Sonia Bugajska 

The Appalachian Region is a 206,000-square-mile cultural and geographic area in Eastern North America, expanding from Southern New York to Northern Mississippi. It is home to many folklore legends and various cultures. Despite its rich history in the coal mining industry, it is also known as one of the poorest regions in America.  

The History of Appalachia 

The Appalachian Mountains formed roughly 480 million years ago. The region was first inhabited by Native American communities, such as the Iroquois and the Cherokee. The first European settlers were the Spanish and people from Germany and Great Britain came later, in the mid-18th century. They often were poorer families seeking land, religious freedom, and independence from powerful governments.  

Over time, the region developed a culture centered on self-sufficiency and small-scale farming. However, in the 20th century, large coal and timber companies expanded into Appalachia and became the main source of employment. As the region is geographically isolated, with many communities located in difficult to access mountainous areas, its urban development and connection to larger cities have been limited. When these industries declined due to automation and changes in energy demand, many jobs disappeared, which in turn resulted in people moving away and contributed to long-term poverty in the region. 

Today, the coal industry is largely defunct, with far fewer mines operating and many former mining towns struggling with unemployment and population loss. However, in some regions the tourism and the outdoor recreation sectors started providing work opportunities, instead. 

Culture in the Appalachia 

The Appalachia region is rich in culture due to several factors: the diverse demographics of inhabitants whose ancestors settled there across the years, geographic isolation, economic burdens, and years of distrust towards the government, the last of which has led to the creation of communities which have barely any connections to the outside world. 

Appalachia is widely known for its folklore, myths and legends, which have been passed down orally for centuries. Stories about supernatural beings such as the Bigfoot, the Mothman, the Wampus Cat, or the Bell Witch add another layer to the mysterious atmosphere surrounding the Appalachian Mountains and its people. 

The forms of art practiced in Appalachia were born out of necessity. Weaving, quilting, pottery, and woodworking were not crafts dedicated to decoration but to survival. Later on, the European settlers started incorporating their own practices into Native and African American crafts for example pottery and Tennessee basketry, and even today, selling local hand-made goods is a way for many rural Appalachians to support themselves.  

Traditional Appalachian music is a combination of British hymns and ballads, the soulful blues music brought from Africa, and yodelling which came with German emigrants. The banjo, which is a foundational instrument in many Appalachian songs, is a variant of the akonting (or a folk lute) brought from West Africa.  

The Hillbilly Stereotype 

The hillbilly stereotype is an American caricature which depicts people from rural mountain areas, especially the Appalachia and the Ozarks, as poor, uneducated, unsophisticated, or sometimes even violent, while also portraying them as highly independent and self-reliant. The first known mentions of a hillbilly in print were a photograph of men and women in West Virginia labelled “Camp Hillbilly” in The Railroad Trainmen’s Journal in 1899, and a 1900 New York Journal article containing the definition: “a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.” This term spread during the American Civil War when the country was developing technologically and socially, and the Appalachia was falling behind. Many shows and movies, such as Ma and Pa Kettle and Beverly Hillbillies, repeated this stereotype. The latter is a story about a family which moved from their rural home to Beverly Hills, California, after discovering oil on their land. Even after becoming wealthy and living in a mansion, they continued to hold onto their traditional mountain lifestyle. The Hillbilly stereotype is obviously problematic and harmful as it classifies all of rural Appalachian people into one term and ignores the diversity and history of the region.  

The Future of Appalachia  

The Appalachian Mountains provide some of the oldest and most stunning landscapes of the USA, yet nearly 14.3% of the region’s residents live below the poverty line. Other challenges include health disparities and educational inequality. As of 2022, 26.7% of adults in Appalachia hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to 34.3% across the U.S. overall. In the same year, the region recorded 105 deaths per 100,000 people from diseases of despair, a rate 37% higher than in other parts of the US, the leading cause of which was overdose.  

Drug abuse is a huge problem in Appalachia. It began as early as the first half of the 20th century when coal mining became the main source of employment. The exhausted coal miners began taking morphine and opioids as pain relief. When the coal industry left, the opioids stayed. To this day, substance abuse disorders remain  as one of the leading cause of death in the region  next to heart diseases and cancer  

While the Appalachia faces many challenges, even today there are many opportunities which could help and bring life to its communities, especially in the rural areas. Remote work, which got a lot of recognition during the pandemic, green energy, or tourism could be the leading alternatives in providing employment for the community and revitalizing this beautiful region. Appalachia is a region shaped by deep history, strong culture, and long-standing economic and social challenges, and, as such, it should be understood through its complexity rather than through stereotypes.  

Sources: 

Appalachian Poverty: Causes, Impact, and Solutions. (2025) https://helpingamericans.org/addressing-poverty-in-appalachia-and-exploring-solutions/?doing_wp_cron=1780332937.6637620925903320312500 

communityboost. (2025, May 28). Understanding the Appalachian People Today | AHA. Americans Helping Americans. https://helpingamericans.org/understanding-appalachian-people/ 

George, A. (2025, April 23). The Controversial History of the Word “Hillbilly,” Which Was First Defined in Print 125 Years Ago. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-controversial-history-of-the-word-hillbilly-which-was-first-defined-in-print-125-years-ago-180986487/ 

Satel, S. (2023). Opioids and Appalachia. Www.nationalaffairs.com. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/opioids-and-appalachia 

Scutchfield, & Douglas, F. E. (2019). Root Causes of Appalachia’s Deaths of Despair. PubMed, 1(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0102.01 

Whipple, M. (2023, October 17). The History of Appalachia & Its People. TheCollector. https://www.thecollector.com/history-of-appalachia-and-its-people/ 

Whipple, M. (2023, October 16). What is Appalachian Culture? TheCollector. https://www.thecollector.com/what-is-appalachian-culture/