Appendix G: County Research Toolkit

A step-by-step guide to researching the history of an Appalachian county. This toolkit supports the Community History Portfolio (the textbook's progressive project), in which students select an Appalachian county and trace its history across all eight parts of the book. It is also useful for anyone interested in local and family history in the region.

Step 1: Choose Your County and Establish the Basics

Selecting a County

If you have a personal connection to an Appalachian county (family history, current residence, field visit), start there. A personal stake deepens research. If not, choose a county from the ARC's 423-county Appalachian region (viewable at arc.gov/map-of-appalachia) that interests you based on the themes of this textbook -- coal history, Indigenous presence, Civil War division, cultural traditions, modern economic challenges.

Establishing the Basics

Before diving into specialized research, answer these foundational questions:

• When was the county formed, and from which parent county? (County formation dates and parent counties are available at the relevant state's secretary of state or historical commission website.)
• What is the terrain? (Plateau? Ridge and Valley? Blue Ridge? River valley?) Consult USGS topographic maps (available free at ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/) to understand the physical landscape.
• What are the current population, demographics, and economic profile? (U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts.census.gov provides current data. ARC county profiles at arc.gov provide Appalachian-specific context.)

Step 2: Indigenous History

Key Questions

What Indigenous peoples inhabited this area before European contact? What archaeological evidence exists? How does the county's history connect to the Trail of Tears or other removal events?

Where to Find It

• State archaeologist's office: Each state maintains records of archaeological sites. Many state historical commissions publish overviews of Indigenous presence by county or region.
• Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians archives (for southern Appalachian counties): ebci.com
• NAGPRA databases: The National NAGPRA program (nps.gov/subjects/nagpra) documents repatriation cases that indicate Indigenous presence.
• Local museum collections: County museums often hold Indigenous artifacts found locally.
• Place names: Indigenous place names preserved on maps indicate historical presence. The USGS Geographic Names Information System (geonames.usgs.gov) is searchable.

Step 3: Settlement and Early History

Key Questions

When did European settlers arrive? What ethnic groups were present? Was there slavery? What was the early economy?

Where to Find It

• Census records (1790-1870): Available free at FamilySearch.org and through Ancestry.com (available at most public libraries). The 1860 Slave Schedule documents enslaved populations.
• County deed books: Record land transactions from the county's formation. Available at county courthouses; some states have digitized early deed books.
• Tax records: County tax lists often predate census records and document property (including enslaved people) owned.
• Church records: Early church membership rolls, minutes, and vital records are often the most complete early documentation. Check with the relevant denomination's archives or local congregations.
• State land grant records: Document the original transfer of land from the state (or from land companies) to private owners. Available through state land offices or archives.
• Military records: Revolutionary War pension applications (at fold3.com and NARA) often include detailed biographical information about early settlers.

Step 4: Civil War and Reconstruction

Key Questions

How did the county divide over secession? Were there Unionist or Confederate guerrilla operations? How did the war affect the community? What happened to formerly enslaved people?

Where to Find It

• Compiled Military Service Records: Available at fold3.com and NARA. Search by county of residence to identify soldiers from both sides.
• Official Records of the War of the Rebellion: The massive published record of Civil War military operations. Searchable online at ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records.
• Freedmen's Bureau records: Available digitized through FamilySearch.org. These document the experiences of formerly enslaved people in the immediate post-war period, including labor contracts, school records, and complaints filed.
• County court records: Minutes from county courts during and after the war reveal local governance, property disputes, and violence.
• Local histories: Many counties have published histories (often compiled in the early twentieth century) that include Civil War-era accounts. Check the county library and state historical society.

Step 5: Industrialization

Key Questions

What industries developed in the county? Was there a coal operation, timber operation, or railroad? Were there company towns? Labor conflicts?

Where to Find It

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Detailed maps of towns and industrial sites, available through the Library of Congress (loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps). Show company stores, tipples, coal camps, and other industrial infrastructure.
• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) records: Mine inspection reports, accident records, and operator information at msha.gov.
• Bureau of Mines records: At the National Archives. Document mine operations, safety conditions, and workforce demographics.
• Deed books (continued): Broad form deeds and mineral rights transfers are recorded in county deed books.
• Railroad company records: Norfolk Southern (successor to Norfolk and Western) and CSX (successor to Chesapeake and Ohio) corporate archives hold records of rail construction and operation.
• West Virginia Coal Heritage Trail (wvcoalheritage.org) and similar state heritage programs maintain documentation of coal history.
• Company town records: Some company town records are held in university archives (especially WVU and UK).

Step 6: Federal Programs and Reform

Key Questions

How did the New Deal affect the county? Was it part of War on Poverty programs? What ARC projects were funded? Were there activist or resistance movements?

Where to Find It

• TVA records: At the National Archives regional facility in Atlanta and at the TVA Technical Library in Knoxville.
• ARC project database: The ARC maintains records of funded projects searchable by county at arc.gov.
• CCC records: National Archives holds records of CCC camps, including camp newspapers, daily logs, and photographs.
• VISTA records: Part of the AmeriCorps/CNCS records at the National Archives.
• National Park Service records: For counties affected by national park or parkway construction, NPS archives document land acquisition, displacement, and construction.

