Blue Ridge Country

The book offers a regional portrait of the Appalachian Blue Ridge, describing rugged geography and dense hardwood forests that shaped an isolated, self-reliant mountain populace. It traces settlement patterns and daily labor, detailing timber, farming, stills, and the roles of women. Social life and tradition appear in accounts of feuds, weddings, funerals, religious practices, superstitions, and local legends that explain community morals. Singing and balladry are shown as cultural glue and a remedy for violence. Chapters follow the transition from wilderness to modernization — education, public works, coal and timber exploitation — and conclude with observations on fading ways of life and the persistence of mountain identity.