Moonshine

The Appalachian Mountains are often associated with moonshine, an illegally produced whiskey. Moonshine has been tied to the region since the 1700s when the Scotch-Irish came to North America from Northern Ireland and brought their recipes with them. Oftentimes, corn farmers would turn some of their crop into moonshine in order to more easily transport their goods. But moonshine gained notoriety during Prohibition.

Photo: jamestown-ri.info

In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was passed and alcoholic beverages were banned in the United States. However, the law was not enforced rigorously and moonshiners made a profit. The temperance movement had succeeded in officially banning the sale and purchase of alcohol, but many people did not agree with the temperance movement and, during Prohibition, an easy way to obtain alcohol was to purchase it from moonshiners. 

Photo: pbs.org

In the Catoctin Range of the Appalachian Mountains was the Blue Blazes Still. Generally, moonshine operations were small, family-owned stills, but the Blue Blazes Still was a large-scale, commercial level production facility. Despite its size, knowledge of the Blue Blazes Still was a well-kept secret, until 1929. 

Photo: thurmontfirst.com

Eventually, the Frederick County Sheriff's Department caught wind of an illegal whiskey still outside of Thurmont, Maryland. Deputy Sheriff Verner Redmond was given the task of raiding the still in order to shut it down. Redmond arranged with the informant, Charles Lewis, that two of his deputies would meet with Lewis near the still and then go and purchase a gallon of whiskey. Redmond and three other deputies would follow behind to complete the raid. 

On July 31, 1929, Deputies John Hemp and Leslie Hoffman arrived at the meeting spot with Lewis, but the informant was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the moonshiners were hiding nearby, waiting for the police. Unaware of their observers, the police advanced to the till where the moonshiners began firing guns at the police. The deputies returned fire and a fire fight ensued, in which one officer was fatally shot. After chasing the moonshiners away, the police completed the raid by destroying the still and eventually, some of the moonshiners were caught and put on trial. 

Photo: livingnewdeal.org

Today, the site of the Blue Blazes Still is in Catoctin Mountain Park. A whiskey still can be seen there, but it is not like the commercial Blue Blazes Still, which was destroyed in 1929. Instead, it is a small-scale still that represents what more typical Appalachian stills looked like. 

Photo: Hilary Grabowska