is John Jackson Kirkland and his gang, whose violence touched soldiers, civilians, rivals, and even their own kin. This is a story of a war without sides, and justice that never came.If

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15:06

Appalachia's Blues Brothers: Stick and Brownie McGhee

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/02/28

This week, Steve and Rod tell the story of Granville “Stick” McGhee and Walter “Brownie” McGhee, two brothers from East Tennessee whose music helped shape American blues and early rock ’n’ roll. Born in Knoxville, the McGhee brothers took the music they heard growing up and used it to launch themselves onto the national stage.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Consider becoming a supporter of the podcast and get extra content along with an ad-free

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19:24

Off To See the King: The 1730 Cherokee Mission to London

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/02/21

In 1730, seven Cherokee leaders traveled from their Appalachian home to the heart of London. Hand-picked by a Scottish adventurer named Alexander Cumming, they were presented to King George II as "Kings" of a new empire. Today we tell the story of that voyage and how these Native Americans navigated their way through the streets of the city at the center of the British Empire, all while securing an alliance on their own terms. It’s another one of the Stories of Appalachia.If you like our stories of

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24:21

The Cursed Rails of the Big Bull Tunnel

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/02/14

The Big Bull Tunnel in Wise County, Virginia looks like any other railroad tunnel, just a simple cut through a hillside. Looks, though, can be deceiving, as the tunnel’s history is packed with accidents, strange noises, deaths, and a chilling encounter that turned a routine inspection into a bit of Appalachian folklore. In this episode, Steve and Rod tell the story of the tunnel’s difficult construction, the tragedies that followed, and the story that convinced railroad officials something inside

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16:21

The Dark Shadows of Blue Ridge, Georgia

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/02/07

Today we tell not one but two stories, both involving the same community in Fannin County, Georgia. In 1864 two men, brothers-in-law Elisha Stanley and Evan Hughes, became the victims of a gang of violent bushwhackers who terrorized the area during the Civil War, leaving their families to pick up the pieces. Forty years later, in 1906, the Tilley Bend massacre occurred in the same area, causing a local woman, Elizabeth Bradley, known as a "Granny Woman" and healer, to place a curse on the community,

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14:18

Outlaws of the High Country: The Story of the Eller Gang

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/01/31

This week Rod and Steve tell the story of a gang of robbers who cast a long shadow over Ashe County, North Carolina in the unsettled years after the Civil War. One by one they fell, until only Linville Eller remained. He, too, met his fate in 1890 after a massive manhunt. This is the story of the Eller Gang, led by brothers Linville and Henry Eller, the North Carolina high country’s most notorious 19th-century outlaws, another one of the Stories of Appalachia. Thanks for listening.

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16:06

When a Final Wish Became a Circus: The Story of the...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/01/24

This week’s story is the bizarre true tale of Leila Davidson Hansell, known as "The Sunshine Woman," and the controversy surrounding her final resting place in Hendersonville, NC.Leila's final wish upon her death in 1915 was to be buried above ground in a unique mausoleum topped with 147 squares of prism glass, designed to let the sun shine down on her remains. For over two decades, her glass-topped tomb became a must-see tourist attraction, fueled by a 1926 newspaper article that confirmed the

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22:41

The Tennessee Moonshiner the Law Couldn’t Hold: The...

Stories of Appalachia ·

2026/01/17

Born in Blount County, Hut Amerine grew into one of East Tennessee’s most notorious moonshiners. After the Civil War, federal whiskey taxes ignited a bitter conflict between mountain distillers and revenue agents. Accused in the fatal shooting of a federal officer, Amerine became the target of an intense manhunt, spoke publicly in his own defense, escaped jail twice, and ultimately vanished. It’s a true Appalachian outlaw story, another one of the Stories of Appalachia.If you’ve not done so already,

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