I call this image “Home Sweet Home. In 1973, this was fairly typical of the homes I found tucked away in the hills and hollows around Cosby, Tennessee. This one had electricity, but no running water or indoor plumbing. The roof was a combination of tar paper and tin. The chimney was hand built. The siding consisted of plain unpainted wood. The foundation was simply stacks of rocks. But note the TV antenna strapped to a small tree on the left side of the house!
Family incomes in Appalachia largely depended on the size and quality of land. Flat land could be more easily cultivated than homes in hills like these. Despite this family’s poverty, the view they enjoyed was far superior to anything that they could have afforded in Chicago.
