Woolly Worms

Woolly Worms

Not too many generations ago, before snow plows, central heat, and supermarkets, winters in Appalachia were a much different experience than they are today. Many basic necessities such as mobility, heat, and food were not taken for granted. . .

Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

As undeveloped land shrank in the East, the desire to preserve a wilderness experience intensified. In 1925 a forester, Benton McKaye, organized a conference in Washington, DC, to plan the construction of a footpath that would stretch the length of the Appalachian...
Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

  Essay By Timothy N. Osment History, M.A. WCU 2008 The Blue Ridge Parkway, stretching 469 miles between the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, has offered visitors breathtaking vistas, wilderness access, and a reprieve from fast-paced...
Logging

Logging

Industrial logging came to Appalachia with the railroad in the late 19th century. As timber supplies in the Northeast and the Great Lakes regions dwindled, National Lumber Corporation shifted to the vast hardwood forests of the Southern mountains.

Floods of 1916 and 1940

Floods of 1916 and 1940

Many people in the mountains of Appalachia vividly remember September, 2004. During that month, the rains and winds of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan combined to swell the French Broad, Catawba, and Pigeon Rivers to record flood levels. Several fatalities and millions of...
Ghost Towns

Ghost Towns

Towns do not survive forever. Western North Carolina has a number of its own lost towns. They disappeared for a number of reasons.