- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 1 edition (Mar 19 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1572330384
- ISBN-13: 978-1572330382
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.6 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Bell worked as a courthouse reporter at the Oak Ridger in mountainous Anderson County, TN, she collected the oral histories of people whose memories stretched back to the turn of the century. Here she presents their narratives of past events, including two deadly explosions at Windrock Mine and the 1891 Coal Creek War between miners and state militia. Reflecting the stories themselves, the book is often rambling and disjointed. Although it is a real contribution to genealogical and local history collections, this title will have little interest for a broader audience, unlike Harry M. Caudill's Night Comes to the Cumberlands (LJ 7/63).ANancy Turner, New Mexico State Univ. Lib., Las Cruces
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Around 1800, a Revolutionary War veteran named Micajah Frost came to the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee and cleared a portion of virgin forest in what is now Anderson County. Others followed, and eventually this small area was dotted with settlers. In the years since, those settlers and their descendants witnessed the strife of the Civil War, the rise of the coal-mining and logging industries, the coming of the railroad, and countless smaller upheavals. Drawn largely from the memories of long-time residents, this delightful book revisits two hundred years of history in the communities surrounding what was locally called Windrock Mountain.
The stories Augusta Bell recounts take us from Oliver Springs—which had its origins in the grist mill Moses Winters built in 1799 and which later became a “boom town” with a fashionable resort hotel—to places like New River Valley, Graves Gap, and Duncan Flats. She depicts the everyday lives of the mountain people as well as the extraordinary events that sometimes shattered those lives—such as the Coal Creek War of 1891–93, in which miners squared off against state militia, and the two mine explosions that came a few years later, sealing up 268 men deep inside the mountain. Bell also tells of happier times, as when the famous Windrock Mine opened above Oliver Springs in 1909.
Tapping a rich lode of folklore and oral tradition, along with other historical sources, Circling Windrock Mountain offers a view of Appalachian life that defies old stereotypes. Far from being static, the communities described here saw an amazing variety of changes to which they adapted with resilience and ingenuity.
The Author: Augusta Grove Bell, a writer who now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been a newspaper reporter and teacher. From 1958 to 1970, she lived in Anderson County, Tennessee, where she worked for the Oak Ridger and wrote feature stories that form much of the basis for this book.
The stories Augusta Bell recounts take us from Oliver Springs—which had its origins in the grist mill Moses Winters built in 1799 and which later became a “boom town” with a fashionable resort hotel—to places like New River Valley, Graves Gap, and Duncan Flats. She depicts the everyday lives of the mountain people as well as the extraordinary events that sometimes shattered those lives—such as the Coal Creek War of 1891–93, in which miners squared off against state militia, and the two mine explosions that came a few years later, sealing up 268 men deep inside the mountain. Bell also tells of happier times, as when the famous Windrock Mine opened above Oliver Springs in 1909.
Tapping a rich lode of folklore and oral tradition, along with other historical sources, Circling Windrock Mountain offers a view of Appalachian life that defies old stereotypes. Far from being static, the communities described here saw an amazing variety of changes to which they adapted with resilience and ingenuity.
The Author: Augusta Grove Bell, a writer who now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been a newspaper reporter and teacher. From 1958 to 1970, she lived in Anderson County, Tennessee, where she worked for the Oak Ridger and wrote feature stories that form much of the basis for this book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoy a Historical Tour, Nov 23 2000
By "mensetmanus" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Circling Windrock Mountain: Two Hundred Years Appalachia (Paperback)
As the title suggests, this book is about the history of the area surrounding Windrock Mountain, Tennessee, beginning with the earliest non-native settlers in the late 1700's. For the most part, the book is structured like a tour of the main route around the mountain. The book is partly based on a series of articles by the author when she was a writer for the Oak Ridger Newspaper until 1970. Her original contribution is documenting her interviews of, and tours with, descendents of early settlers. She also presents information from older newspaper articles and other sources, and the old pictures included in the book are a treat. The book is good reading for someone who is interested in the history of this relatively remote area. The area is only a short distance from Oak Ridge, the Atomic City. It previously supported thousands of farmers and coal miners and their families, and is now home to three 200+ feet tall TVA windmills on Buffalo Mountain (next to Windrock Mountain).
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