Same View, Different Perspective: How Natives and Newcomers Understand Land in Appalachia

Anyone who has lived in the Southern Appalachians recognizes that there is something about this land that inspires deep, generations-long love of the land.  In this book, John M. Coggeshall—a Professor of Anthropology at Clemson University—tries to explain this phenomenon.  Ultimately, he defines this attachment to the land as a “preexisting cultural value” that residents have been forced to give words to in the face of economic and cultural forces that would seem to dictate that they leave the land (p. 28).

After considerable investigation beginning in 2006, Coggeshall found that inhabitants’ ever-present attachment to land in South Carolina’s Pickens and Oconee counties is hard to verbalize.  Nevertheless, educating outsiders about the land’s significance and their culture has become imperative for some inhabitants in the wake of changes starting in the 1970s, such as an increase in displacement caused by hydroelectric dams, spikes in recreational tourism, residential development, and the debut of the film Deliverance.

In the first of seven chapters, Coggeshall offers a unique lens on the book’s topic, which includes analysis from sociologists, folklorists, historians, geographers, writers, and other anthropologists. The effect is a well-rounded introduction for readers who are new to Appalachian Studies and a thorough refresher for those who are more familiar.  He emphasizes the importance of place and how various groups view and use land differently.  Coggeshall identifies two major themes: how insiders and outsiders view the land as both “menacing and majestic” as well as the cultural significance of land in Appalachia.

Chapters three through six focus on the words of the inhabitants and residents of Pickens and Oconee counties.  As a cultural anthropologist, Coggeshall conducted 88 interviews.  Unlike typical scholars who analyze theories and topics throughout their text, he purposefully leaves his voice out of these chapters.  However, he does differentiate between “residents”–who Coggeshall describes as relative newcomers with no familial ties to the land–and “inhabitants,” whose families have lived there for generations.  This juxtaposition of resident and inhabitant views allow for a more nuanced understanding of the region’s cultural history.  For inhabitants, the land is not just valuable because of its beauty or utility; it is also dangerous and complex but adored just the same.

Historians reading Something in These Hills might notice Coggeshall’s minimal use of dates and times. In Chapter 2, the author provides a succinct environmental and historical background, but the region’s documented history takes a backseat to the book’s focus on those describing their own homeplaces or gated communities.  Enlightened historians could learn from Coggeshall’s approach for their own research purposes, as hearing from local people provides valuable insight that investigators can rarely find in books.

Whether Coggeshall’s relative omission of a historical timeline was purposeful or not, the strategy works to strengthen his main argument that land has always been seen as part of the family for inhabitants. According to the author, this connection to family land is not dependent on outside economic events or a typical American capitalist view of land; it is simply how inhabitants have always viewed their homeplaces.  While resident newcomers certainly appreciate the sites of Pickens and Oconee counties, it appears that only inhabitants know what the “something” is in these hills.

Beyond the field of anthropology, this book is appropriate and useful for historians, sociologists, students of the South and Appalachia, and those “residents” desiring to learn a bit more about their neighbors and perhaps themselves.

Dr. Colbi Layne Hogan is a Research Fellow at the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University