(SNP064) Dorothy H. Housh interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith and Dennis Carter, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

Authors

Dorothy H. Housh

Files

Interviewee

Housh, Dorothy H.

Identifier

SNP064

Format

1 audio file (running time: 1:07:58)

Interview Number

SNP-64

Date of Interview

3-30-1978

Description

Records an interview with Dorothy Housh, whose late husband, Chester C. Housh, was a community manager in the Farm Security Administration that oversaw the forced relocation of hundreds of mountain families from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1930s. By the time the Houshes arrived in Elkton, Virginia, in 1936, most of the families had moved away or had relocated to one of the resettlement tracts provided for them in Flint Hill, Ida Valley, Little Washington or Wolftown. Describes the experiences of the mountain people as they adapted to their new lives and the administrative problems that occasionally arose in the resettlement tracts. Dennis Carter, a naturalist at Shenandoah National Park, contributes to the interview.

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

Housh, Dorothy H., 1893-1997, Interviews; Housh, Chester C., 1886-1962.

Family Names

Housh 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; Agriculture -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Food habits -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Forced migration -- Virginia – History; Farm Security Administration; Land use -- Government policy – Virginia.

Place Names

Flint Hill (Va.) – History; Ida Valley (Va.) – History; Little Washington (Va.) – History; Wolftown (Va.) – History; Albemarle County (Va.) – History; Augusta County (Va.) – History; Greene County (Va.) – History; Madison County (Va.) – History; Page County (Va.) – History; Rappahannock County (Va.) – History; Rockingham County (Va.) – History; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Manners and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local.

Interviewer

Carter, Dennis; Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999

Transcriber

Bradley, Peggy C.

Collection Title

Shenandoah National Park oral history collection

Collection Number

SdArch SNP

Recommended Citation

Dorothy H. Housh interviewed by Dennis Carter and Dorothy Noble Smith, March 30, 1978, SdArch SNP-64, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

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