Appalachians in places where there are no mountains
- appalachianplaces
- 9 hours ago
- 8 min read
By Thomas E. Wagner and Phillip J. Obermiller
When we think of Appalachian places we normally look to the highlands of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and other Southern mountain states. Often overlooked are the communities of Appalachians in Midwestern cities. An estimated 3 million people left the Southern Appalachian region between 1950 and 1980 and settled in metropolitan and industrial centers outside of the mountains. But out-migration from the region began long before that period. As early as 1911, school officials in Cincinnati, Ohio, noted in their annual report “the presence of Southern mountain whites.”
In the early years of the twentieth century many Southern mountain white families moved to Midwestern states, some temporarily as seasonal workers picking onion and tomato crops. Others settled permanently after finding reliable jobs. For example, the tire factories in northeastern Ohio heavily recruited workers from West Virginia. There were so many migrants that some referred to Akron, Ohio, as “the capital of West Virginia.” Manufacturers sought Appalachian workers because of their strong work ethic and mechanical aptitude. Similar to other migrants, those from the Southern highlands lived near each other in the cities where they settled. By the 1970s, identifiable Appalachian neighborhoods could be found in the Ohio cities of Cincinnati, Hamilton, Middletown, Dayton, and Akron. Similar Appalachian communities could be found in Chicago, Illinois; Ypsilanti, Michigan; Muncie, Indiana; and Baltimore, Maryland. Like European immigrants, the Appalachian migrants formed clubs and associations to strengthen and maintain their heritage.
In this article we describe some of these organizations and the leaders who founded them. Interestingly, some of those involved were not from the region but were eager advocates for the migrants. In the mid-1950s, for instance, the Council of the Southern Mountains sponsored workshops in several midwestern cities for teachers, social workers, police officers, and others. In 1969, Perley Ayer, director of the Council stated “…there is a strong urban trend and the Council of the Southern Mountains is involved in Cincinnati, Chicago, Dayton, Columbus and Detroit working with unnumbered thousands of our people who have gone there looking for a better opportunity for themselves and their children.” The Council also established a Chicago office to reach out to the numerous Appalachian newcomers in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.
Some did not believe Appalachian migrants capable of forming their own organizations. But Appalachians in Akron, Ohio, and elsewhere would do just that. B.F. Goodrich and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company actively recruited workers from West Virginia. Estimates of West Virginia migrants living in Akron in 1920 were as high as 77,000 people. In 1917 over 800 West Virginians met at Seiberling Field to form the West Virginia Society. Primarily a social organization, the Society’s annual picnic attracted up to 15,000 in the 1930s. The organization faded away during World War II as second- and third-generation West Virginians assimilated into Akron’s greater population.
The city of Baltimore was a significant destination for Appalachian migrants from Virginia and West Virginia. Numerous areas in the city were identified as “hillbilly” neighborhoods, including Hampden, Pigtown, Remington, Woodberry, Lower Charles Village, Highlandtown, and Druid Hill Park, as well as the Baltimore inner suburbs of Dundalk, Essex, and Middle River. Hampden saw the largest numbers of migrants due to the number of mills offering work. Discrimination against Appalachians was rampant. One migrant wrote that when she was searching for an apartment, a sign posted on one building read “no dogs or hillbillies.” The Baltimore chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women published a report titled “The Unaccepted Baltimoreans,” authored by community and civil rights activist Ferne K. Kolodner. The report sought to inform the city’s residents and leaders about the mountaineers. As with other northern cities where Appalachian migrants settled, there are lasting traces of their life and culture. For example, the Charm City Bluegrass Festival, founded in 2013, is held every year in April to highlight the long history of bluegrass music in Baltimore.
Appalachian migrants were attracted to southeastern Michigan because of the automobile factories. A study of Southern white migrants in 1934 found that approximately 166,000 resided in the area. Beginning in 1960 an organized group known as Kentuckians of Michigan has held an annual picnic to celebrate the group’s mountain heritage. Member Charles Lowe described the yearly event as a “day back home without having to take the trip.” Sue Williams, a longtime officer of the group, believes the organization evolved from picnics held by residents of various Kentucky counties who were living in Michigan. In 1980 the group purchased the park where the annual picnic and numerous social events are still held.
Southwestern Ohio attracted migrants from central Appalachia to work at companies such as Armco Steel, Mosler Safe Company, Fisher Body, Champion Paper Company, and numerous other industries. Appalachian newcomers formed organizations in Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton. Hamilton companies actively recruited workers from Kentucky. So many Kentuckians moved north that in Hazard a suitcase was often referred to as a “Hamilton.” A 1942 study found that nearly 23 percent of Hamilton’s residents were originally from Kentucky. In 1959, elementary school principal Stanley Dezarn founded an organization called the O’Tucks to hold an annual “homecoming” picnic. At its peak, the O’Tucks picnic drew 1,600 people. Later, a Saturday night dinner before the picnic averaged 400 participants.
Appalachian migrants in Dayton, Ohio, came together as an informal group in the city’s East Side neighborhood. Appalachians were largely ignored by the city’s social services because they were white. Several volunteer organizations held workshops and programs to “educate” city leaders about the needs of the migrants. In 1973 these informal networks coalesced into an organization named Our Common Heritage. Lela Estes became president of the new organization, which formally organized after a large homecoming event sponsored by Laurel Reece, a representative of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Supported by the leaders of the American Federations of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Municipal Employees Union, the organization thrived. Although primarily a social organization, Our Common Heritage came to be known for its ability to help migrants with issues related to living in an urban setting.
