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Southern Gothic

John Henry: Steel Driving Man

Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic Media LLC

Documentary, True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.7974 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode of Southern Gothic originally aired on March 5, 2021. When the Civil War drew to a close, the United States’ railway networks, particularly those in the Southern states, were in shambles. During the Reconstruction era, the rehabilitation of the southern rails and expansion of transcontinental railroads became a major undertaking, and as the importance of the railroad rose. In the three decades after the Civil War over 170,000 miles of track were added to America’s railway system; it opened the western states for further settlement and reestablished the accessibility of the southern states. The accomplishment required a considerable workforce, and railway companies became a significant employers of thousands of men finally freed from enslavement. The work was dangerous, physically intensive, and time-consuming. It’s unknown exactly how many men lost their lives to injury or illness while expanding the nation’s railroad system during Reconstruction, but the legacy of these men lives on in one of the most enduring folk heroes in American history…the ballad of John Henry, the steel-driving man. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? Patreon: Ad-Free Episodes, Premium Releases, Bonus Content & More  Southern Gothic Premium on Spotify Southern Gothic Premium on Apple Podcasts Into History: History Without Interruption Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia X: @SoGoPodcast Advertise on this podcast: press@southerngothicmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

The Fall Line is a true crime podcast covering the coldest cases in the southeastern United States and occasionally beyond.

0:08.4

We focus on the missing persons, the unsolved murders, and the unidentified doze that don't get media attention.

0:15.7

Empathetic and intensively researched, the fall line will take you on deep dives into unsolved cases that you've

0:21.9

never heard of and make you wonder why you haven't. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

0:32.9

I'm Annie from Boston, Massachusetts. And I'm Johanna from Vienna, Austria.

0:37.9

We're the hosts of Fresh Hell, your international podcast that covers murder, mystery, and the macabre throughout history.

0:44.3

Are you interested in the 3,569 ways your household could have killed you in the Victorian era?

0:50.4

Do you know how malaria and syphilis played a role in the John List family murders?

0:55.3

And have you ever wondered what Prince Albert's sex chair had to do with the murder of

0:59.0

Stanford White? Okay, nothing. It had nothing to do with it. We're still telling you about it,

1:03.7

though. It's a pretty great sex chair. If you're looking for another show that talks about

1:07.6

Ted Bundy, this is probably not the podcast for you.

1:14.7

But if you're looking for two women that cover lesser-known cases from all over the world with a lot of background information.

1:17.0

So much background information that you will rock your local pub quiz from now on.

1:21.5

Then find Fresh Hell podcast on your favorite podcast app.

1:25.3

We also have German cannibals.

1:26.8

See you soon.

1:27.8

Cheuse. Just south of Talcott, West Virginia, is an old decommission rail tunnel, originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

2:00.0

In February of 1870, over 800 men in Ohio Railway.

2:07.4

In February of 1870, over 800 men began digging this tunnel through the Big Bend Mountain, a process that took too long and grueling years, as at the time, every step had

2:15.3

to be done by hand.

2:20.3

First, a man known as a shaker held a steel drill into place, while another man, known as a steel

...

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