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The famous John Henry legend and song is about a powerful Black worker who competed against a steam-powered drill during the railroad-building era of the late 1800s.
John Henry was a "steel driver," a worker who used a hammer to drive steel bits into rocks to help build tunnels for railroads. In the story, John Henry challenges a steam drill, a new machine being used to speed up the work. With nothing but his own strength and his hammer, John Henry drives the steel bit deeper into the rock than the steam drill could in the same amount of time. Despite winning the contest, the effort is too much for him, and he dies from exhaustion shortly afterward. His heroic feat, though victorious, ultimately costs him his life.
While the main parts of the story remain the same, there are many different versions of the legend and song. It’s a tale of hard work, determination, and the struggle people face as machines take their jobs.
For generations, folklorists and historians have tried to prove that John Henry was a real person and to figure out where the legendary contest between him and the steam drill took place. Early research suggested that Great Bend Tunnel in Summers ...
John Henry's story is closely tied to the larger history of America's growth, specifically the nation's rapidly expanding railroads in the late 1800s.After the Civil War, there was a renewed push to extend rail lines further west, helping to conne...
If John Henry was a Black man working in the 1870s, he likely had been enslaved just years before. After the Civil War, many freedmen, or formerly enslaved African Americans, migrated from the South to the North and Midwest in search of work, beco...
When construction engineers reached Big Bend Mountain in Summers County in 1870, they faced an important decision: should they lay 13 miles of track following the Greenbrier River around the mountain or bore a mile-long tunnel straight through it?...
John Henry was a steel driver, a key laborer in building tunnels. His job was to make holes in the rock face for explosives that would blast away the rock to create the tunnel. To do this, he used a heavy long-handled hammer to drive a steel drill...
As hard as the shakers and steel drivers like John Henry worked, their progress was often slow due to the tough, rocky terrain they were drilling through. Between 1850 and 1875, American inventors patented more than 100 different mechanical drills...
Key verses of the song capture the dramatic battle between John Henry and the steam drill. As he faced the daunting task of competing against the machine, John Henry was humbled by the mountain before him, and at one point, “he laid down his hamme...
The song "John Henry" has been passed down from generation to generation, keeping his story alive. Many different variations, particularly in the verses, were sung by coal miners and railroad workers in the late 1800s. These were the earliest ment...
John Henry is one of the world’s most enduring folk heroes. His story has inspired a wide range of creative works, including songs, books, films, artwork, festivals, and theatrical productions. His legendary battle against the steam drill continue...
The story of John Henry is about a man’s triumph over a machine, the strength of the human spirit, the value of hard work, and the impact of new technology on society. In addition, it represents the important role African Americans played in build...