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Raise your Mountain Dews High

And toast to the most famous moonshiner in East Tennessee history: Mahala "Haley" Mullins.

The tales were that she was a Melungeon who lived on the Tennessee-Virginia border and when the Tennessee officials came for her, she moved around to the Virginia side of the house and then when the Virginia officials came for her, she moved over to the Tennessee side of the house, always evading arrest.

Other tales say she couldn't leave the house to go with the police if she wanted to. One newspaper at the time reported her weighing 690 lbs. and claimed she told the officials flat out,

“Why don’t you do your duty? I’ve been selling moonshine right along. Goin' to do it ag’in too, soon’s you uns gits out er sight. Why don’t yon take me: I’m all yourn–about 700 pounds of me. Take me along with you now.”

Since she would not fit through the door, there she stayed until age seventy-five, selling moonshine all the while.

If you've never heard of Hancock’s local folk hero, Haley Mullins before, you're probably asking yourself, is any of this true?

That's a good question. And that's just how it starts. There are many stories associated with the Melungeon community in Hancock County, Tennessee that draw people in and start 'em diggin' for the truth here at the Hancock County library and historical society, at the state archives, or online.

Haley Mullins lived all her life on Newman's Ridge near Vardy, Tennessee and her home has been lovingly restored by the Vardy Historical Society.

If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of descendants of East Tennessee pioneers who share a connection to this place somewhere down their family line, why not come visit Hancock County to get in touch with those Appalachian roots? Even if you’re not a descendant or at least not a genealogy buff, what better way to explore the stories of the past than to come to the very place where they occurred? Can't promise you'll find moonshine in the hills but you'll definitely find a Mountain Dew at River Place on the Clinch Market in Kyles Ford. Plus cabins and just about anything else you might need for your stay. There's plenty to do in East Tennessee but Hancock County has something special you're just not going to find anywhere else.