Appalachian Culture
Background
The name Appalachian (App-a-latch-i-an) came from the word Appalachee from the Appalachee Indians. Appalachia is in the southeastern United States, which is located in North America. It is also the second largest mountain system of North America. The mountains begin at the south easternmost tip of Canada, and end in Central Alabama, stretching 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers). There’s a northern Appalachian region and a southern Appalachian region. This article is about the southern Appalachian region, which is divided into three main sections—the Blue Ridge, the Great Valley, and the Ridge-and-Valley Province. The tallest mountain is Mt. Mitchell (6,684 ft or 2,037 meters) near Asheville, North Carolina. The states of the southern region of the Appalachians are eastern Kentucky, southeastern Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Used by permission of the Jesse Stuart Foundation.
Not to be reproduced.
Jesse Stuart
looking at his farm.
People
The majority of the people of the Southern Appalachian region came from England, Scotland, and Germany. They came around the time of Daniel Boone in the 1700’s. They came seeking land, more freedom, and new opportunities. Because the coastal areas were over-populated, the people started moving farther west and settled in the Appalachian Mountains. Other people came from Ireland, Wales, France, Italy, Holland, and Africa. They came in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Before any of these groups came, the Cherokee and Shawnee Indians were in the area for more than a thousand years. Now, people from all over the country and world have come to the region because their jobs have transferred them. This makes the area more of a multi-cultural region.
Values
The values of the Appalachians are less modern than the customs of some bigger cities in America. Others refer to the mountain people of Appalachia as hicks, rednecks, and hillbillies. Some people believe that Appalachians are uneducated. This is because it took a few generations to get schools when the new settlers came. Most Appalachians value the commandments of the Bible and think of themselves as Christians. A Christian is a person who believes Jesus is the Son of God. Most attend protestant churches. Protestant churches are separate from the Catholic Church. Some protestant churches are Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Nazarene, Church of God, and more. Appalachians care a lot about family values. The families who first arrived and claimed land for farming passed their land on to the next generations and they passed it on to the next and so on. Sometimes the person who owned the land had more than one child and they would split up the land and that made them all neighbors. When people grow up and become adults, they have three choices about where to live. They are: stay in their hometown, move away, and go away and come back (which is what Jesse Stuart did). Now Jesse Stuart’s daughter is living at his home. His sister lives in their parents’ home. Loyal Jones in his book Appalachian Values describes Appalachian people as independent, self-reliant, proud, neighborly, hospitable, humble, modest, patriotic and having a good sense of humor. Since mountain people worked so hard to get freedom, doesn’t that make them independent? When neighbors are in need the people of the mountains help each other out, like when their houses burn down, there is a death or illness in the family, or if their car breaks down. Neighbors will donate clothes, furniture, food or money; run errands; baby-sit; and give them a ride. Appalachians hang the US flag in public places, on their houses, on their cars, wear them on their clothing and even decorate the inside of their homes in Americana. These are several ways mountain people show patriotism.
Commerce
The Southern Appalachian Mountains have a great amount of natural resources including, iron, coal, limestone, shale, oil, gold, silver, copper, lead, and marble. Because of these resources, mountain people have a cornucopia of industries to provide a livelihood. Other ways they make money is by crafting, farming, shop keeping, and logging. One of the biggest industries in Appalachia is coal mining. There are two types of coal mining—underground and strip or surface mining. The majority of mining in Appalachia is done by underground. Farming is another important way mountain people make a living in Appalachia. Some of the major crops are tobacco, corn, cotton, hay, fruits, vegetables, and wheat. (Photo of Jesse Stuart cutting tobacco is displayed on this page.) Farms also produce dairy products, poultry, beef and pork. Because of the many river systems and natural resources from the Appalachian Mountains, many factories have located in the region. Some are oil refineries, steel mills, chemical plants, power plants, and lumber mills. In the craft making industry, Appalachia is know for basket weaving, quilting, wood-carving, rug-making and making musical instruments—dulcimers and fiddles. The dulcimer and fiddle are made to play bluegrass and folk music.
Used by permission of the Jesse Stuart Foundation.
Not to be reproduced.
Jesse Stuart cutting
tobacco.
Preservation
In 1965, the US Congress created the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support economic and social development in Appalachia. The program serves parts of 13 states from both the Northern and Southern Regions. The states are: West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The federal government grants moneys to state, county and local agencies to encourage and improve education, transportation, and medical care. One example of these agencies is the Jesse Stuart Foundation whose missions is “preserving the literary legacy of Jesse Stuart while fostering appreciation of the Appalachian way of life through…book publishing and other activities.” It was founded in 1979 by University of Louisville professor, Dr. Harold Richardson. In 1985, Dr. James Gifford became the foundation executive director and opened full-time offices in Ashland, Kentucky. They produce books to be used in schools by teachers and librarians that “…make reading fun for children while teaching solid values at the same time.”
Used by permission of the Jesse Stuart Foundation.
Not to be reproduced.
