Disputanta Oral History

These are audio recorded interviews that document the history of the Disputanta community in northern Rockcastle County, Kentucky.

Also included in the collection are a series of remembrances of the Clear Creek Community by "Cleatus Tussey" (John Payne) that appeared in the Mount Vernon Signal, Spring 1952-Fall 1953.

The interviews were conducted [1978-1979] by then Berea College student, Terry Allebaugh, with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities Youth grant program.

Disputanta, located about ten miles from Berea, is commonly known as Clear Creek by its current residents. In the early 1900’s the community was known as Reedville.  The name Disputanta, according to one story, was the result of a disagreement concerning the location of the local post office.

A notable outcome of the project was the book, Disputanta, A Front Porch Chronicle, in which Allebaugh weaves interview excerpts into a social history that covers such topics as tobacco farming, the Depression, schools, churches, “doctoring,” Berea College, and moonshining.

See the Finding Aid to browse the complete Disputanta Oral History Collection.