(SNP124) Davis Twyman interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Joy K. Stiles

Authors

Davis Twyman

Files

Interviewee

Twyman, Davis

Identifier

SNP124

Format

1 audio file (running time: 0:57:13)

Interview Number

SNP-124

Date of Interview

11-21-1977

Description

Records an interview with Davis Twyman, who lived for more than eighty years in Syria, Va., in Madison County, at the eastern edge of Shenandoah National Park. The Twyman family owned a general store and grist mill in Syria, and Mr. Twyman recalls his interactions with the mountain people before and after the founding of the park. Discusses the limited economic opportunities available to the mountain people, such as the chestnut harvests, bark peeling, truck farming and moon-shining. Recalls the establishment of the presidential retreat known as Camp Hoover, in 1928, and the impact that President Hoover and his wife had on the local community.

Rights

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Personal Names

Twyman, Davis, 1892-1982, Interviews; Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 -- Homes and haunts -- Virginia -- Madison County

Family Names

Twyman family

Subjects

Mountain people -- Blue Ridge Mountains -- Social life and customs; Mountain life -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) – History; Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs; Rural poor – Virginia; Country life -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Traditional medicine -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.); Courtship -- Virginia – History; Distilling, Illicit -- Virginia – History; Land use -- Government policy -- United States.

Place Names

Camp Hoover (Va.) – History; Syria (Va.) – History; Madison County (Va.) -- History -- 20th century; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Manners and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local.

Interviewer

Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999

Transcriber

Stiles, Joy K.

Collection Title

Shenandoah National Park oral history collection

Collection Number

SdArch SNP

Recommended Citation

Davis Twyman interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, November 21, 1977, SdArch SNP-124, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

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