Jenny Wiley: Frontier Heroine
First published in 1969, Dark Hills to Westward has been reprinted in softback!
First published in 1969, Dark Hills to Westward has been reprinted in softback!
Thomas and Jenny Wiley had pioneered land on Walker’s Creek in Bland County, Virginia. On October 1, 1789, while Thomas was away, a small band of Indians, seeking revenge for a recent defeat at the hands of white settlers, attacked the Wiley cabin and killed and scalped Jenny’s three older children and her brother. Jenny, seven months pregnant, was taken captive along with her baby son, Adam.
Then began a nightmare flight through the wilderness into the dark Kentucky hills to westward ~ Dark Hills to Westward: The Jenny Wiley Saga.
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Allan Eckert’s Winning of America Series
This Jesse Stuart Foundation best-selling series details accounts of frontiersmen and Native Americans and many dramatic events of the time period. Many years of research went into this popular series that also tells the story of wilderness America itself, its penetration and settlement.
Shop any of the 6 books in the series below, or BUY THE WHOLE SET!
Jesse Stuart Junior Books
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Latest JSF News
Jenny Wiley: Frontier Heroine
Best known for his nonfiction work “Night Comes to the Cumberlands,” Harry M. Caudill also wrote fiction, including “Dark Hills to Westward: The Saga of Jenny Wiley,” first published in 1969 and recently reprinted in a new softback edition by the Jesse Stuart Foundation. When Jenny was an old woman, a preacher sat down with her and wrote out her captivity story. Although Jenny may have embellished it many [...]
Kentucky Derby Champion
The recently completed Kentucky Derby is the most famous horse race in history. Run at Churchill Downs in Louisville since 1875, the derby has attracted huge crowds for the last three decades. The Kentucky Derby is a significant part of the cycle of Kentucky life. Well-known humorist and country philosopher Irvin S. Cobb of Paducah, Kentucky was asked to explain the derby’s magic. “If I could do that, I’d [...]
Jesse Stuart reflects on the future of education
Jesse Stuart was an Appalachian original—a marvelously prolific writing man. Our fretful and fearful twenty-first century is not sure how to classify him or how to value him. So he is often ignored. But America cannot continue to ignore Stuart, for he is a great natural force, like Niagara Falls or old Faithful. Today, long after his death in 1984, Stuart’s words offer hope and direction to thousands and thousands [...]
Angel: A Donkey’s Tale
March is Women’s History Month, so I am pleased to dedicate this article to four excellent JSF employees: Judith Kidwell, Debbie Bustetter, Linda Harbison, and Nancy McWain. The Jesse Stuart Foundation is proud to announce the publication of a new children’s book. “Angel, A Donkey’s Tale” was written by Greenup County author Joan Litteral for children in grades K-3. The donkeys, Angel and Hank are real and still live [...]
Writers Workshop scheduled for May 9-10
Well into his sixties and with a history of heart problems, Jesse Stuart continued to write and publish at an incredible pace. He also taught and directed seven creative writing workshops at Murray State University. The workshops began with fifty-eight students in 1969 and peaked at seventy-nine students, representing twenty-seven states, in 1976. The workshop offered four courses taught by Stuart, Wilma Dykeman, Lee Pennington, and L. J. Horton. [...]