Folklore John Henry

The ballad and folktale of john henry the tireless railroad worker is the stuff of american legend.

Folklore john henry. In the most popular version of the story henry is born into the world big and strong weighing 33 pounds. The legend of john henry is just that a legend and through the legend john henry became a symbol. 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 statue itself is over 750 pounds of bronze and was sculpted in michigan by charles o.

One of the most colorful characters in american folklore is the legendary john henry. John henry is an african american folk hero who symbolizes strength and determination. Writers and artists see in john henry a symbol of man s foredoomed struggle against the machine and of the black man s tragic battle with the white man. In those days that was big enough to guarantee you d be given exceptionally tough work like building railroads or tunnels.

Whether he was a true historical figure or a fictitious hero carved into the minds of common americans by oral tradition his story has given inspiration to generations. Legend has it that he was around six feet tall and weighed more than 200 pounds. The ultimate battle of man versus machine john henry represented the hearts of the working men who struggled to keep their jobs on the railroad as machines began moving in to do their work. The legend is the best known black tall tale honoring the achievements of an individual under difficult circumstances.

There probably really was a john henry who was born a slave in the south in the mid 1800s. The stories about john henry are not just tall tales for they are based on the life of a real person a former slave working on the railroads after the civil war but time has blurred fact and fiction. It describes his contest with a steam drill in which john henry crushed more rock than did the machine but died with his hammer in his hand. As the c o railway stretched westward along the greenbrier river the legend of john henry was born at big bend mountain near talcott west virginia.

What southern west virginia legend is your favorite. John henry hero of a widely sung u s. Like other big men such as paul bunyan and pecos bill john henry also served as a mythical representation of a group within the melting pot of the 19th century working class. 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.

The town now celebrates john henry days a festival in his name the second weekend in july. This is just one of many interesting stories in wv history. Mid late 19th century john henry about whom little is known is a subject of legend and song and may well have been a real person living in the late 19th century in west virginia or alabama.