Hurricane Helene: Appalachian History

To aid Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, a portion of all proceeds from books sold on our website in October will be donated to the American Red Cross.

In celebration of the vibrant history and culture of Appalachia, we've collected nearly 350 books on the history of affected communities that we hope you will consider adding to your collection and further supporting the victims of Helene.

6 products
A History of Transportation in Western North Carolina: Trails, Roads, Rails and Air
A History of Transportation in Western North Carolina: Trails, Roads, Rails and Air
$24.99
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
$24.99
Johnson City
Johnson City
$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%
Railroads of North Carolina
Railroads of North Carolina
$24.99
The Clinchfield No. 1: Tennessee's Legendary Steam Engine
The Clinchfield No. 1: Tennessee's Legendary Steam Engine
$21.99
The Virginia Creeper in Ashe County
The Virginia Creeper in Ashe County
$24.99

A History of Transportation in Western North Carolina: Trails, Roads, Rails and Air

9781467137065

$24.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
Traveling across the treacherous and diverse landscape of western North Carolina is a challenge historically met with human ingenuity. Mountain traces of Native Americans, dusty stagecoach routes and vital railroads lined the region. Asheville installed the state's first electric streetcars. Intrepid young men and women continued North Carolina's aviation legacy. The Buncombe Turnpike helped tame the Blue Ridge Mountains, allowing livestock drives to reach markets in South Carolina. Author Terry Ruscin reveals the visionaries and risk-takers who paved the way to the "Land of the Sky" in a wondrous examination of western North Carolina transportation history.
A History of Transportation in Western North Carolina: Trails, Roads, Rails and Air

Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

9781467113267

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Having whistled its first "all aboard" in 1988, the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway now rambles alongside the Toccoa's clear waters, treating 50,000-plus sightseers annually to verdant mountain scenery. This former Cherokee land's pioneers carved homesteads from rough terrain, doggedly hauling goods via mule wagon. The discovery of rich copper veins in nearby Polk County, Tennessee, attracted an influx of settlers, but before they could enjoy an Industrial Age boom including rail for faster freight movement, they would endure route changes, bankruptcies, and land-rights issues. As Fannin, Polk, and surrounding counties neared the 20th century, the long-anticipated railroad arrived, and with it prosperity. This is a photographic history of the copper miners, shop owners, homesteaders, and railroad workers who made these mountains their homes, often for many proud generations.
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Johnson City

9781467129664

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%
Johnson City's growth was transformed through development of transportation in East Tennessee. Trails first blazed by migrating buffalo and Native Americans evolved into trails for stagecoaches, tracks for rail lines, and paved roads for automobiles. Henry Johnson realized the potential for the area and took a risk in 1854 when he bought a parcel from Abraham Jobe at the junction of the proposed East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and the stage road to build a home, store, and depot. The community that arose around this complex was known by many names in its early days, including Blue Plum, Haynesville, and Johnson's Depot. However, on December 1, 1869, Johnson City received its first charter of incorporation from the State of Tennessee. As Johnson City approaches the 2019 sesquicentennial of the city's incorporation, this collection of postcards provides a look back at the people, places, and scenery around Johnson City.
Johnson City

Railroads of North Carolina

9780738553368

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Since the opening of the first permanent railway in 1833, hundreds of railroad companies have operated in North Carolina.

Rail transportation, faster and more efficient than other methods of the era, opened new markets for the products of North Carolina's farms, factories, and mines. Over the years, North Carolina rail companies have ranged in size from well-engineered giants like the Southern Railway to temporary logging railroads like the Hemlock. Cross ties and rails were laid across almost every conceivable terrain: tidal marshes, sand hills, rolling piedmont, and mountain grades. Vulnerable to the turbulent and unregulated economies of the day, few railroad companies escaped reorganizations and receiverships during their corporate lives, often leaving tangled and contradictory histories in their passing.

Railroads of North Carolina

The Clinchfield No. 1: Tennessee's Legendary Steam Engine

9781626195967

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
As general manager for Erwin, Tennessee-based Clinchfield Railroad, Thomas D. Moore found an eighty-six-year-old vintage 4-6-0 ten-wheeler steam engine--the Clinchfield No. 1. Miraculously, the engine had escaped the cutter's torch when, in the mid-1950s, the railroad retired its steam fleet, shuttered passenger service and embraced the diesel era. Moore wanted the No. 1 fully restored and its long life on the rails--which had included being the first train to reach the victims of the 1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood--celebrated as a goodwill ambassador for the railroad. The revived Clinchfield No. 1 led beloved excursion trains that visited seven state capitals, bringing joy to passengers from the Appalachian Mountains to Tampa, Florida. Join authors Mark A. Stevens and A.J. Alf" Peoples on the journey of the real-life little engine that could."
The Clinchfield No. 1: Tennessee's Legendary Steam Engine

The Virginia Creeper in Ashe County

9780738588148

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West Jefferson did not exist until local entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to run the tracks from Whitetop Mountain in Virginia to North Carolina. In 1914, the Virginia Carolina Railroad came to Ashe County. Virgin timber grew in the mountains, luring the Hassenger Lumber Company into the area. Small sawmills and lumbering operations were located "up every holler," so the tracks were expanded into Elkland, known today as Todd. Until 1933, the train ran daily into the county, and communities such as Nella, Tuckerdale, Camrose, Bowie, Lansing, Warrensville, Berlin, and West Jefferson grew up along the tracks. The timber was gone by 1929, and when the Great Depression came, the Norfolk and Western Abingdon Line made the slow grinding haul up the mountain every week. During the 1950s and 1960s, the spectacular fall leaf displays made excursion trains popular for tourists. The last train ran in 1977, and the tracks in Ashe County were removed, leaving only a few vestiges to show the train was ever here.
The Virginia Creeper in Ashe County