Posted in: Blog, Economy, Land
The Hanging Dog community in Cherokee County got its colorful name when a Cherokee Indian’s hunting dog barely escaped getting hung up in a mass of jammed logs and vines in a flooded creek. Nearby, European settlers found important deposits of iron. Hanging Dog became well known and economically successful thanks to its bloomery forge that produced iron that was traded throughout the Southeast. Smelting iron required vast amounts of charcoal that resulted in thousands of acres being stripped of trees. On May 6, 1865, elements of the Confederate Army’s Thomas Legion skirmished with some fifty Union soldiers near Hanging Dog in one of a number of small actions that compete for the title of Last Battle of the Civil War Fought East of the Mississippi River.
Below is the Digital Heritage Moment as broadcast on the radio:
- Iron Making Europeans introduced the important craft of iron making to Appalachia in the 16th century. Iron ore was discovered all over the region. Large deposits were found in Pennsylvania. […]
- Blacksmithing Long before Western North Carolina was celebrated by visitors for its majestic Blue Ridge Parkway views; even before it was recognized by the ailing for its beneficial climate and […]
- Railroads in Western North Carolina Early in the 19th century railroads were being built throughout the expanding United States. Western North Carolina was growing as well. Asheville, a crossroads for agriculture, was also […]
- Mica Workers Mica, also known as “isinglass”, is a mineral mined primarily in Western North Carolina for its unequaled heat resistant qualities. Men mostly prospected for and mined the mica while […]
- Craft Revival From the 1880s until World War II, Appalachian crafts were rejuvenated by a cultural revival. It was led by missionaries and social workers who wanted both to preserve Appalachian […]