Harder Than the Mountains Themselves: 10 Appalachian Men Who Were Built Different

The Appalachian Mountains have long been home to some of the toughest, most resourceful men to ever walk the earth. These were men who hunted, farmed, fought, and survived against all odds, living by their own rules in a world that was rapidly changing around them. Some were hermits, some were preachers, and others were outlaws, but all of them embodied the rugged, self-sufficient spirit of the mountains. Here are 10 of the most legendary mountain men to ever call Appalachia home.

1. Chess McCartney – The Goat Man

Few figures in Appalachian history are as unforgettable as Chess McCartney, better known as The Goat Man. Born in Iowa in 1901, Chess ran away from home at 14 years old and married a 28-year-old Spanish knife thrower in a traveling circus. After leaving his wife, he spent decades wandering America’s highways with a herd of goats, preaching the gospel and selling postcards to make a living.

He traveled over 100,000 miles to 49 states, refusing to visit Hawaii because his goats “couldn’t swim that far.” The Goat Man became a national legend, known for his strange appearance, fiery sermons, and the smell that followed his traveling caravan.

2. David Grier – The Hermit of Big Bald Mountain

David Grier was a man driven to isolation after having his heart broken. In the early 1800s, he fell in love with a beautiful woman named Mary, but when he proposed, she laughed in his face and told him she had thrown all his love letters into the fireplace. Humiliated, Grier fled society and disappeared into the Tennessee mountains, declaring himself “the sole ruler” of Big Bald Mountain.

He wrote his own laws and punishments, and anyone who trespassed on his land would either be beaten or shot. For 30 years, Grier lived alone, farming and hunting, until he was killed in a gunfight with a blacksmith after an argument over unpaid debts.

3. Harrison Mayes – The Man Who Survived the Impossible

Born in 1898, Harrison Mayes grew up in rural Kentucky, where his family farmed a rocky hillside just to survive. Like many young boys of his time, he was forced to work in the coal mines at just 14 years old. One fateful day, while working as a coupler boy, Harrison was crushed by a runaway coal cart, breaking nearly every bone in his body.

Doctors declared him dead on arrival, but Harrison had a near-death experience, claiming to have seen heaven and bargained with God for his life. Miraculously, he recovered within three days and spent the rest of his life spreading the gospel, building roadside crosses across 44 states to share his message.

4. Sherman Hensley – The Man Who Built His Own World

At the turn of the 20th century, as most Appalachian men were being lured into coal mines and factory jobs, Sherman Hensley wanted no part of it. In 1903, he led his wife and children up the nearly vertical Cumberland Mountains, leaving modern civilization behind. There, they built an entire settlement, self-sufficient and untouched by the outside world.

Over time, more families joined, and they constructed homes, barns, schools, and mills. The Hensley Settlement thrived for over 40 years, but World War II and the pull of modern life slowly emptied the mountain, leaving Sherman alone until 1948, when he finally left.

5. Uncle Fed Messer – The Man Who Lived Three Centuries

Born in 1791, Uncle Fed Messer lived through three centuries, witnessing everything from the Trail of Tears to the rise of electricity and automobiles. A hunter and tracker, he lived a simple, self-sufficient life in the North Carolina mountains, walking 22 miles round-trip twice a year to trade animal hides for supplies.

When asked what the greatest invention of his lifetime was, he didn’t name trains, cars, or telegraphs—instead, he said “ice cream.” Uncle Fed lived to be 115 years old, dying in 1907, having never truly left the world of the 18th century.

6. Sam Brinkley – The Man with the Longest Beard

Sam Brinkley was a modest Tennessee sawmill worker until a severe case of typhoid fever left him bedridden for seven weeks. When he finally recovered, he noticed that his beard had grown longer than ever before. Deciding to keep growing it, his whiskers soon reached over six feet long, and he became a local legend.

A traveling medicine salesman once bet him $1 for every inch of beard he could grow in a year—unaware that Sam was hiding several feet of beard inside his vest. Sam won the bet, and soon, his famous flowing silver beard took him across 44 states, earning him a fortune in traveling circuses and sideshows.

7. Squire Sitton – The Man Who Outsmarted the Banker

Squire Sitton was a clever North Carolina farmer who found himself cheated out of his best land by a crooked banker. Forced to farm swampy, unworkable land, he and his sons dug ditches to drain it – only to discover a strange petrified figure buried in the mud. It turned out to be a fake “petrified man”, but Sitton used the deception to his advantage.

Charging admission, he made thousands of dollars before tricking the banker into buying it for $3,500. The banker later learned it was a fraud, but by then, Sitton had already used the money to buy back all his land.

8. Devil John Wright – The Outlaw Who Became the Law

John Wright, better known as “Devil John”, was a feared and respected figure in the Kentucky mountains. A former Confederate guerrilla fighter, Wright made a name for himself as a bounty hunter, lawman, and sometime outlaw. Though he often worked on the right side of the law, Devil John had a reputation for ruthless violence, especially against those who crossed him.

His knowledge of the mountains made him almost impossible to track, and his skills as a gunfighter ensured that few dared to challenge him. Eventually, he settled into the role of a deputy U.S. Marshal, where he hunted down criminals just as fiercely as he once fought the law himself. His dual nature – both feared and respected – made him one of the most legendary figures in Appalachian history.

9. Nick Grindstaff – The Hermit Who Died Alone

Nick Grindstaff lived a life of hardship, isolation, and tragedy, earning a reputation as one of Appalachia’s most famous hermits. Born in 1851, he lost his parents at a young age and, after a failed attempt to move west, returned to Iron Mountain in Tennessee, where he built a small cabin and shunned society. He lived off the land, hunting, fishing, and tending to his few animals, with only his dog for company.

Locals occasionally saw him when he traveled down to trade for supplies, but most found him strange, reclusive, and unwilling to engage in conversation. When he was found dead in his cabin in 1923, his loyal dog stood guard over his body. His tombstone now reads: “Lived alone, suffered alone, died alone”, a stark testament to the life of a man who never quite fit in with the world around him.

10. James “Tiger” Whitehead – The Hunter Who Fought a Tiger with a Knife

James “Tiger” Whitehead was born in 1819 in Carter County, Tennessee, deep in the Appalachian wilderness. By the time he was a teenager, Whitehead had already made a name for himself as an expert bear hunter, having taken down nearly 20 bears before the age of 18. But his most legendary encounter came not with a bear, but with an escaped circus tiger. While tracking an unknown predator in the woods, he and his dog, Koy, were ambushed by the beast in the dead of night. 

In a desperate fight for survival, Whitehead stabbed the tiger repeatedly with his hunting knife, ultimately killing it with his bare hands. From that day on, he was known as Tiger Whitehead, a name he carried with pride. Over his lifetime, he killed 99 bears, refusing to take his 100th kill from captivity despite his failing health. Though nearly forgotten today, his tombstone still stands in Tiger Valley, marking the grave of one of the greatest hunters in Appalachian history.

Rebels, Survivors, and Pioneers

These men were rebels, survivors, and pioneers, each carving out their own place in the unforgiving world of Appalachia. Whether they were preachers, hermits, or conmen, their stories live on as a testament to mountain toughness, independence, and grit.