History UsefulNotes / Appalachia

* And if you don't feel like walking, there's always the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 496-mile stretch of uninterrupted two-lane roadway that reaches from Rockfish Gap, Virginia to Swain County, North Carolina. It goes near many of the major features, cities, and towns in the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, and boasts spectacular views almost any time of year. It's also the most visited feature of the United States National Park System anywhere in the U.S.[[note]]The parkway itself is not a National Park, but the National Park Service is responsible for the land on either side of it[[/note]]; however, since it is involved with the Park System, the speed limit is maxed out at 45 miles per hour. As the boys from ''Series/TopGear'' and many others have found out, drivers craving speed instead of scenery are best served elsewhere.

[[AC:Podcasts]

* While not explicitly stated, the 2003 Creator/PBSKids adaptation of ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' has a heavily Appalachian vibe to it, as is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPcPUAWeXzI especially evident with the theme song]].

* UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} is the largest city in Appalachia proper, with a metro area of over 2 million, and is notorious for "all those goddamned hills," as described by most visitors. Next is "The Upstate" of UsefulNotes/SouthCarolina (Greenville–Spartanburg), with about 1.4 million population[[note]]The Appalachian Regional Commission's definition of "Appalachia" does not include all of The Upstate, but the counties that are home to Greenville and Spartanburg are within it.[[/note]]; last is Birmingham, Alabama with about 1.2 million.
** Other major cities border the region, such as [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Washington]], UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, and UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}}. Many Appalachians seeking the urban life will relocate to one of these cities. Important smaller cities in the region include Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Wheeling in West Virginia; Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the "Tri-Cities"[[note]]Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol[[/note]] in UsefulNotes/{{Tennessee}}; Asheville, UsefulNotes/NorthCarolina; Huntsville, Alabama; and the Roanoke-Blacksburg-Christiansburg area in UsefulNotes/{{Virginia}}.

* Moonshine has been an Appalachian tradition ever since the ancestors of the Appalachian people picked it up from the Irish in Ulster. (Like Irish whiskey, and unlike its Scotch counterpart, Appalachian moonshine isn't aged.) Strictly speaking, moonshine is any alcohol produced illegally, without government inspection or payment of excise taxes. But in Appalachia, "moonshine" or "white lightning" has come to mean a particular type of clear corn liquor, normally above 50% alcohol by volume, which has a flavor both fiery and very mild. This has led to some InsistentTerminology among moonshine enthusiasts, as many liquor stores in the region sell "moonshine" that's really just corn whiskey in a mason jar, but is otherwise conventionally-regulated liquor.

* Moonshine has been an Appalachian tradition ever since the ancestors of the Appalachian people picked it up from the Irish in Ulster. (Like Irish whiskey, and unlike its Scotch counterpart, Appalachian moonshine isn't aged.) Strictly speaking, moonshine is any alcohol produced illegally, without government inspection or payment of excise taxes. But in Appalachia, "moonshine" or "white lightning" has come to mean a particular type of clear corn liquor, normally above 50% alcohol by volume, which has a flavor both fiery and very mild. Nowadays, various brands of legal moonshine are sold in liquor stores in the region, though rural folk will scoff at the "store-bought shit" because everybody knows ''someone'' who makes the real thing.

[[AC:Podcasts]]

** Other major cities border the region, such as [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Washington]], UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, and UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}}. Many Appalachians seeking the urban life will relocate to one of these cities. Important smaller cities in the region include Huntington, Wheeling, and Charleston in West Virginia; Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the "Tri-Cities"[[note]]Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol[[/note]] in UsefulNotes/{{Tennessee}}; Asheville, UsefulNotes/NorthCarolina; Huntsville, Alabama; and the Roanoke-Blacksburg-Christiansburg area in UsefulNotes/{{Virginia}}.

** Even more recently, opioids (i.e., painkillers) have become a problem at least as great as meth, if not more so. While they've become an issue throughout the country, Appalachia has often been viewed, rightly or wrongly, as "ground zero" for the opioid epidemic. The problem began with doctors overprescribing painkillers, but got much worse once drug cartels, especially from Mexico, flooded the region with cheaper and easier-to-get heroin. And then came synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which is currently an ongoing crisis due to its strong effects at low doses

* ''Literature/HillbillyElegy'': A 2016 memoir by J.D. Vance, a venture capitalist from southwestern Ohio's Appalachian diaspora who examined the relation between Appalachian values and the social problems he saw during his formative years. It was also adapted as a movie for Creator/{{Netflix}}.

