Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'll bet nobody ever thought of New Jersey. I found this post -
Anyone ever hear of the Jackson Whites? At least into the 1970's (maybe still, though hard to believe they can still withstand the onslaught of suburban development) there were a "tribe" of isolated people who lived on a mountain in northern New Jersey. By the 1930's their once-remote mountain was no longer remote. It was not far from where WCW lived. They were distinctive for their 18th Century accents (what we call "hillbilly"), their tawny skin, Caucasian features and recessive genes that gave many of them six fingers, mental retardation and other genetic defects after a few centuries of being their own first cousins no times removed.
They owned the mountain which they had inhabited for 200 years and almost never let an outsider onto their land. Talk about a Wall! They were descended from runaway slaves, Indians and white women "camp followers"of George Washington's forces (who were trampling around Northern Jersey in 1777 or thereabouts). The name Jackson's Whites referred to the "white slavery" which the women escaped by their retreat with the other outcasts to thei mountain. So for two centuries, these folks kept themselves almost completely isolated on their mountain and armed themselves to enforce it. Strangers were simply not allowed. Although an occasional journalist or anthropologist would write about them.
No never heard of that group........... Interesting story. A lot of places around the world have suffered the same fate. Its mostly due to isolation , be it mountains and valleys , islands , or supportively closed off societies.
I remember years ago , while sailing the Carribbean, I ran across a small island , where every one had blond hair , and blue eyes. They spoke French , mostly, cause it was a French island , but , somewhere in the past , it was settled by peoples from Scandinavia. There were some strange folks running around , I was told it was from inbreeding. A beautiful island , I could have stayed a long while , but , wanderlust prevailed , I moved on....... Today , its a famous tourist stop, for , the wealthy ,......St Barts it is called now..........
Having lived in the Appalachian region most of my life (Certainly not inbred or "trashy") I think people from this area get a bad rep. There is a lot of poverty and, unfortunately, a growing drug problem,but I don't think most of the people in the area are different from people in Indiana or Kansas or Oregon,etc.
I don't think this thread is really just an opportunity for city-folk to put down the small-town dwellers. I think when they say "scary hillibilly towns" they mean roads in disrepair, people with no teeth staring at you from their rocking chairs as you drive by ("what's HE doing here?"), and tumbleweed going across the streets lined with abandoned buildings.
We moved here in 2002. I moved around a ton growing up and the longest place I ever lived before here was a grand total of 4 years in Oklahoma City, OK. Ive also spent time in Kansas City, MO, Los Angeles, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Anchorage, AK, and Houston, TX, so I've been around. Arkansas does have pros. Its a beautiful and scenic state and the cost of living is low. I personally hate the river valley area where I live because my personality doesn't mesh well with the culture that is here. I don't hate Arkansas as a whole and might relocate to Little Rock or NW Arkansas if I get the chance. Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia get bad reps for hillbillies, but I think EVERY state has strinking differences between its urban and rural areas.
Wow, I can't imagine the culture shock of LA to Ft Smith. My father moved us to Northwest Arkansas from Massachusetts when I was nine. It was strikingly different from anything I'd known, but at nine I was pretty adaptable. Northwest Arkansas in the 70's was pretty rural and Southern, I remember people telling us we needed to go to Ft Smith to see a city. Now things have kind of flip-flopped with all the growth in this corner, it's like Ft Smith got stuck along the way. I've lived in other places, and I've found that every place is different, each with its own set of trade-offs, and I've liked every place I've lived and enjoyed what those places have to offer.
I don't think this thread is really just an opportunity for city-folk to put down the small-town dwellers. I think when they say "scary hillibilly towns" they mean roads in disrepair, people with no teeth staring at you from their rocking chairs as you drive by ("what's HE doing here?"), and tumbleweed going across the streets lined with abandoned buildings.
Wow, I can't imagine the culture shock of LA to Ft Smith. My father moved us to Northwest Arkansas from Massachusetts when I was nine. It was strikingly different from anything I'd known, but at nine I was pretty adaptable. Northwest Arkansas in the 70's was pretty rural and Southern, I remember people telling us we needed to go to Ft Smith to see a city. Now things have kind of flip-flopped with all the growth in this corner, it's like Ft Smith got stuck along the way. I've lived in other places, and I've found that every place is different, each with its own set of trade-offs, and I've liked every place I've lived and enjoyed what those places have to offer.
DC
My dad had roots in this area and I visited all my life from time to time. I was very adaptable growing up and was used to change and just went with it.
I remember when Ft. Smith had all the TV news stations. I think Channel 5 is the only one left in Ft. Smith. I remember when Ft. Smith had a better mall and more retail choices. Now, Wal-Mart has built so many supercenters and saturated the market so there isn't much else left, and Fayetteville or Rogers now get all the good restaraunts.
The feeling I got when visiting NW Arkansas is that its a small metro with a mentality of a much larger city, while Ft. Smith has the mentality and culture of a town much smaller than it actually is.
My dad had roots in this area and I visited all my life from time to time. I was very adaptable growing up and was used to change and just went with it.
I remember when Ft. Smith had all the TV news stations. I think Channel 5 is the only one left in Ft. Smith. I remember when Ft. Smith had a better mall and more retail choices. Now, Wal-Mart has built so many supercenters and saturated the market so there isn't much else left, and Fayetteville or Rogers now get all the good restaraunts.
The feeling I got when visiting NW Arkansas is that its a small metro with a mentality of a much larger city, while Ft. Smith has the mentality and culture of a town much smaller than it actually is.
I would have to say , my one or two visits to Ft. Smith , were not very memorable. First off its not on the Interstate , so , there is little reason to exit !........ I remember looking for a place to eat ...... there weren't any ! Or , not to my liking , as I recall . I did find a motel , was ok , but , that was about it. Ft. Smith was not what I had expected , being , the only city in that part of the State. From then on , every time I was driving thru , I just kept driving, into OK........ Its a long ride from Little Rock , the scenery was nice,the only saving grace.....
I would have to say , my one or two visits to Ft. Smith , were not very memorable. First off its not on the Interstate , so , there is little reason to exit !........ I remember looking for a place to eat ...... there weren't any ! Or , not to my liking , as I recall . I did find a motel , was ok , but , that was about it. Ft. Smith was not what I had expected , being , the only city in that part of the State. From then on , every time I was driving thru , I just kept driving, into OK........ Its a long ride from Little Rock , the scenery was nice,the only saving grace.....
Ft. Smith mostly has just your typical low-end food chains. McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, etc. There is a Red Lobster and it is pretty much the extent of "fine dining." A few authentic mexican places have opened up in recent years. Wal-Mart dominates the shopping. Nightlife is non-existent if you don't like country music. Ft. Smith is definately a drag for a city its size. Fayetteville is smaller in population yet has so much more to do and actually feels more like a modern, bustling city. Fayetteville is also much more friendly to outsiders and is far more liberal.
Definitely not. The abandoned buildings yes, but no, not the people with no teeth staring at your from rocking chairs. East St. Louis is a scary ghetto town, not a scary hillbilly town.
Yes but I'm a small town girl stuck for now in a city.
I love small rural communities and get a little touchy when people from the bit Cities thing the residents of small towns or towns in the south marry their cousins and are uneducated.
The most intelligent people I know are from those areas.
Small towner stuck in a city...sounds familiar;
As for people that marry their cousins and are uneducated,again you can have all that right in the city here
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
