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 County might have been the site.

In the 1920s, two professors got into a rivalry while researching the story: Louis Chappell (pictured) from West Virginia University and Guy Johnson from the University of North Carolina. Although they never agreed on all the details, both believed the contest took place in West Virginia. However, others have claimed it happened elsewhere, such as Alabama, Virginia, or even Jamaica.

While that question remains in the air, the legend itself has become an essential part of American folklore, representing the importance of people's hard work, knowledge, skills, and determination even as machines play an increasingly bigger role in our lives.