* In the ''Literature/TheKillOrder'', the protagonists set up a small village in the Appalachians after a tsunami devastated New York City. [[DoomedHometown It doesn't last long]].

** Even more recently, opioids (i.e., painkillers) have become a problem at least as great as meth, if not more so. While they've become an issue throughout the country, Appalachia has often been viewed, rightly or wrongly, as "ground zero" for the opioid epidemic. The problem began with doctors overprescribing painkillers, but got much worse once drug cartels, especially from Mexico, flooded the region with cheaper and easier-to-get heroin. And then came synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, so potent that police and first responders have overdosed simply from touching or inhaling tiny amounts while responding to an emergency call.[[note]]Thankfully, none of the responders have yet died, though many of the users have. The problem (from both the users' and responders' sides) is so bad that police and first responders throughout the region now routinely carry opioid antidote kits.[[/note]]

* UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} is the largest city in Appalachia proper, with a metro area of over 2 million, and is notorious for "all those goddamned hills," as described by most visitors. Next is "The Upstate" of South Carolina (Greenville–Spartanburg), with about 1.4 million population[[note]]The Appalachian Regional Commission's definition of "Appalachia" does not include all of The Upstate, but the counties that are home to Greenville and Spartanburg are within it.[[/note]]; last is Birmingham, Alabama with about 1.2 million.
** Other major cities border the region, such as [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Washington]], UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, and UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}}. Many Appalachians seeking the urban life will relocate to one of these cities. Important smaller cities in the region include Huntington, Wheeling, and Charleston in West Virginia; Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the "Tri-Cities"[[note]]Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol[[/note]] in Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; and the Roanoke-Blacksburg-Christiansburg area in Virginia.

* CoolCar: Moonshiners souped-up their vehicles to better outrun and out-maneuver lawmen. This eventually gave rise to stock car racing, and ultimately NASCAR.

* Appalachia is stereotypically characterized by rural isolation, poverty, and coal mining. Inbreeding was a major problem [[NeverLiveItDown historically]]; the [[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/blue-skinned-people-kentucky-reveal-todays-genetic-lesson/story?id=15759819 "blue people" of Kentucky]] are a famous case of a recessive gene showing up due to this. Nowadays, inbreeding isn't much of a problem anymore, but various other health issues arise due to mining hazards, abysmal poverty, diabetes, and rampant drug abuse. The New Deal brought electricity to the region in the 1930s-1950s, and so TV and radio broke the region's isolation somewhat -- although the hilly terrain makes transmission and reception difficult. The construction of Interstates 64, 77, and 79 (the former only completed in 1988) also opened up the barely-touched interior of West Virginia to the masses, and various rural-development efforts are ongoing throughout the region today.

* Appalachia is stereotypically characterized by rural isolation, poverty, and coal mining. [[IncestIsRelative Inbreeding]] was a major problem [[NeverLiveItDown historically]]; the [[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/blue-skinned-people-kentucky-reveal-todays-genetic-lesson/story?id=15759819 "blue people" of Kentucky]] are a famous case of a recessive gene showing up due to this. Nowadays, inbreeding isn't much of a problem anymore, but various other health issues arise due to mining hazards, abysmal poverty, diabetes, and rampant drug abuse. The New Deal brought electricity to the region in the 1930s-1950s, and so TV and radio broke the region's isolation somewhat -- although the hilly terrain makes transmission and reception difficult. The construction of Interstates 64, 77, and 79 (the former only completed in 1988) also opened up the barely-touched interior of West Virginia to the masses, and various rural-development efforts are ongoing throughout the region today.

Appalachia is a cultural region in the United States that stretches from western New York down to central Alabama. It is named for the Appalachian Mountains, which technically includes most of New England and a tiny bit of eastern Canada as well, but "Appalachia" commonly refers to the central and southern portions of the mountain range. The region is stereotyped as the DeepSouth's hilly cousin[[note]]Pedantically speaking, "hillbilly" is a slur for someone specifically from this region and not southerners in general, hence the "hill" part.[[/note]], but it has a few peculiarities of its own, as explained below.

