Appalachian Cemetery Preservation

10/29/2026

27 October 1955 was Homecoming week for Hazard’s Liberty Dragons. Queen candidates included Marleese King, Gloria Walker, and Betty Combs. The football team was hosting the Wi******er Bobcats at Collins Field.

10/28/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

Old folks around Pikeville used to tell of a young woman who went into the ground dead—and woke up beneath it. High above the eastern Kentucky town still stands the marble figure of Octavia Hatcher, whose death in 1891 became one of the region’s darkest legends. Octavia was only about twenty-one years old and had recently lost her infant son, Jacob, when she became gravely ill and died. But as the story was passed down through the hills, folks began whispering that Octavia had never truly died at all—that she had slipped into a deep coma and was buried before her time. According to the legend, when her grave was finally opened, the inside of her coffin showed signs of a desperate struggle, as though she had awakened alone in the darkness and fought to get out. No contemporary record has been found proving that terrible part of the tale, but in Pikeville, the story refused to stay buried.

Her husband, James Hatcher, raised an elaborate marble monument over Octavia’s grave, and years later became known for keeping his own coffin on display—a strange detail that only added fuel to the old stories. As generations passed, people began telling of cries heard around Octavia’s grave after sundown, strange sounds drifting through the cemetery, and a marble statue that supposedly turned away from the town below. Whether any of that is true is something the mountains have never answered. But even without the ghosts, there is something chilling about a young mother dead before her time, a husband who kept his own coffin close, and a legend that has survived more than a century. Some stories fade when the people who knew them are gone. Others, like Octavia Hatcher’s, seem to keep clawing their way back to the surface. 🌑🕯️🪦

10/26/2026

If we didn’t have a ballgame, we would be driving over the mountains!

Join us at Harry M. Caudill Library on October 27th at 5:30 pm for a special visit from Robert Hamilton, as he shares stories and memories from Appalachian life —and then it’s your turn!
So bring your own family stories, memories, traditions and experiences to share as we swap stories and celebrate the rich heritage of Appalachia!

This program is FREE and no sign ups required.

10/25/2026

Songs of the Revolution(s) explores revolutionary moments in America's and Virginia's history through song and spoken word. 🇺🇸 From the American Revolution, the struggle for civil rights, and women's suffrage, to the evolution of industry and innovation; to sacrifice and service in many spheres of American life, to the connections between people and communities that make our nation stronger and more vibrant. 💙 Thank you to Virginia Humanities, Virginia Tourism Corporation, the City of Bristol Virginia, and the United Company Foundation for their support of this program.