Step 7: Culture and Identity

Key Questions

What musical, literary, religious, food, and language traditions are associated with the county? Are there notable cultural institutions, festivals, or practitioners?

Where to Find It

• Foxfire archives: foxfire.org. Interviews indexed by topic and community.
• Folk music collections: The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (loc.gov/folklife) holds field recordings from across Appalachia.
• WPA Federal Writers' Project records: Life histories and community studies conducted in the 1930s. Available at the Library of Congress and state archives.
• State arts councils: Maintain directories of traditional artists, craftspeople, and cultural organizations.
• Dialect Atlas projects: Published dialect studies often include county-level data. The Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States and the Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English are key references.
• Church records and denominational archives: Document religious history at the local level.
• County fairs, festivals, and community events: Local newspapers are the best source for cultural event documentation.

Step 8: Modern Period

Key Questions

What is the county's economic situation now? Has it experienced out-migration, the opioid crisis, political realignment, or economic reinvention? What does the county look like today?

Where to Find It

• ARC county economic status reports: Updated annually at arc.gov. Classify each county as distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or attainment.
• U.S. Census American Community Survey: Annual demographic and economic estimates at the county level (data.census.gov).
• County Health Rankings: countyhealthrankings.org provides county-level health data including life expectancy, overdose rates, physician access, and mental health indicators.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (bls.gov/cew) provides industry-level employment data by county.
• Opioid data: CDC WONDER database (wonder.cdc.gov) provides county-level drug overdose mortality data. State prescription drug monitoring programs provide dispensing data.
• Election results: County-level presidential, congressional, and state election results are available from state boards of elections and the MIT Election Data + Science Lab (electionlab.mit.edu).
• Local newspapers: Current and recent local newspaper archives are the best source for understanding a county's contemporary life. Many small Appalachian papers have online editions.

Step 9: Oral History and Community Connections

Key Questions

Who can tell you about this county's history from personal experience? What oral history collections already exist?

Where to Find It

• Existing oral history collections: Check the archives listed in Appendix F. Many have county-level or community-level collections.
• County libraries and historical societies: Often maintain local oral history collections, photograph collections, and scrapbooks.
• County genealogical societies: Active in most Appalachian counties, these groups maintain extensive local records and member knowledge. Many have Facebook groups or websites.
• Community contacts: Churches, VFW posts, senior centers, county extension offices, and community centers are good starting points for identifying potential oral history narrators.
• See Appendix F for detailed guidance on conducting your own oral history interviews.

Step 10: Photographs and Maps

Where to Find Visual Sources

• Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: loc.gov/pictures. Searchable. Includes WPA, Farm Security Administration, and other collections with extensive Appalachian coverage.
• State archives and historical societies: Most state archives maintain photograph collections organized by county.
• University digital collections: WVU, UK, Virginia Tech, ETSU, and Appalachian State all maintain digitized photograph collections.
• USGS Historical Topographic Maps: ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview allows comparison of topographic maps across time, revealing landscape change from mining, road building, and dam construction.
• Google Earth historical imagery: The "historical imagery" slider in Google Earth Pro allows comparison of satellite imagery over recent decades -- useful for documenting mountaintop removal and other landscape changes.
• Sanborn Maps: See Step 5.
• Family photographs: If you have personal connections in the county, family photograph collections are invaluable and often contain images not held in any archive.

Key Online Databases and Resources

Putting It All Together: The Community History Portfolio

The Community History Portfolio asks you to trace one county's story from geological formation through the present day, following the structure of this textbook's eight parts. As you complete each part, add to your portfolio:

1. Physical and Indigenous foundations (Ch. 1-4): Geological landscape, Indigenous presence, removal history.
2. Settlement (Ch. 5-10): Who settled, when, early economy, slavery presence, religion, Revolutionary era.
3. Civil War (Ch. 11-14): Division, violence, aftermath, outsider construction.
4. Industrialization (Ch. 15-21): Coal/timber/railroads, company towns, labor conflicts, out-migration, human costs.
5. Reform and resistance (Ch. 22-26): New Deal impact, War on Poverty, environmental issues, education, activism.
6. Culture (Ch. 27-31): Music, literature, religion, food/craft, language traditions.
7. Modern portrait (Ch. 32-38): Economy, opioids, politics, stereotypes, reinvention, health.
8. Synthesis (Ch. 39-42): Whose stories have been told? Whose are missing? What does this county teach about Appalachia and America?

Use the resources in this toolkit at each stage. Not every source will be available for every county, but the combination of census data, archival records, newspaper archives, oral histories, maps, and photographs will enable you to construct a rich, evidence-based county history that contributes genuinely to our understanding of Appalachia.

For research methodology guidance, see Appendix D. For oral history interviewing techniques, see Appendix F. For key scholarly works that can provide context for your county research, see Appendix E.