Appalachians - Settlements

Those identified as still adhering in some ways to the traditional culture live mostly in rural settlements in the valleys and in the larger basins, coves, and hollows. These settlements vary from scattered houses constituting a neighborhood, to small villages with a general store, to incorporated towns serving as county seats and commercial centers. Isolated homes, however, constitute the way of life for many. They are found in remote areas and contact with any but close family members is unusual. The residential groups that inhabit the coves and hollows are usually described as Neighborhoods rather than communities. Throughout the history of the area, neighborhoods have been impermanent owing to large families and agricultural practices that rapidly deplete the soil.