Appalachian Americans
Where Were They From: The name Appalachian (App-a-latch-i-an) comes from the word Appalachee from the Appalachee Indians. Appalachia is in the southeastern United States. It is also the second largest mountain system in North America. The mountains begin at the south easternmost tip of Canada, and end in Central Alabama, stretching 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers). There is a Northern Appalachian region and a Southern Appalachian region. The Southern Appalachian region is divided into three main sections—the Blue Ridge, the Great Valley, and the Ridge-and-Valley Province. The tallest mountain is Mt. Mitchell (6,684 ft or 2,037 meters) near Asheville, North Carolina.
What regions of the US are included: The states of the Southern region of the Appalachians are eastern Kentucky, southeastern Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
What occupations did the first inhabitants take part in: The type of agriculture found in most of the region is general farming; that is, no discernible product or combination of products dominates the farm industry. Extensive animal husbandry is the most common and probably best agricultural use of the steep slopes. A number of crops, such as tobacco, apples, tomatoes, and cabbage, are locally important in some valley areas, with small plots of tobacco being the most common cash crop in the Southern Appalachians. Corn is the region's leading row crop, but it is normally used on the farm for animal fodder.
After the better part of a century of growth, the dominant coal industry fell into a period of decline beginning in the 1950s. Production dropped as petroleum and natural gas replaced coal as a major fuel source. Between 1950 and 1960, many coal counties lost a full one-quarter of their population. The resulting economic depression, blending with the poverty common to Appalachia, created areas that still suffer from harsh economic and social conditions.
What are the family patterns, rituals: The family was nuclear because of the need for constant mobility, which made it difficult to maintain large families. However, with the development of settled agriculture, people became less mobile and the extended family came into existence because it provided the necessary labor to work the fields. Industrialization broke up the extended family and stunted the growth of the nuclear family as the dominant family type (Turner, 1985:311-312; Julian, 1977:321). The nuclear family became isolated from the kinship network (Parsons, 1951: 510; Reiss, 1971:265).
However, the conception of the extended family as the dominant family type in early America is probably inaccurate. It is quite possible that the extended family is a romantic ideal and has never been the most prevalent family type in the United States. The family in the United States usually does not consist of three generations or more existing in the same household, but family members do live close to one another or in the same community, and still display familial dependence.
Are they a group that appreciates schooling: The dialect spoken by Appalachian people has been given a variety of names, most of them somewhat derogatory. Educated people who look with disfavor on this particular form of speech believe that the English Language, which they conceive as unchanging and fixed for all time - has been taken and, through ignorance, shamefully distorted by the mountain folk.
What are the basic demographics today? Since 2000, 28 of Appalachia 34 persistent-growth counties grew faster than the national rate of 3.3%; 14 of these counties (11 of which are in Georgia, including eight in greater Atlanta) have grown at least 10%. Of the six persistent-growth counties with the slowest post-2000 growth, the 2000 census and the 2003 population estimates show the dynamic demographic patterns in the Appalachian region. Throughout the 20th century, Appalachia has grown more slowly since 1990 than the rest of the United States—although the lag is not nearly as great as it has been in several other decades (for example, the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s). Indeed, 327 of the 410 Appalachian counties increased their population during the 1990s—up from 214 a decade earlier. 72 of the 83 counties that did lose people in the 1990s did so more slowly than they had in the 1980s.
Fun Facts:
Lowest elevation: 124 feet – near the Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain, New York.
The name of this mountain range is derived from the name of an Indian tribe “Apalachees” who once used to inhabit this region.
Appalachian Mountains are a rich source of anthracite coal and bituminous coal.
Towards the West and South of the Hudson River valley is a chain of lowlands which is referred to as the ‘Great Appalachian Valley.’
The Appalachian Trail is a famous hiking trail, a paradise for all hikers.
takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail.
The first observance of "Mother's Day" was in Grafton, West Virginia in 1908.
The first free rural mail delivery started in Charles Town, West Virginia on October 6, 1896.
The Appalachian Amusement Center is home to the world's finest Vertical Wind Tunnel. Built by Vertical Wind Tunnel Corporation, this VWT is very wide, smooth, fast and quiet. Located in Western North Carolina, just a few miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Appalachian Amusement Center features flight instruction facilities.
Resources and Additional Readings
The Appalachian Reading Center, Inc.
http://www.appalachianreading.org/
Appalachian Amusement Center
http://www.verticalwind.com/aac.html
Appalachian dulcimer traditions
http://books.google.com/books?id=7RcU_aQNFD4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=
appalachian&hl=en&ei=5qhvTsS9D8OCgAeZ9_WMBQ&sa=X&oi=book_
result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
The Appalachian Region
http://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp