COMING SOON!

Witch of the Mountain

To be published in February 2021

She walked for miles alone in the middle of the night, in the coldest of winter, to save a mother and her child. 

Using tools available in the Appalachian ground, she treated snakebites and gunshot wounds.

She divined fortunes and guided thousands of hopeful tourists to hidden treasures.

She shared her home and her heart with her neighbors and friends.

This is the true story of an Appalachian midwife and Cherokee conjurer called Granny Dollar, who emerged from obscurity in 1923, appearing on the doorstep of a local boarding school on Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. When she died in 1931, some claimed that she was 116 years old! In the past 90 years, her legend has grown to mythic proportions, but her real identity has remained unknown until this time. 

This book peels back that mystery and tells the story of the real woman who became Granny Dollar.

UPDATE:  Here it is >>>>   https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578846101

 

On a recent research trip, Lisa and I spent a couple of days at Desoto Park campground.  We also spent a fair amount of time running around Lookout Mountain and the Valley looking for Granny Dollar sites.  To the left is a photo of me at the grave of Nancy "Granny" Dollar.

I first learned of Granny Dollar as a young boy when my cousin, Lanita, sketched out her life for me. Lanita had written a biographical essay in school and chose the local legend and myth of Granny Dollar as her subject. At the time, unless you were from DeKalb County, it was unlikely that you would have heard of Granny Dollar. But as time went on, and with more efforts to uncover her story, her legend grew. Since I was from the city, I was not familiar with Granny Dollar. But, as my cousin gave her presentation, I became captivated by her story and wanted to know more. With little information available, I quickly learned that the small amount I knew of Granny Dollar was all that had been written up to that time and all that was known. Even as I turned my attention to other mysteries, I never could completely shake my fascination with Granny Dollar. 

 The Alabama State Parks' website has a good article about Granny Dollar and her benefactor, Colonel Milford Howard. (click on image)

 

A nice pin over at Pinterest (click on image).

 Over at Bloggerittaville, by Leigh. (click on image)

 Over at appalachianhistory.net by David Tabor (click on image).