Blue Ridge Country Jan/Feb 2025 - 15

Virginia, the spot that fairly dripped illicit liquor, and
kept right on dripping it after Prohibition ended, is in the
mountain country of southwestern Virginia-in Franklin
County, Virginia.
In fact, a much-quoted statistic (likely central to the
Moonshine Capital label) is that during Prohibition, 99
of every 100 residents in Franklin County played a part
in the moonshine trade.
Moonshine also makes up part of the extensive heritage
archives at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum,
in Ferrum, just 10 miles from Rocky Mount. Learn
more about the exhibits at this official State Center for
Blue Ridge Folklife-including the largest moonshine
collection in the world-at blueridgeinstitute.org.
And then there's the Great Moonshine Conspiracy
Trial of 1935-said to be the second-longest trial in Virginia
history-which involved indictments of 34 alleged
bootleggers, 21 of whom went to prison.
One of those was James Walter " Peg " Hatcher. Who,
when he was released from prison, came home and took
up the fiddle. " My great-great grandpap, when he got
out of federal prison, he took up old-time fiddling. They
recorded him for the Library of Congress, " Anna Prillaman
says.
We're standing in the Harvester Performance Center,
and it's Homegrown Music night. Anna's father,
Chris Prillaman, is onstage with the Twin Creeks Stringband-and
he's playing Peg Hatcher's fiddle. Anna
and her infant son are flatfooting with dozens of other
dancers up front. It's a beautiful thing to see, and I'm
pretty sure that Peg Hatcher must be looking down from
above, feeling mighty proud of his family.
The Prillamans also inherited Peg's moonshine talents.
Their Twin Creeks Brewery on Franklin Street
produces moonshine, whiskey and brandy on-site, and
old-time music is often part of the experience.
Which is another major piece in Rocky Mount's regional
draw. The town is the eastern gateway of the storied
Crooked Road, Virginia's 330-mile heritage music
trail. And with the Harvester Performance Center hosting
multiple concerts most weeks, music lovers are regular
Rocky Mount visitors.
On a Saturday night, music is all over Rocky Mount.
At the Alley Cat and Old Town Social House (where
the Moonshine Explosion Museum tells an incredible
story in the basement). At the Living Proof Beer Company
and Anastasia's Speakeasy and the Rocky Mount
Burger Company. And, they say, some nights at the
Dairy Queen.
It's a busy place, Rocky Mount, and the Town's creative
strategizing that brought the Harvester downtown
10 years ago has resulted in 11 restaurants within town
limits and 15 more just beyond. Walk down Franklin
he Mountain Spirit Trail is in the works across Franklin, Patrick
and Floyd counties in southwest Virginia. And a nonprofit group
in Rocky Mount is determined to create a full understanding of
the region's moonshine heritage. The Moonshine Capital Heritage
Foundation is developing " a visitor center for all things moonshine "
at their building at 20 Warren Street.
" Visitors often inquire about where to learn
about the cultural heritage of moonshine, but
we have no place to send them, " says Robin
Altice, owner of the Claiborne Bed and Breakfast.
" We hope our group can help share the
heritage and culture of the moonshine craft
in Franklin County. " Check out their Facebook
page for more information. -JV
T
COURTESY TWIN CREEKS STRING BAND
Street through the center of Rocky Mount, and you'll
find everything from the functional (Angle Hardware
store, which opened in 1887) to the funky (Old's Cool,
a record and vintage toys shop whose posted hours are
" Weds - Sat, 12ish to 6ish. " )
It's a joy to walk Rocky Mount, which has seven
parks, all but one of them sidewalk-connected. " We've
got twice the national average of parkland per population, "
Assistant Town Manager Mark Moore says.
" Placemaking is important. "
Cultural and Economic Development Director Daniel
Pinard has his eye set forward: " What I envision here
is a community that's appreciated from the outside and
also appreciated by the locals. If we're telling our stories
well, we'll be appreciated from both outside and inside. "
Rocky Mount could easily have become a neithernor
kind of place, as tobacco farms waned and factories
closed or changed hands. But this is a town with creative
and connected leadership, determined volunteers and a
story to tell. Concerts and street festivals and moonshine
and music...Rocky Mount has a lot to share.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 15
The renowned
Twin Creeks
Stringband plays
old-time music,
and features
moonshiner Peg
Hatcher's fiddle
played by his
great-grandson,
Chris Prillaman
(second from
right).
JOAN VANNORSDALL
http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org
Blue Ridge Country Jan/Feb 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country Jan/Feb 2025
