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A Story of Hard Spirits and Defiant Souls Franklin County, Virginia has long been known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. That history can seem romantic, but the county has a dark and violent past. The descendants of the Scots-Irish who settled its rugged mountains openly defied the law and employed their own notions of justice to defend their traditions and livelihood. During Prohibition, the production of moonshine skyrocketed, but the liquor didn't stop flowing from the mountains when the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed. County and state officials struggled to maintain order in a region where unsolved murders, strange disappearances, and senseless killings were a way of life. The peak came in 1978, with nine murders linked to moonshine and drugs in the county. Historian and Virginia native Phillip Andrew Gibbs tells story of that horrific year and the history behind it.

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9781467153386

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A Story of Hard Spirits and Defiant Souls

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Phillip Andrew Gibbs, a native Virginian, is Professor Emeritus of history at Middle Georgia State University. His ancestors have lived in Franklin County and the Blue Ridge Mountains since the 1750s. An avid cyclist and tennis player, he also works as a professional musician and is a founding member of the Midlife Chryslers, a rock, pop and R&B band that performs throughout the southeastern United States. He currently lives in Kathleen, Georgia, with his wife, Penny, their dog Jack and Moe, the three-legged cat.

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