The following is an excerpt from a report by Harvard Ayers, Ph.D. of the Dept. of Anthropology, Appalachian State University. The area of the Battle of Blair Mountain is being nominated under category A of the National Register criteria, as…

A set of bitter lawsuits has erupted around the question of who is responsible for contaminating the drinking water in Rawl, WV. and even what can be said about it. In late April, a Massey Energy subsidiary filed a libel…

Harlan County USA Rounder 11661-4026-2 Protest songs are a time-honored method of American political expression. From Woody Guthrie’s Depression-era union anthems up through current fare by Neil Young and the Dixie Chicks, politics and music have long intermingled. Songs serve…

images/voice_uploads/18_Mother-Jones.gif To the commissioners of Jefferson County, West Virginia it looked like a slam dunk. All they wanted to do was level the 80-year old former Jefferson County jail that sits on the main street of the sleepy community of…

The Mountain that Hugh Morton found so fascinating was already famous. This account of Muir’s visit, written by Hugh Morton’s son Jim, shows the family interest. On September 25, 1898, America’s most celebrated conservationist and naturalist, John Muir, visitied Grandfather…

Mining and logging companies are responsible for flooding damage that occurred downstream of their projects in 2001, a West Virginia jury ruled in May. It is believed to be the first time in recent memory that a verdict against the…

This April, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Blair mountain, the West Virginia site of a 1921 labor confrontation, as one of the country’s most threatened historic places. “Past preservation efforts have failed because of fierce opposition from the…

I am a child of Appalachia, and I say that with pride. I was born and raised in a coal camp up Cabin Creek Hollow near Kayford, West Virginia. As was often the practice then, my family shared a house…