Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Map of Appalachia

  • wcu_craft_revival-6435.jpg
  • Drawn by John C. Campbell, this very large map serves as one of the first definitive maps of Appalachia, a region Campbell referred to as the “Southern Highlands.” In 1908 and 1909, John and Olive Campbell traveled throughout the region to conduct a study of mountain life under the auspices of the Russell Sage Foundation. According to his biography, around 1914, Campbell created this color-coded map to take to conferences. After he died in 1919, Olive Campbell gathered his notes together and organized them into the book, “Our Southern Highlander and His Homeland” published posthumously in 1921 under his name. John Campbell is credited with popularizing the term “Southern Highlands,” a phrase that was popular during the Craft Revival period.