Appalachia is a cultural region in the United States that stretches from western New York down to central Alabama. It is named for the Appalachian Mountains, which technically includes most of New England and a tiny bit of eastern Canada as well, but "Appalachia" commonly refers to the central and southern portions of the mountain range. The region is stereotyped as the DeepSouth's hilly cousin[[note]]Pedantically speaking, "'''hill'''billy" is a slur for someone specifically from this region and not southerners in general[[/note]], but it has a few peculiarities of its own, as explained below.

Appalachia is a cultural region in the United States that stretches from western New York down to central Alabama. It is named for the Appalachian Mountains, which technically includes most of New England and a tiny bit of eastern Canada as well, but "Appalachia" commonly refers to the central and southern portions of the mountain range. The region is stereotyped as the DeepSouth's hilly cousin[[note]]Pedantically speaking, "hillbilly" is a slur for someone specifically from this region and not southerners in general[[/note]], but it has a few peculiarities of its own, as explained below.

Appalachia is a cultural region in the United States that stretches from western New York down to central Alabama. It is named for the Appalachian Mountains, which technically includes most of New England and a tiny bit of eastern Canada as well, but "Appalachia" commonly refers to the central and southern portions of the mountain range. The region is stereotyped as the DeepSouth's snowier cousin, but it has a few peculiarities of its own, as explained below.

!!Works set in Appalachia

* UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} is the largest city in Appalachia proper, with a metro area of over 2 million, and is quite notorious for "all those godddamned hills," as described by most visitors. Next is "The Upstate" of South Carolina (Greenville–Spartanburg), with about 1.4 million population[[note]]The Appalachian Regional Commission's definition of "Appalachia" does not include all of The Upstate, but the counties that are home to Greenville and Spartanburg are within it.[[/note]]; last is Birmingham, Alabama with about 1.2 million.

* UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} is the largest city in Appalachia proper, with a metro area of over 2 million, and is quite notorious for its distinctive geography. Next is "The Upstate" of South Carolina (Greenville–Spartanburg), with about 1.4 million population[[note]]The Appalachian Regional Commission's definition of "Appalachia" does not include all of The Upstate, but the counties that are home to Greenville and Spartanburg are within it.[[/note]]; last is Birmingham, Alabama with about 1.2 million.

* Appalachia is stereotypically characterized by rural isolation, poverty, and coal mining. Inbreeding was a major problem [[NeverLiveItDown historically]]; the [[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/blue-skinned-people-kentucky-reveal-todays-genetic-lesson/story?id=15759819 "blue people" of Kentucky]] are a famous case of a recessive gene showing up due to this. Nowadays, inbreeding isn't much of a problem anymore, but various other health issues arise due to mining hazards, abysmal poverty, diabetes, and rampant drug abuse. The New Deal brought electricity to the region in the 1930s-1950s, and so TV and radio broke the region's isolation somewhat -- although the hilly terrain makes transmission and reception difficult. The construction of Interstates 64, 77, and 79 (the former only completed in 1988) also opened up the barely-touched interior of West Virginia to the masses, and various rural-development efforts are ongoing throughout the region today.

* ''Film/TolableDavid'' is a coming-of-age movie about a young man proving himself to his family of West Virginia moutaineers.

* ''Pondovadia'' is an ongoing story that takes place mostly in West Virginia (specifically an alternate universe version of Morgantown).

* ''Literature/HillbillyElegy'': A 2016 memoir by J.D. Vance, a venture capitalist from southwestern Ohio's Appalachian diaspora who examined the relation between Appalachian values and the social problems he saw during his formative years. Now being adapted into a film set for a 2020 release.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout76'', an online multiplayer survival SpinOff of the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series that takes place in West Virginia and the surrounding region. Among recognizable landmarks and areas are the New River Gorge Bridge, the Charleston Capitol Building, and Camden Park.

* ''Literature/Pondovadia'' is an ongoing story that takes place mostly in West Virginia (specifically an alternate universe version of Morgantown).