Foxfire Series

An anthology of Appalachian crafts, culture, and wisdom of simple living.

In 1966, an English teacher and students in Northeast Georgia founded a quarterly magazine, not only as a vehicle to learn the required English curriculum, but also to teach others about the customs, crafts, traditions, and lifestyle of their Appalachian culture. Named Foxfire after a local phosphorescent lichen, the magazine became one of the most beloved publications in American culture. For four decades, Foxfire has brought the philosophy of simple living to readers, teaching creative self-sufficiency, home crafts, and the art of natural remedies, and preserving the stories of Appalachia. This anniversary edition brings us generations of voices and lessons about the three essential Appalachian values of faith, family, and the land. We listen to elders share their own memories of how things used to be, and to the new generations eager to preserve traditional values in a more complicated world. There are descriptions of old church services, of popular Appalachian games and pastimes, and of family recipes. Rich with memories and useful lessons, this is a fitting tribute to this inspiring and practical publication that has become a classic American institution.

For more than thirty years, Foxfire books have brought the philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers, teaching creative-self-sufficiency, the art of natural remedies, home crafts, and preserving the stories and customs of Appalachia. Inspiring and practical, this classic series has become an American institution.

In this twelfth volume of the series, you’ll find reminiscences about learning to square dance and tales about traditional craftsmen who created useful items in the old-time ways that have since disappeared in most of the country. Here are lessons on how to make rose beads and wooden coffins, and on how to find turtles in your local pond. We hear the voices of descendants of the Cherokees who lived in the region, and we learn about what summer camp was like for generations of youngsters. We meet a rich assortment of Appalachian characters and listen to veterans recount their war experiences. Illustrated with photographs and drawings, Foxfire 12 is a rich trove of information and stories from a fascinating American culture.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

This eleventh volume celebrates the rituals and recipes of the Appalachian homeplace, including a one-hundred page section on herbal remedies, and segments about planting and growing a garden, preserving and pickling, smoking and salting, honey making, beekeeping, and fishing, as well as hundreds of the kind of spritied firsthand narrative accounts from Appalachian community members that exemplify the Foxfire style. Much more than “how-to” books, the Foxfire series is a publishing phenomenon and a way of life, teaching creative self-sufficiency, the art of natural remedies, home crafts, and other country folkways, fascinating to everyone interested in rediscovering the virtues of simple life.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Chock full of the wit and wisdom that has become the Foxfire trademark, this tenth volume in  the acclaimed series is on oral history of  Appalachian lives and traditions, homespun crafts, and folk arts including gourd carving and chairmaking.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

The ninth volume of the series includes information about general stores, the Jud Nelson wagon, a  praying rock, a Catawban Indian potter, “haint” tales, quilting, home cures, and more on the log cabin.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

In the eighth volume of the series, we explore southern folk pottery from pug mills, ash glazes, and groundhog kilns to face jugs, churns and roosters, as well as mule swapping, chicken fighting, and more.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

The seventh Foxfire volume  explores the traditions of mountain religious heritage–including ministers, revivals, baptisms,  gospel-singing, faith healing, camp meetings, snake handling–and more.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Volume six of the Foxfire series covers shoemaking, crafting toys and games, carving gourd banjos, song bows and wooden locks, creating a water-powered  sawmill, and other fascinating topics.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

The fifth Foxfire volume includes rain-making, blacksmithing, bear hunting, flintlock rifles, and more.

Fiddle making, spring houses, horse trading, sassafras tea, berry buckets, gardening, and other affairs of plain living are the topics covered in this volume.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Volume three of this series covers animal care, banjos and dulcimers, wild plant foods, butter churns, ginseng and more.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

This second Foxfire volume includes topics such as ghost stories, spinning and weaving, wagon making, midwifing, corn shuckin’, and more.

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia’s philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

This classic debut volume of the acclaimed series covers a diverse array of crafts and practical skills, including log cabin building, hog dressing, basketmaking, cooking, fencemaking, crop planting, hunting, and moonshining, as well as a look at the history of local traditions like snake lore and faith healing.