Mountain Men of Hopkins Gap: Migration, Survival, Violence

Shifflett, Peggy Ann and Lori Bennett

296 pages; 2026

From Pat Turner Ritchie: Through her first-hand experience of growing up in Hopkins Gap area of Rockingham County, Virginia, Peggy Shifflett has shown us how the area's families embodied Appalachian Mountain values: strong kinship ties, self-reliance, deep connection to the land, Protestant religion, oral traditions, and a culture of honor. Sometimes the values influenced behavior for the positive, such as close family activities and caring for each other. Sometimes the values like a culture of honor were taken to the extreme with bad results. Peggy does not shy away from delicate subjects, like using extreme violence to defend one's honor. She also discusses how Prohibition inadvertently created a strong market for illegal spirits manufacturing and turned neighbors into competitors and enemies.