Perhaps the premier migrant organization in Southwestern Ohio was the Urban Appalachian Council (UAC) established in 1975. UAC’s roots go back several years before its formal incorporation. Appalachian migrants were struggling in Cincinnati and were blamed for many problems, including such things as lost library books. In the 1960s, a loose coalition of committed individuals had come together in the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to speak for the migrants.
Ernie Mynatt, a Kentucky teacher, was recruited by Stewart Faber, whose father had founded the Appalachian Fund, to work among the Appalachian youth in Over-the-Rhine. Others soon joined the coalition: Louise Spiegel, a civic activist; Virginia Coffey, an African American born in West Virginia who was director of a social agency and later of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC); Mike Maloney, a community organizer born in Kentucky; and Frank Foster, a retired university president. There were others, but these individuals formed the core of efforts on behalf of the migrants.
Mynatt worked out of Emmanuel Community Center and later the Main Street Bible Center, which was supported by the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. In 1968, Maloney and Mynatt formed the United Appalachians Cincinnati, and in 1969 the group sponsored “A Conference on the Southern Appalachian” at Xavier University. With the support of the Appalachian Fund, they opened the Appalachian Identity Center in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In 1970, the loose-knit organization, with funding from the Appalachian Fund, became the Appalachian Committee of the Cincinnati Human Relations Committee under the leadership of Virginia Coffey. Michael Maloney was hired by CHRC to staff the Committee. With support of the Appalachian Fund and Virginia Coffey, the committee was spun off to create an independent organization, the Urban Appalachian Council. An office was opened and a small staff hired to provide links to service and to advocate for the city’s Appalachian residents. Another transformation occurred in 2014 when UAC’s service activities were picked up by other agencies and the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition (UACC) was formed to continue promoting the Appalachian heritage of many Cincinnatians.
Another organization in the Cincinnati area is the Appalachian Community Development Association (ACDA), which sponsors the annual Appalachian Festival held each spring since 1971 to feature mountain crafts and music. Originally organized and sponsored by the Junior League of Cincinnati, responsibility for the festival was transferred to ACDA, a community volunteer board, in 1976.
The Eastern Kentucky Social Club (EKSC) must not be overlooked. African Americans have a long history in Appalachia. Between 1900 and 1930, large numbers of African Americans migrated from the southern cotton belt to work in the region’s coal mines. Lynch and Benham, Kentucky, in Harlan County, were the home of two major coal companies. U.S. Steel operated a large mining operation in Lynch and Wisconsin Wire and Steel, a subsidiary of International Harvester, had operations in Benham. Both communities were considered “model” coal towns, constructed in just a couple of years and offering full services to the workers. Both companies recruited Black workers from Alabama, especially from the mines and steel mills around Birmingham. After World War II, many of Lynch and Benham’s Black residents moved north seeking jobs in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
The EKSC was born in 1967 when a group of friends met at the home of Amelia Moss and discussed holding a reunion of former Lynch and Benham residents. The discussions continued at the Red Satin Lounge on Cleveland’s west side. The first reunion was held in 1969 at Shakerlee Hall in Cleveland. Word of the reunion spread so far and wide that the building could not hold all who came. The second reunion, held in 1971 in Detroit, was so large that it was decided to form local chapters in several locations including in Lynch. In 2000, there were 14 chapters and a “clubhouse” located in the former Black school building in Lynch. The organization holds an annual meeting in one of the cities where there is a chapter, and a Memorial Day “going home” celebration in Lynch and Benham.
Of course, there are other locations such as Muncie, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; and Atlanta, Georgia, where Appalachian migrants have settled and experienced difficulty and success much like what is described here. Some have returned to their mountain homes after retirement from their jobs. However, most have remained where they settled and raised their children, becoming part of the new communities.
The movement among southern Appalachians has been well documented in books and articles. Robert Cole’s The South Goes North published in 1967; Harry K. Schwarzweller, J.J. Mangalan, and James Brown’s Mountain Families In Transition in 1991; Phillip Obermiller, Thomas Wagner and Bruce Tucker’s Appalachian Odyssey, 2000; and Chad Berry’s Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles, 2000, are some of the earlier chronicles of the migration out of the mountains. More recently JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy and Max Fraser’s Hillbilly Highway continue to tell the story of the migration. Harriet Arnow’s The Dollmaker published in 1961, although fiction, is an excellent depiction the difficulties faced by some Appalachians in northern cities.
Although the early years were difficult for many who came out of the hills and hollows of Southern Appalachia to relocate in Midwestern cities, they often found prosperity and success. Many of the third, fourth, and fifth generations of the original Appalachian migrants recognize their heritage with events and celebrations. Bluegrass music concerts are still put on by the Kentuckians of Michigan, and Appalachian crafts, art, and food are still available during Cincinnati’s Appalachian Festival. Appalachians have brought mountain life and culture to places where there are no mountains.
Tom Wagner is a university professor emeritus in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati. Phil Obermiller is a senior visiting scholar in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati.
Comments