Site of Randolph McCoy House

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2062

Marker Text: House was located on Blackberry Fork of Pond Creek. It burned Jan. 1, 1888, during a Hatfield raid. Two of Randolph's children, Alifair and Calvin, were killed in attack; their mother Sally was badly injured. Randolph and other children escaped. Site is part of Hatfield-McCoy Feud Historic Dist. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: Four and one-half miles east of Toler, KY, east of Hardy, KY on State Route 319. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2001.  This marker is not easy to stop and read, since there is no pull-off for it.

I believe the creek mentioned in the marker is the creek to the left of the marker.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Following the Pawpaw Tree incident in 1882. The Kentucky Governor appointed a special officer, Frank Phillips to arrest the Hatfield's responsible for the death of the McCoy brothers. Phillips was given the job to serve warrants and arrest 20 men, including Devil Anse Hatfield. Phillips carried out his duties even if he needed to cross the state border into West Virginia.

Pawpaw Tree Incident

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2047

Marker Text: This episode is result of August 1882 election-day fight. Tolbert, a son of Randolph McCoy, exchanged heated words with Ellison Hatfield, which started a fight. Tolbert, Pharmer and Randolph McCoy Jr. stabbed Ellison to death. Later the three brothers were captured by Hatfield clan, tied to pawpaw trees, and shot in retaliation. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: Near Buskirk, KY State Highway 1056 about 3/4 of a mile from the West Virginia/Kentucky border from Matewan, WV. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2000.

Photo taken looking south on KY Route 1056, road north goes to Matewan, WV only about a mile away. Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have spent the last three evenings watching the History Channel series on the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. I have taken many photos related to these two families and will be sharing them in the next couple of weeks. The History Channel program helped to make the stories and lives of these two families more genuine. Regardless of how terrible the events of the feud were to these two families, we are talking about families and their often flawed relationships.

  According to most historical accounts, the significant turning point in the feud occurred during the Election Fight in August 1882. Three of Randolph McCoy’s sons ended up in a violent dispute with two brothers of Devil Anse. During the chaos of the fight one of the McCoy brothers stabbed Ellison Hatfield multiple times and then shot him in the back. Authorities in Kentucky soon apprehended the McCoy’s, but the Hatfield’s interceded, spiriting the men to Hatfield territory in West Virginia.

Hog Trial/Election Fight

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2066

Marker Text: In 1873 Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing his hog. A trial followed, presided over by Reverend Anderson Hatfield, justice of the peace. To be fair, the jury consisted of six Hatfields and six McCoys. One witness, William Staton, stated he had seen Floyd mark the hog's ear. This resulted in Floyd's acquittal. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Election Fight (reverse) - In August 1882 an election was held near Jerry Hatfield's house. A fight broke out between Tolbert McCoy and Elias Hatfield. Tolbert's brothers joined in the fight as did Ellison Hatfield, who was stabbed and shot. He later died in West Virginia. The McCoy brothers were captured and killed in the "pawpaw tree" incident. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location:  In McCarr, Kentucky next to McCarr Post Office, KY Route 319 (Toler Road) west of KY Route 1056, the McCoy Cemetery Marker is located on the same lot. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2001.

  After the killing of Asa Harmon McCoy in 1865, an uneasy peace reigned for a few years in the Tug Valley. Then one day in 1873, Randolph McCoy stopped to visit Floyd Hatfield, a cousin of Devil Anse Hatfield. Floyd lived in Stringtown on the Kentucky side of the Tug River. Randolph McCoy happened to see a hog which he said bore the McCoy marking on its ear. McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of penning up one of his hogs. Floyd Hatfield denied stealing the hog. Randolph went to Preacher Anderson Hatfield (Preacher Anse), a Baptist minister and a justice of the peace. There he brought suit against Floyd for the recovery of his hog.

Another Hog Trial marker is at the site.  Text and close up photo is below.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  The pig was only in the fight because some of the Hatfields believed that since the pig was on their land, it was theirs. Some of the McCoys objected, saying the "notches" (markings) on the pig's ears were McCoy marks, not Hatfield marks.

Hatfield-McCoy Feud

Mingo County, WV

Marker Text: The death in 1882 of Ellison Hatfield, brother of "Devil Anse", from wounds he received in an election-day fight in Pike County, Kentucky, with three sons of Randolph McCoy, and their subsequent killing by the Hatfields, triggered America's most famous family feud. The feud continued six years across the Tug River and brought death to an untold number of Hatfields, McCoys, and their kinsmen.

Location: WV Route 49 (Railroad Avenue), at junction with Laurel Street in Matewan, WV. Erected by the West Virginia Department of Archives and History in 1970.

  Dutch Hatfield stated that he knew only one thing for sure about the feud: If someone says he knows the true story of the battle, he doesn't. No one knows the truth, he says. Nor will it ever be known. The truth was buried with the people who fought and died in this rugged mountain terrain during the years of the feud. From interview with Dutch Hatfield, Newtown, WV, the grandson of Ellison Hatfield.

  Historical markers related to the Hatfield-McCoy Feud are located in both West Virginia and Kentucky. This marker located in Matewan, WV indicates the feud began with the death of Ellison Hatfield in 1882 following the election-day fight across the Tug River into Kentucky and the subsequent Paw Paw Tree incident in Kentucky. There are markers in Kentucky on both the Election-day fight and Paw Paw Tree incident.

  Yesterday's marker from Kentucky about the Killing of Asa Harmon McCoy indicated the start of the feud with this incident. I don't claim any expertise on the history of the feud. Based on what I have read and the stories I heard while living in this area a few years ago. A person's viewpoint on the feud greatly depends on many things, such as, which side of the river one lives, whose family one identifies, and how much a person's view was influenced by media reports of the time. I am not sure anyone could give an exact point where the feud began.

  Link to a List of Books and Articles on the Feud provided by West Virginia Division of Cultural and History.  Hatfield-McCoy Feud in an article from the Beckley Post-Herald on August 7, 1957.

Site of Killing of Asa Harmon McCoy

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2068

Marker Text: Asa Harmon McCoy, a Union soldier, was shot in 1865 by the Logan Wildcats. The Wildcats were led by Confederate "Devil Anse" Hatfield. Jim Vance was the suspected leader in the murder, although there was never a conviction. This was the first incident between the two families. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: Entrance to Blackberry School, just off KY 1056, near Ransom, KY. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2001.

The bridge on the right of the marker connects, KY Road 1056 and the Blackberry School and Fire Department on this side of the creek.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have collected several photos of historical markers related to the Hatfield-McCoy families and the world's famous feud which struck the imaginations of the nation outside of Appalachia. The Hatfield-McCoy feud began in the mountainous Tug River valley. The Tug River separates West Virginia from Kentucky and separated most of the Hatfield and McCoy clans. William Anderson Hatfield was the recognized leader of the Hatfield's and went by the nickname of “Devil Anse”. The leader of the McCoy's was Randolph McCoy, or known as Ole Ran'l.

  Many legends and misconceptions about the Hatfield-McCoy Feud has been told over the years. Most of the misunderstandings about the conflicts between these two families were promoted by the newspapers starting in 1887 when reports on the feud were printed. The newspapers portrayed the Hatfield’s as violent backwoods hillbillies who roamed the mountains stirring up violence. The newspapers sensational coverage fueled a series of stories and legends shaping Americas imagination for these two families. What began as a local story had now become a national legend.