This prolonged vendetta was the most notorious of several feuds that took place in central Appalachia in the late 19th century. It pitted the family of “Devil Anse” Hatfield, which resided mostly in Logan County in West Virginia (including present Mingo County), against the family of Randolph McCoy, which lived primarily across the Tug Fork in adjacent Pike County, Kentucky. Although the feud spanned nearly a quarter of a century, most of the events centered around five isolated moments. The events—and, more importantly, the sensationalized reporting of the events—would forever change the image Americans have of West Virginia and the mountain region.

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