page_title: John Henry (folklore)
section_title: Legend
hierarchical_section_title: John Henry (folklore) / Legend
caption_attribution_description: English: The ornamental plate celebrates the life of John Henry. "This statue was erected in 1972, by a group of people with the same determination as the one it honors. The Hilldale-Talcott Ruritan Club chose this memorial to mark a page in history, one hundred (100) years after the completion of the Big Bend Tunnel in 1872. John Henry died from a race with the steam drill, during construction of the tunnel for the C.&amp;O. Railway Co. May God Grant that we always respect the great and the strong and be of service to others." W.E.H
context_page_description: John Henry is an African American folk hero. He is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel.
  The story of John Henry is told in a classic folk song, which exists in many versions, and has been the subject of numerous stories, plays, books, and novels.
context_section_description: According to legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam-powered rock drilling machine, a race that he won only to die in victory with hammer in hand as his heart gave out from stress. Various locations, including Big Bend Tunnel in West Virginia, Lewis Tunnel in Virginia, and Coosa Mountain Tunnel in Alabama, have been suggested as the site of the contest.
caption: Plaque celebrating the legend of John Henry (Talcott, West Virginia)
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