The Crazy Truth About Hillbilly History that Made Us Rethink Our Opinions

In the 19th century, a fascination with the untamed, rustic lifestyle began to captivate the American literary scene. “Local color” writers of the time offered glimpses into the lives of those dwelling in the country’s remote corners, painting vivid narratives of a world apart from urban sophistication.

Rebecca Harding Davis, with her 1875 masterpiece The Yares of Black Mountain, published in Lippencott’s Magazine, tenderly portrayed the inhabitants of these regions, a rarity amidst the often exaggerated tales spun by her contemporaries. Other authors of these stories competed in drama, painting rural folk as wildly free spirits and setting the stage for a deep-rooted cultural fascination with the backwoods way of life.