Hatfields and McCoys Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler Born: December 9, 1932

On December 9, 1932, songwriter, musician, playwright, humorist, and poet Billy Edd Wheeler was born in Boone County. He started writing and performing songs when he was just a teenager.

Wheeler got his first check in the music business when Pat Boone recorded his song “Rock Boll Weevil.” He would go on to write more than 500 other songs, including the country classics “Jackson,” “The Reverend Mister Black,” and “Coward of the County.”

Some of his songs are uproariously funny. “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back” laments the loss of backyard outhouses. But he also wrote poignant songs, like “Coal Tattoo,” which sympathizes with the plight of coal miners.

Over the years, the performers who have recorded Wheeler’s songs read like a Who’s Who of country music. They include Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, Bobby Bare, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams Jr.

In addition, Wheeler wrote the long-running Hatfields and McCoys play, performed by Theatre West Virginia. In 2007, Billy Edd Wheeler was inducted into the inaugural class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

January 1, 1888: Hatfields Attack McCoy Cabin Killing Two

The night of January 1, 1888, marked the worst atrocity in the long-running troubles between the Hatfields of Logan County, West Virginia, and the McCoys of Pike County, Kentucky. That evening, New Year’s Day 1888, Hatfield patriarch “Devil Anse” Hatfield launched a scheme that he hoped would end the feud once and for all. It was led by his uncle, Jim Vance. Without Devil Anse himself being present, the Hatfields set fire to the cabin of Randolph McCoy, the head of the McCoy family. Although Randolph escaped, two of his grown children were killed. And the Hatfields bludgeoned his wife Sarah, leaving her for dead. The disgraceful attack helped to end the feud, but not in the way Devil Anse had intended. The incident put the Hatfields on the defensive. A posse soon killed Vance, and Devil Anse’s nephew was later hanged—the only legal execution of the feud.

While the killings were appalling, the national newspapers further exaggerated events to portray Appalachia as a backward and barbaric place. Unfortunately, the region has struggled to overcome this negative stereotype ever since.

Sept. 15, 1875 – Governor Henry Hatfield Born Near Matewan

Governor Henry Hatfield was born near Matewan on September 15, 1875.

While his Hatfield relatives were fighting their famous feud against the McCoys, Henry was away at college. He eventually became a coal-camp physician in McDowell County. Appalled by the lack of medical facilities, he fought to have three miners’ hospitals established in the state and served as director of the Welch hospital for 13 years.

Hatfield was elected to the state senate in 1908. Four years later, the 37-year-old Republican was elected governor. He pushed for progressive reforms, including the establishment of a Public Service Commission and a workers’ compensation program. He began his term in the middle of the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Strike, the deadliest conflict of the mine wars. He granted a pardon to labor activist “Mother” Jones and striking miners who had been convicted in military courts. He also chaired a board that essentially ended the strike.

After leaving office, he enlisted in the Army as a chief surgeon during World War I and later served one term as a U.S. senator.

Henry Hatfield died in Huntington in 1962 at age 87.

Museum Showcases Relics From Hatfield & McCoy Feud

Hatfields and McCoys mingle peacefully in the mountainous region where their families waged one of America’s most famous feuds.

Now a museum near the Kentucky-West Virginia border is showcasing artifacts bringing the feud back to life. The Hatfield McCoy Country Museum opens Friday in Williamson, West Virginia.

The museum’s curator, Bill Richardson, says exhibits include bullets fired by the warring families, a gun found at a battle site and fragments of Randolph McCoy’s cabin, destroyed by the Hatfields in an infamous 1888 New Year’s attack.

Richardson says the museum will house the largest collection of Hatfield and McCoy relics.

Courtney Quick McCoy says she’ll probably have goosebumps when she looks at relics from her family’s feud with the Hatfields.

To show how the truce has stuck, she’s a business partner with a Hatfield.

Hatfield and McCoy Descendants Discover Battle Site

The Hatfield and McCoy descendants came armed — with digging tools. Working together as volunteers, they helped archaeologists unearth artifacts from one of the bloodiest sites in America’s most famous feud.

The leader of the dig says they have pinpointed the place where Randolph McCoy’s home was set ablaze in the woods of eastern Kentucky during a murderous New Year’s attack by the Hatfield clan. Two McCoys were gunned down in the 1888 ambush. It marked a turning point in the families’ cross-border feud in Kentucky and West Virginia.

In a region slammed by a slumping coal industry, retracing the McCoy homestead could provide more momentum to lure visitors.

The property is owned by Hatfield descendant Bob Scott, who would like to build a replica cabin on the same spot.

Theatre W.Va. Will Return for 54th Season

Theatre West Virginia is preparing to return for its 54th season following a shutdown caused by financial problems.

The Register-Herald reports Theatre West Virginia has scheduled 17 performances of “Hatfields and McCoys” this season, beginning July 11.

In past seasons, the outdoor theater company performed both “Hatfields and McCoys” and another historical drama, “Honey in the Rock” at Cliffside Amphitheatre at Grandview Park. The company also performed Broadway productions and productions aimed at children.

Theatre West Virginia ceased operations in September 2013. This year, the Legislature allocated $125,000 for the theater. Organizers hope to raise another $325,000.

Theatre West Virginia was founded in 1955.