Appalachia
An introduction to the region, history and people
The Appalachian Region
- The Appalachian mountains are found in the
eastern United States and extend from Georgia to Maine
- The name Appalachia comes from the
Appalachee tribe of Northern Florida
- The geographical region known as Appalachia
is named after the mountain chain which serves as a barrier from the outside
world
- The isolation that the mountains bring has
preserved many traditions
Characterisitcs of the Appalachian people
- The inhabitants of this area are traditionally
very independent
- Many have survived in the mountains for generations
by subsistence farming
- Family is very important to the Appalachian
people
Links to Appalachia
West Virginia
- West Virginia is the only state which is entirely
contained within the region of Appalachia
- The state is very rich in natural resources,
such as timber and coal
- In the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, much of the land was lost to coal and timber companies
- In August, 1921, an uprising of 10,000 miners
to establish unions in two southern West Virginia counties resulted in
2,000 federal troops and air forces being called in to stop the resurrection.
Links to West Virginia
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This page was created by Kathy Moore as a project
for English 245--Appalachian Literature, West Virginia University.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions,
please contact me at kmoore2@wvu.edu