Andrew Jackson in 1824. Click on image for larger view.

Jackson was a hard man, shaped by the hard circumstances of the early Backcountry where he was born. The Cherokee leader Junaluska saved Jackson's life at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in during the Creek War (1812-1814) in which the Cherokees sided with the European settlers. As President, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which led to the forced removal of the Cherokees to Oklahoma -- the infamous Trail of Tears. Junaluska traveled to Washington and plead the case of his people to Jackson, who dismissed the man who had saved his life. Junaluska returned North Carolina from Oklahoma in 1841 and, according to Cherokee legend, declared, “If I had known what Andrew Jackson would do to the Cherokees, I would have killed him myself that day at Horseshoe Bend.”

The Hermitage. Click on image for source and licensing information.After his Presidency, Jackson retired to his 1,000-acre Tennessee estate, where he lived in a fine house which has been preserved to this day. See History of the Hermitage Farm. A few of the slave dwellings were preserved as well, and the sites of other have been studied by archeologists in recent years. The digs have revealed some interesting details about life on Hermitage Farm:

Beginning in 1970, the LHA [Ladies' Hermitage Assocation] has used historic archaeology as a tool for historic preservation. That year, foundations the Hermitage mansion's kitchen were documented during a repair project. In the mid-1970s large-scale archaeological excavations were undertaken at the First Hermitage cabins. In 1988, the LHA established a permanent Archaeology Department and has undertaken annual archaeological exacavations since then, accumulating nearly 1 million artifacts, primarily related to slavery and slave sites. This work has made The Hermitage a leader in the field of historic archaeology as a preservation and educational tool. Through our excavations of Jackson's former slave sites, historians and scholars have a new and much better understanding of American slavery during the Jacksonian Era.

The Hermitage, Preservation.

Slave cabins at The Hermitage were a standard 20-foot square cabin for each family unit. Most were constructed of brick, but some were log. The majority were duplexes with each unit having one door, one window, a small loft area, and a fireplace used for heat and cooking. Within all of these standardized cabins, we have found root cellars dug into the soil beneath the floorboards. Each root cellar is of varying size and shape which indicates that the slaves built them to their own tastes. Most of the root cellars are brick lined and some have brick floors. These distinctive and important features, hidden away from Jackson and his overseers, are critical to understanding aspects of slaves’ lives that they retained control over.

The Hermitage, Archeology.

The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson, is proud to present Stories from the Hermitage Slave Community. . . . Only a small number of photographs of Hermitage slaves are known to exist. This temporary exhibit gives voice to the Hermitage Slave Community by combining images of the slaves' weathered and worn hands and faces with personal information about them. These stories and images reflect the struggle and contributions of individuals and families who supported the Hermitage plantation and the Jackson family. Stories from the Hermitage Slave Community runs indefinitely. . . . .

The Hermitage, Exhibits.

Note: Click on any image below for a larger view. All monochrome images are from the Library of Congress archives.

ALFRED'S CABIN

Alfred's cabin is named for a former slave who continued to reside on Hermitage Farm after he became a freeman. It is a double-crib log structure built in the early 1840's of eastern red cedar.

View of Alfred's Cabin.End view of cabin.Interior view of north crib.Interior view of south crib showing access to loft.Detail of corner joint construction.Construction detail where the two cribs join at common wall.

THE WEST CABIN

The West Cabin is on the site of the first residence of Andrew and Rachel Jackson on Hermitage Farm. Built circa 1798-1800, this building was made primarily of tulip poplar. After 1821, the cabin served as slave quarters.

West Cabin -- closeup of front showing construction details (note exposed chinking)End view of West Cabin.Angled view of West Cabin.Detail of corner joinery.Rear view of West Cabin.Interior of West Cabin. The single crib has been divided into two rooms by an apron wall.Interior view showing fireplace and window.

THE EAST CABIN

The East Cabin and the West Cabin constitute the "First Hermitage," where Andrew Jackson and his wife lived until the mansion was built in 1821. Built in 1805-06 and primarily of tulip poplar, the East Cabin served as a kitchen and was converted to a slave cabin after 1821.

Perspective view of East Cabin.

End view showing stone chimney.

Perspective view of rear of cabin.Closeup showing details of roof construction.View showing construction details.Straight-cut corner joint construction.This picture of the interior of the East Cabin was taken during archeological excavation.

Aetna Coal Mine, Tennessee, from King & Champney, The Great South (1875)

Note: Click on any image for a larger view. Unless otherwise noted, images are from the Library of Congress archives. All images in this article are in the public domain.

"Down In A Coal Mine," King & Champney, The Great South (1875)Prior to the Civil War, the American coal industry was dominated by central Pennsylvania anthracite.  In 1869, U. S. domestic coal production was 17,083,000 tons of anthracite and 15,821,000 tons of bituminous coal. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad established a main line from Richmond, Virginia, to Huntington, West Virginia, in 1873, opening the bituminous coal fields of southern West Virginia. In 1879, domestic production was 30,208,000 tons of anthracite and 37,898,000 tons of bituminous coal. The Norfolk and Western completed its mainline from Norfolk to Bluefield, West Virginia, and built a feeder line to the hamlet of Pocahontas in Tazewell County, Virginia, in 1883:

On March 12, 1883, the first carload of coal was transported from Pocahontas in Tazewell County, Virginia, on the Norfolk and Western Railway. This new railroad opened a gateway to the untapped coalfields of southwestern West Virginia, precipitating a dramatic population increase. Virtually overnight, new towns were created as the region was transformed from an agricultural to industrial economy.

West Virginia's Mine Wars.

Rail yards at Caples, West Virginia. Loaded coal cars are shown on the right.

