The Legend of John Henry
American Folk Heroes
Even though my good friend, Goosebuster, stole my thunder and completed my American folk hero set for me. I wanted to show that I am not a bitter man. So, I agreed to publish Goosebuster’s write up on MY big three American folk heroes series. “Thank you” Goosebuster for your contribution…
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If you google “top 3 American folk heroes,” you get this…
Yep…that’s the top 3 of American folk heroes: Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, and John Henry. Well, PugsleyTonks has already traveled and written about Bunyan and Appleseed. So, to complete the set for him, my beloved wife and I traveled off to Talcott, West Virginia, to explore the Legend of John Henry.
The Making of a Legend
To understand John Henry, you have to understand how railroad tunnels were cut into the mountains in the 1800s. The original method (the John Henry way) was to drive drill bits into the stone with a sledge hammer. Next, some unfortunate soul would place dynamite into the hole to blow up the rock. But, as technology developed, the steam drill created holes faster. And, slowly the workers wielding the sledge hammers were replaced.
Well, as the legend goes, John Henry was born with a hammer in his hand. So, around 1868, to defend his job, John Henry challenged the steam drill to a tunnel carving contest. The dueling tunnel contest put John Henry at the edge of human tolerance to keep up with the hammer drill. Ultimately, John Henry burst from the mountain first. However, in defeating the hammer drill, he did go beyond his human limits. And, John Henry’s heart gave out and he died at the tunnel opening…a LEGEND was born.
Is It True?
As with all folk lore, the question is always…”Is it true.” Thankfully, my beloved wife and I went to the middle of nowhere in the West Virginia mountains to look for evidence of John Henry’s feat. Near the unincorporated village of Talcott, WV, all doubts were resolved. It was there that we discovered a tunnel, a historic marker, and a statue of John Henry. What more do you need? In the true scientific methodology of this blog site, we determined that the John Henry Legend is REAL!
Completed in 1870, the tunnel was actually part of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railroad system. While the tunnel is no longer active for trains, you can still get a good look at the Great Bend tunnel where John Henry became a legend.
You Snooze…You Lose
I hope you have enjoyed my research into the Legend of John Henry. I would like to offer a semi-serious apology to PugsleyTonks for having to complete his American folk hero set for him. But, you snooze…you loose. I had to get the job done. Have a blessed day. Goosebuster
I hope you have enjoyed reading “The Legend of John Henry” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
Here were the first two installments of PugsleyTonks’ American folk hero series…
https://travelingwithpt.com/getting-to-know-paul-bunyan/
https://travelingwithpt.com/is-johnny-appleseed-a-big-deal/
If you want to visit John Henry… https://www.nps.gov/places/john-henry-park-talcott-wv.htm
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