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Pine Mountain: Community At The Crossroads Of Appalachia, Marly Hazen Mcquillen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Just north of the Cumberland Gap, the Pine Mountain community exemplifies cultural, industrial and educational forces that shaped Southern Appalachian history. Conflicts among Native American nations, particularly local Shawnees and neighboring Cherokees, gave southeastern Kentucky renown as "Bloody Ground." Black and white settlers arrived, and the area became home to Melungeons, an African, European and Native American triracial population. Pine Mountain's foundations took root in the early 19th century, developing a homestead culture. Traditions were shaken by the Civil War, local feuds and the rapid expansion of industrialization (timber, rail and coal). Coal camps and the struggle for unionization defined …