Stories of Appalachia

This week Steve and Rod share the true survival story of Captain Robert A. Ragan.A schoolteacher and Union supporter from Cocke County in East Tennessee, Ragan was forced into hiding for 18 months after Confederate soldiers dragged him from his classroom.Living as a fugitive in the mountain wilderness, Ragan survived close encounters with rebel patrols, a brutal foot injury, and near-executions. He went on to become a mountain "pilot," guiding hundreds of Unionists across enemy lines into Kentucky, through a perilous sprint across Powell Valley. It’s another one of the Stories of Appalachia.Be sure to like, comment and subscribe so you don’t miss any of our stories.

Before Robert Fulton, there was James Rumsey, an inventor who defied his skeptics and the power of the Potomac River at Shepardstown, in what’s now West Virginia.Today we tell the story of how a chance encounter with George Washington led to Rumsey’s water-jet propelled steamboat twenty years before Robert Fulton’s Claremont and a patent war with another inventor.Subscribe to the Stories podcast on your favorite podcast app so you never miss our stories. Thanks for listening!

Before Elkmont became a tourist destination and eventually a ghost town, it was home to Levi Trentham, a mountain landowner, businessman, hunter, guide, and unofficial mayor.As railroads, lumber companies, wealthy tourists, and then the Great Smoky Mountains National Park transformed the Smokies, Levi watched the world he knew disappear. He also fought against the stereotypes outsiders used to portray Appalachian people, insisting that the people he knew were intelligent, capable, and independent.This is the story of Levi Trentham and the changing world of Elkmont.Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of our Stories of Appalachia.Thanks for listening!

In 1906, escaped convict Will Harris arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, and unleashed one of the most violent crime sprees in the city’s history. After killing several men, including police officers, Harris fled Asheville, sparking a massive manhunt involving hundreds of armed citizens.This is the story of Will Harris, the outlaw who claimed he came straight from hell… and brought hell with him to Asheville.Be sure to like, comment and subscribe for more Stories of Appalachia.Thanks for listening.

Richard Trotter was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774, leaving behind his wife, Anne. Instead of living quietly, raising their son, she became a scout and courier on the Appalachian frontier, earning the nickname “Mad Anne” for her fearless rides through dangerous territory before marrying another man she met on the frontier.Her life was full of adventure, including the often told story of her daring mission to bring gunpowder to an isolated frontier fort threatened with attack by the Shawnee.  Behind that story was a real woman who lived an extraordinary life on the Appalachian frontier.This is the story of Mad Anne Bailey, the heroine of West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley, another one of the Stories of Appalachia.If you’ve not done so already, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app or on our YouTube channel.