C. T. Suddeth

The Coe Ridge Colony formed after the Civil War, ex-slaves from Coe Plantation obtained 300 acres of steep forest, Cumberland County Kentucky. A mixture of blacks, Indians, and fugitive whites lived off chestnut farms. They feuded with local communities and fell on hard times with the chestnut blight. About 1955, the roads were paved, allowing police to visit, moonshining stopped, the colony dispersed. My great-grandfather Bill Short (Yuchi/white) is buried there. In 1983, I was unable to find his grave—no one lived there, the area had no roads. 2010, a one-lane road went through, still deserted though someone had pastured a buffalo herd.

[remains of Coe Plantation house, burned ca. 1990]