George Corbin interviewed by Edward Garvey, transcribed by Victoria M. Edwards

Creator:

Corbin, George T. (George Thurman), 1888-1978, Garvey, Edward B., 1914-1999, and Edwards, Victoria M.

Scope and content:

Records an interview conducted by Edward Garvey of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) with George Corbin, who lived in Nicholson Hollow, Virginia from 1888 to 1938. The Corbin homestead was located on part of the land turned over to the NPS by the state of Virginia in the 1930s. Corbin describes the circumstances at the time of the construction of the log cabin he built for his family in 1909. The logs for the cabin were harvested locally by Corbin, who then cut and shaped them using axes and other hand tools. Corbin recalls the day of the house raising when ten friends and neighbors joined him to assemble all of the walls and rafters within the course of a single day. The cabin was later turned over to the PATC for use as a trail shelter in 1954, and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings as the George T. Corbin Cabin. Edward Garvey was part of the PATC crew that restored the cabin for public use. Corbin elaborates on local methods of raising and storing crops and vegetables, collecting tan bark, funerals and burial rituals, and gives a detailed account of his experiences distilling moonshine. Includes a discussion on the Corbin and Nicholson family cemetery, as well as the local schoolhouse and church. Mr. Corbin speaks at length of the genealogies of the Corbins and the Nicholsons, as well as many of the other local mountain families. Included are anecdotes regarding businessman and entrepreneur George Pollock, owner of Skyland resort, and several local residents.

Names:

Corbin, George T. (George Thurman), 1888-1978
Garvey, Edward B., 1914-1999
Edwards, Victoria M.

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