Larry Hypes
Contributing Writer
RINER – Montgomery County, home to nearly 100,000 residents, is a perfect example of Appalachia’s ever-changing definition.
A combination of urban sprawl and pristine wilderness, the 389-square mile area both identifies with and sometimes defies the traditional view of exactly what the overall section is.
“An Encyclopedia of Appalachia,” co-edited by Rudy Abrahamson and Blacksburg resident Dr. Jean Haskell, is a delightful 1,864-page review of the overall American portion known as Appalachia which begins in Alabama, continues into New York state and covers all or parts of 13 states with a core section of 410 counties.
Many of the book’s segments will remind readers of what their own county showcases in its forward march of progress, building on the past and reaching confidently for the future.
Although the book is highly acclaimed, a new and improved compilation is coming soon, designed not only to be information, but also to be available in a more modern and convenient format for casual readers as well as for scholars.
This comprehensive book includes more than 2,000 entries in 30 sections and was published in 2016. While Montgomery County is on the cusp of its 250th anniversary in 2026, the encyclopedia will celebrate two decades in the same year.
“We set out to make the encyclopedia a region-wide effort,” says Dr. Haskell, “so we enlisted the most outstanding leaders and scholars to serve as an advisory board, an editorial board, nineteen section editors and editorial staff. Our goal was to produce the most authoritative and comprehensive reference work available on the Appalachian region and to make it a readable and engaging book.”
Ten years in the making, this work makes clear that Appalachia is not always defined by the Appalachian Mountains. Neither is Montgomery, nestled alongside the Appalachians and adjacent to the Alleghenies. With 410 counties in 13 states as core Appalachian counties, Montgomery could be considered as one of 360 “upland” counties in the area.
Dr. Haskell, as a retired professor from both East Tennessee State University and Virginia Tech, visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in addition to having a varied association with community and civic groups in both Tennessee and Virginia, is keenly interested in education that both informs and holds interest.
The encyclopedia lends itself to the task.
The section on music, reviewing the broad spectrum across Appalachia, reminds of Montgomery County’s ties, which continue with programs such as the MJAM (Montgomery Junior Appalachia Musicians), area venues like the Center of the Performing Arts at Virginia Tech, the Floyd Country Store, Galax Fiddler’s Convention and the Blue Ridge Music Center.
On a more local scale than the Appalachian Trail, the famed Crooked Road, Virginia’s Music Heritage Trail, embodies a great deal of Appalachian heritage, with persons like Jack Hinshelwood, with a background in Riner, who along with Ted Olson and Mac Trayhham performed recently at Blacksburg’s LYRIC Theatre in a program tribute to Vernon Dalhart, the first star of Country Music.
That same Appalachian Trail, as the encyclopedia reveals, has between 4-5 million hikers annually. It touches Montgomery County on its winding trek from Alabama to Maine.
Coal and railroads in the Appalachian Region are discussed and Montgomery, bisected by the Norfolk Southern line, location of the old “Huckleberry” route which is now a popular walking trail and also once home to a prosperous coal mining concern, shares those links to the rest of the region.
Education is a prime topic specifically in the “Institutions” section of the Encyclopedia. With Virginia Tech as Montgomery County’s largest employer, the increased emphasis on education shines brightly in the local community, and as a land-grant university VT with its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, continues to expand its role in the diverse Appalachian ecosystem.
“The center was recently awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities to bring it (the Encyclopedia) up to date and add the kinds of instructional material such as audio and video, not possible in the print version,” said Haskell.
The encylopedia is available at the Montgomery Museum of Art and History, 4 E. Main St. in downtown Christiansburg.
