The Hatfield & McCoy Feud consisted of a series of events occurring between the 1860s and 1890s in West Virginia and Kentucky. The feud conflicts occurred between the families of Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, a timber businessman who had a large family in West Virginia, and Randolph “Randall” McCoy who had a large family just across the border in Kentucky. In this rugged mountainous region, the Tug River was a political boundary that separated the two states. The feud occurred prior to the development of the railroad system in the area. Because of this, the Tug River was also important for the transportation of people and goods into and out of the region.

The Hatfields predominantly lived on the West Virginia side of the river and the McCoys predominately lived in Kentucky, but there were Hatfields who lived in Kentucky and McCoys who lived in West Virginia. Alliances in the region were not simply based on a person's last name. Loyalty was also based on economic and political interests. Contrary to what most people think, most Hatfields and McCoys did not fight. For the most part, they interacted with each other very well and even intermarried. Another common misconception is that the fighting was solely based on the disagreement about the ownership of a hog.

 

The creators of this program are descendents of both the Hatfields and the McCoys. The program’s goal is to assist you in locating the main tour sites of the Hatfield & McCoy Feud in Kentucky and West Virginia while providing photographs and background information about the feud. It also can use your device’s GPS locator to show you your position from various sites (where cellular GPS signal is available). Because the sites are located in rural areas, your device’s GPS signaling ability is limited. GPS coordinates are also conveniently listed for each site for programming any GPS system in the event that cellular GPS signal isn’t available. We hope as cellular providers improve their infrastructure in the area that this function improves.

 

Download the program and learn more about the feud’s events. We realize there are many versions of the story passed from generation to generation, and this is the version our family passed on to us. We hope by the end of the tour, you will understand more about the feud's events that has made it one of the most intriguing stories in American history. Download your copy of the Hatfield & McCoy Feud Tour iPhone app today from the App Store or iTunes!