In 1899, coal production in the United States surpassed the production of Great Britain for the first time -- domestic production was 60,418,000 tons of anthracite and 193,323,000 tons of bituminous coal.  A report published in The Colliery Engineer, Volume 22 (1901), stated (at page 128):

In point of production, the most important of the coal fields of the United States are those contained in the Appalachian region, extending from Pennsylvania on the north to Alabama on the south. The proportion contributed to the total coal product of the United States by the areas included in the Appalachian region varies between 60 and 70 per cent.

Bluefield, WV, rail yardsBituminous coal divides roughly into two types -- "steam coal," used to power boilers for the production of motive power and electricity, and "met coal," or metallurgical coal, used to produce coke for the making of steel. The met coal of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia is the finest in the world and much of it is still sold for export. The development of this region was described in The South in the Building of the Nation: Economic History, 1865-1909, ed. by J. C. Ballagh (1909), at pages 180-181:

Over the mountains from, and to the south of, the New River coal field is the famous Pocahontas region of Virginia and West Virginia, the product of which has few if any rivals for purity and for coking and steaming qualities. The credit for the development of this region belongs chiefly to the late Major Jed. Hotchkiss, an ex-officer of engineers on the staff of Stonewall Jackson. With the termination of the strife between the states, Major Hotchkiss, who was a geologist as well as an engineer . . . resumed the practice of mining engineering and took special interest and pride in developing the resources of his state. It was largely through his efforts that capital was attracted to the Pocahontas coal field, and the Norfolk and Western Railroad extended into the region. The first miners arrived at the present site of Pocahontas, Virginia, in January, 1882. Eighteen months later (in June, 1883) the New River division reached the mines and the first carload of coal was shipped to Norfolk and distributed among the poor of that city. This district is now the most important coal-producing region of the South, having a yearly output exceeding that of any other state south of the dividing line of the Ohio River and the Mason-Dixon line. 

"My Sweetheart's A Mule In The Mines"

In the early years of mining, until the development of the electric-powered mine locomotive, the horsepower for coal mining was usually supplied by mules. Coal cars ran on tracks inside the mines and each car typically held a ton or better. Where mules fit inside the entries, they were used to pull the coal cars to the tipple. A folk ditty from that era goes like this:

My sweetheart's a mule in the mines,

I drive her without any line,

On the bumper I sits, and t'baccer I spits,

All over my sweetheart's behind.

(This is one of two "mule tunes" which the author learned from his grandfather J. B. Slack, Jr.) 

Coal miners and mule, Sandlick Mine, Grafton, WVMiners and mules inside the works, Gary, WV, 1908After a day's work, drivers sometimes rode their mules home

So just what is a "tipple?"

A "tipple" is a facility where mine cars are tipped to unload the coal for processing -- cleaning, sorting, and so on. Every mine had its own tipple, along with a complex of other production buildings and administrative offices. These often were located on a mountainside and led down to a railyard where the coal was loaded into cars for train transport.

Tipple at Scott's Run, WVCleaning plant, Pursglove, WVCoalbreaker, Floyd County, KentuckyCoke ovens, Buchanan County, VirginiaTipple, Kelly Creek, WV

"I Owe My Soul To The Company Store"

As new branch railways were constructed, the production areas in the Appalachian coalfields continued to increase.  Then, as now, local sentiments were divided -- some welcomed the coal industry for the employment and profits it brought, others resented the changes to the landscape and society.  As new mines opened, company towns were built -- houses and usually a company store. 

Company store, McDowell County, WVWelch, West VirginiaRed Ash, Virginia, a coal-company townInside the Raven-Red Ash company store

Mining town, Virgie, KY. The structures between the two rows of houses a privies or "out-houses."Main drag of Virgie, KY, in 1940Company store, Davey, WV

Coal company houses, Jewell Ridge, VA"It's Dark As A Dungeon"

If you've never been inside a coal mine, I have some news for you: when the lights are out, it is darker than any dungeon on earth. It takes some grit to be a coal miner. Those who have worked underground always remember the camaraderie which develops in a crew of miners -- but once they get an above-ground job, few go back. (More about coal miners in an article to come later.)

Yes, this is a full-color photograph, taken in the Pocahontas No. 3 mine near Richlands, Virginia, in 1974. National Archives.Coal miner working on the "roof" of a mine entryEarly mining machine, Gary, WVMiners' bathhouse, Welch, WVCoal miners at the end of a shift, Jenkins, KY, 1935

Note: Click on any image below for a larger view.

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Vintage Backcountry Settler's Cabin

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The late Maj. Isaac Hite, on his fine large farm, about the year 1792, built a stone dwelling, near the great highway from Winchester to Staunton; a most spacious and elegant building west of the Blue Ridge. In point of taste, and beauty of symmetry, it is certainly not exceeded by any country building the author has ever seen. It still stands to be admired by every beholder.

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White House Farm -- This house was built in 1742 on land purchased by Dr. John McCormick, a Scots-Irish immigrant, from Jost Hite, one of the original Pennsylvania German settlers. The pictures were taken in 1937.]]>Old Stone Forts of the Shenandoah Valleyhttp://www.backcountrynotes.com/history/2010/3/27/old-stone-forts-of-the-shenandoah-valley.htmlJay Henderson2010-03-27T13:07:31ZBackcountry colonial Colonial America Colonial Back Country Colonial Virginia Fort_Bowman Fort_Defiance German immigrants Middleton Shenandoah Valley Strasburg Valley of Virginia forts stone buildings stone housesOne of the more durable contributions of the German settlers of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley are the stone houses, barns, and other buildings which they construction during Colonial times. Typically made of cut limestone blocks, these sturdy buildings sometimes were designed to serve as 'forts' during Indian attacks. Thus in many Shenandoah Valley communities there is, or at least was, an 'Old Stone Fort' which had been built by Pennsylvania Germans.