Backcountry Notes

Mountain woman of Frozen Creek, Kentucky. Library of Congress.Life in the mountains of East Kentucky has been demanding since the early days of European (mostly Scotch-Irish and English) settlement.  In the many isolated valleys and hollows, it is a hardscrabble life, even today. Yet many of the mountain folk wouldn't trade that life for the city, even when they could -- isolation and self-sufficiency being primary reasons why the first settlers came here to put down roots.

Note: Click on any image for a larger view.

Farmstead near Hyden, Kentucky. Library of Congress.If any one word can describe this community, it is "determined." They were -- and many still are -- determined to live by their own creed.  They cling to religion and guns and traditional ways as much as any Appalachians.  It is a determination that has become increasingly more difficult to sustain in the age of television and the Internet, which make it so much harder to keep the outside world at bay.

Kentucky farm family, 1916. Public domain.

It is not true that a "come-here" is never accepted in the Kentucky mountains; one simply has to stay for five years or better to get out of the "probably a transient" category. Ten years, and they'll start to remember your first name.

Garland Family, Knox County, Kentucky. Library of Congress.East Kentucky mountaineers have produced a valuable heritage of music and folktales, as well as a wealth of ironic "exaggerations" -- such as, "his feet are so big, he has to go to the mouth of the holler to turn around." For a sample of East Kentucky mountain song, go to the Digital Library of Appalachia, here, and click "Access this item."

Family reunion at Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Library of Congress.

Lady from Pine Mountain. Library of Congress.Mountaineer with his two grandsons. Library of Congress.Frozen Creek woman with her granddaughter. Library of Congress.

General store, Knox County. Library of Congress.Botto Post Office, Clay County. Library of Congress.

Rural postman delivering mail, Breathitt County. Library of Congress.

Mountain home, Breathitt County. Library of Congress.

FARM LIFE

Like many settlers in the mountains of Appalachia, East Kentuckians lived on farms, most of which would be classed as "subsistence" farms, although typically they had crafts or skills such as carpentry or blacksmithing as well.

Platt family of Pendleton County with two of their bovines. National Archives.

This farm family posed with their home-made hoes -- one for each to use. Library of Congress.

Mowing hay with a two-mule team. Library of Congress.

Harvesting burley tobacco. Library of Congress.

Drying apples. Library of Congress.

Beehives made from hollowed-out logs on a farm near Pine Mountain, Kentucky. Library of Congress.

Loading hay. Library of Congress.

Churning butter. Library of Congress.Produce -- in this case, watermelons -- was often taken to town in the wagon on Saturdays and court day. Library of Congress.

Mules were typically the "horsepower" for farming. Library of Congress.Farmhouse porch decorated with potted plants. Library of Congress.

CHILDREN AND SCHOOLS

During the Great Depression years, when most of the pictures in this article were taken, there were still many one-room schoolhouses in East Kentucky, although larger schools were being built.

One-room log schoolhouse. Library of Congress.

Children at work in one-room log schoolhouse. Library of Congress.

Laurel School in Breathitt County, Kentucky, a larger one-room school. Library of Congress.

Interior of Laurel School with students at their desks. Library of Congress.Barefoot youngsters on steps of Laurel School. Library of Congress.Laurel School at recess. Library of Congress.Big Rock School. Library of Congress.Children at work in Big Rock School. Library of Congress.Buckhorn School in Breathitt County -- a multi-roomed log schoolhouse. Library of Congress.

School is out -- the object of intense study for these lads is a game of marbles. Library of Congress.

Kids walking home from school. Library of Congress.COURT DAY

Court day was a Backcountry tradition, a day which marked the opening of a term of the local Circuit Court and brought citizens into town from all parts of the county, for court business, marketing and trading, and socializing.

Court Day in Hazard, Kentucky, early 20th century. Public domain.

Court Day in Breathitt County, 1940. Library of Congress.

Socializing on Court Day in Breathitt County. Library of Congress.Court Day in Campton, Wolfe County. Library of Congress.Church benefit dinner set up on the court house lawn. Library of Congress.

Preacher delivering a Court Day sermon. Library of Congress.Jockey Street, near the court house. Library of Congress.Court Day business -- trading mules and horses on Jockey Street. Library of Congress.

RELATED ARTICLE: Vintage Log Cabins of Kentucky

ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES:

Backcountry Folk of the Tennessee Mountains

Backcountry Folk of the Virginia Blue Ridge

Backcountry Folk of the Kentucky Mountains

Backcountry Folk of the Shenandoah Valley -- The Farm Life

Views of the Old Shenandoah Valley

Log Cabin Mountain Homes

Bear Hunting in the Smokies, 1909

Bear Hunting in the Smokies, 1909 -- Part 2

Backcountry Folk of the North Carolina Mountains