The Sugarloaf Mountain Volcano

This is an article that I did a few months back for the Rowan County Fiscal Court's "Rowan Review" publication. 


As the administrator of the Memories of Morehead & Rowan County Facebook group, one of the most popular subjects on the group has been the "Sugarloaf Mountain Volcano." Yes, you read that correctly, the "Sugarloaf Mountain Volcano."
 
Not only is the "Sugarloaf Mountain Volcano" popular on today's social media, but back in the day, it made the newspaper headlines literally across the United States.

 The story began on January, 1904 when Hiram Purvis was cutting railroad ties on the mountain side. He noticed a thin wreath of smoke rising above the tree line some distance up the mountain.

 As he put it, he was "thinking that some hunter was a-smokin' out a varmint,” so he went to investigate. As he drew near, the smoke breathing became difficult; but he kept looking around and came upon a clearing where the underbrush had been scorched and shriveled. The trees were warped and twisted and stripped of their branches due to the heat.

 In the center of the clearing was a large hole from which smoke poured into the air 30 to 40 feet. Beneath his feet the ground felt hot. And he heard recurring rumblings and what sounded to be dull crashes as the masses of rock falling into a cavern.

 The heat had attracted so many rattlesnakes that the ground was covered with them. Purvis, though frightened, continued to look around and discovered five to six fissures from which the smoke was pouring. Purvis then left the mountain and spread the news about what he had seen.

 The very next day, Purvis, accompanied by Hilda, KY postmaster James Thompson, returned to the site of the "volcano." Together they broke away the stones that chocked the throat of the largest of the craters, releasing even more smoke.

  Other witnesses, including William Allen of Rowan County, claimed that all the trees nearby had been blasted into splinters and were dead as if "struck by lightning", according to one report in the Cincinnati Enquirer.  And they also reported that smoke poured from five fissures on the side of the mountain. The smoke was accompanied by a deep rumbling noise. 

A strong smell of gas was reported to have filled the atmosphere in the area. People were afraid to strike matches or start a fire in fear of causing a major catastrophe. 

clipped from the
Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio
January 11, 1904

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that "the volcano is there and likely at any moment to lose its head and kill hundreds of people if they do not make their escape in time."   The residents in the area became terror-stricken and prepared to move should the “volcanic” activity worsen.  And some in fact did pack their belongings and move.


As the days went on, there was some speculation regarding the alleged volcano.  The Fort Wayne Daily News in Fort Wayne, Indiana reported that an investigation was made into the alleged volcanic activity.  And as a result of that investigation, it was believed that the smoke was coming from a burning coal mine due to the strong smell of gas and coal.  There was a coal mile approximately 14 miles from Sugarloaf Mountain and the coal that was believed to be burning was thought to be an extension of that coal vein.


Another explanation that was given was the "volcano" was the result of numerous lightning strikes on the mountain.

However these explanations were not convincing to Deputy Marshal George W. Castle of Carter County.  Deputy Castle "smelled a mouse." 

For quite some time Deputy Castle had been in search of two noted moonshiners.  They had been missing from their usual locations.  So he decided to make a tour of Sugarloaf Mountain section of Rowan County. 

As he explored the community and spoke to its residents, he learned that the two men he wanted had in fact been seen in the area.   Upon learning that fact, Castle returned to Carter County and summoned a posse of men and returned to Sugar Loaf Mountain.

The posse went straight to the largest of the fissures with their weapons drawn.   They advanced until suddenly they rounded a corner and came upon two men who were busy stirring and fixing something in a vat.  The two men had been so busy that they had not seen the officers.

"Hands Up!" said Deputy Castle. And the men's empty hands shot upward.

"Howdy George, you've got the drop on us this time," said John Hildebrandt, one of the most notorious moonshiners in all of Kentucky.

"Yes, Johnny, and I am glad to see you. You have scared half the people in the mountains almost crazy with the smoke and noises you have been turning out of here," said Castle.

Hilderbrandt's accomplice(s) remains a bit of a controversy. One report gave Charley Donathan as the accomplice. But most reports list the accomplice as Presley Crowe. Perhaps it was both of them.   Regardless, the men were arrested during the moonshine raid. 

Clipped from the Fargo Forum and 
Daily Republican
Fargo, North Dakota
November 22, 1904

As they boarded Deputy Castle's wagon for the long trip to the jail in Carter County, Hildebrandt remarked: "These guys around here ought to be arrested for lunatics.  Those holes in the mountains make lovely chimneys, and it was oh, so easy to roll a barrel or two around to rumble some, and throw a little mud and a few rocks out of the place."

He then looked up at the mountain whose actions had terrified the community, and said "Ta, ta old chap; I'll return some time."  And then they were taken off to jail.  The "volcano" was extinguished.