History provides a sense of place. Increasingly, communities are building their own place in history, and finding that preserving the past and marketing it to visitors can also provide a boost in the present.
Blog Archives
The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of Women Who Helped Win World War II By Denise Kiernan Back when African Americans and Caucasian Americans couldn’t drink from the same water fountains and women were an anomaly in the workforce, a team of young…
An Era of Undoing: The State of Appalachia’s Labor Unions
By Brian Sewell “We are union,” the marchers chanted. Blanketing the streets of downtown Charleston, W.Va., with bystanders shouting in support, the vocal crowd stretched for blocks behind a banner that read “Fighting for Fairness at Patriot.” Shortly after Patriot…
The Spirit of Foxfire is Alive in Appalachia
By Peter Boucher In 1966, a high school teacher in Rabun County, Ga., tried a new teaching approach in order to win the attention of his disobedient, disinterested students. He assigned his English class the task of interviewing Appalachian homesteaders…
Historical Hidden Treasures of North Carolina
By Rachel Ellen Simon Junaluska Memorial Site, Museum, and Medicine Trail Cherokee warrior Junaluska was among the thousands of Native Americans that were forcibly relocated via the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. Unlike most, however, Junaluska was eventually able…
Historical Hidden Treasures of Virginia
By Rachel Ellen Simon Hidden Treasures RELATED STORIES North Carolina Virginia Tennessee West Virginia Kentucky Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine Most may know it as the title of a lullaby, but “Baby Mine” is also the name of the first mine…
TAGS: Affrilachia African American Appalachian African-American Cultural Center Burke's Gardens exhibition coal mine Hidden Treasures History Pocahontas Virginia
Historical Hidden Treasures of Tennessee
By Rachel Ellen Simon Lost Sea / Craighead Caverns Sweetwater, Tennessee is home to the largest underground lake in America. Spanning over 4.5 acres, the Lost Sea lies hundreds of feet beneath a mountain within the Craighead Caverns cave system.…
Historical Hidden Treasures of West Virginia
By Rachel Ellen Simon Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex Well before humans began tearing down hills in West Virginia, they were building them — in miniature. Over 3,000 years ago, the area was home to the Adena, a society of…
Historical Hidden Treasures of Kentucky
By Rachel Ellen Simon U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum In the mid-20th century, an eastern Kentucky saying put a new spin on the “three Rs” – “readin’, writin’, and Route 23.” With the post-war decline of coal, millions of…
TAGS: Hidden Treasures History Kentucky Magoffin County Pioneer Village U.S. 23 Country Music Highway museum
After Coal: Welsh and Appalachian Mining Communities
What happens to a community historically centered around coal mining when the coal runs out? The story of fossil fuels is a story of booms and busts, and reports indicate that Central Appalachia is on the brink of the greatest…
TAGS: After Coal appalachia Center for Appalachian Studies Coal Economic Transition History Peak Coal Tom Hansell Wales
